Lisa Bloom
AC360° Contributor
In Session Anchor
Editor’s Note: You can read more Lisa Bloom blogs on “In Session”.
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist, has just turned herself in to authorities in Los Angeles on charges that she conspired to over-prescribe medications to Smith, knowing that she was an addict. Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who allegedly prescribed thousands of pills to Anna Nicole in the final years of her life, and Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole’s boyfriend and lawyer, have also turned themselves in.
Relentless cable coverage of this story followed her death, but this time, in my view, it’s a story worth covering. Prescription drug abuse is a growing and real problem in this country. Many people feel, as apparently Smith did, that they are safe taking drugs as long as they have a doctor’s note and the drugs come from a pharmacy. Wrong. Forty-three percent of drug overdoses in America are from prescription meds. Far too many medicines are prescribed in this country, in my opinion, with little oversight as to their safety.
The complaint alleges that some good pharmacists refused to fill these doctors’ prescriptions to Anna, saying that they were dangerous. The state says the three conspirators then simply went to another pharmacy until they got the drugs they wanted to dispense to Smith.
Six hundred pills are missing from bottles prescribed to Anna Nicole in the five weeks before her death. Yes, she was an adult, responsible for her own actions, but those around her are responsible for their conduct too. Smith had said publicly years before that she was addicted to painkillers. After the sudden death of her son Daniel, in the hospital room where she had just given birth to her new daughter, Anna, understandably, was emotionally devastated. Her doctors had a responsibility not to hand out pills to her like Chiclets at such a delicate time.
Anna was cartoonish in life, but her accidental drug overdose death raises important questions, and I salute California’s attorney general for vigorously pursuing this case.
| Carl |
March 18th, 2009 2:47 pm ET This is ridiculous, she was addicted to these things. Why don't we take a long hard look at why these pain pills are so addicting and why they are handed out like candy. Any ten year old can get a pain pill at school. Why are we Americans so weak and dependent on stimulants, drugs, porn, booze. What's wrong with life as it is, dealing with the hand we are dealt. We are raising weaklings and it needs to stop. |
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| Michael "C" |
March 18th, 2009 2:52 pm ET Madoff just might have company on his way to the Federal Penthouse. |
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| Joanne Pacicca, Solvay, NY |
March 18th, 2009 3:36 pm ET I feel sorry for Smith and her cohorts. The disease of addiction eats relationships from the inside out. These people are to be pitied. Truth is, Anna Nicole Smith's anchor was her son, when he was gone, she slowly killed herself. |
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| Heather,ca |
March 18th, 2009 8:30 pm ET They were all in it for the money. They used her. I cant think of a single celebrity in modern time whos best friend is a lawyer who basically controls everything. The thing most people dont realize is any controlled substance is tracked by the DEA in each state. If a person continues taking vicodin well beyond a reasonable period of time, their dr is sent a letter basically saying you cant do this you are risking your license. They did go doctor shopping. They also went pharmacy shopping. Privacy is rediculous. Its against federal and state law to use fake names. They all used her for the money she was after. They knowingly and willingly did it. The law is the law. You cant pick and choose which laws you want to follow. These medications are all helpful in the short term. For legitimate chronic pain, seeing a pain medicine specialist is the proper thing to do. But she was addicted and they knew it. |
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