RANDOM DRUG TESTING REQUIRED OF LIMBAUGH

After 18 Months, Charge Against Him Will Be Dismissed

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Rush Limbaugh must submit to random drug
tests that will dismiss a prescription fraud charge against the
conservative commentator after 18 months if he complies with the terms.

Under the agreement filed Monday, he also must continue treatment for
his acknowledged addiction to painkillers and he cannot own a gun.

The agreement did not call for Limbaugh to admit guilt to the charge
that he sought a prescription from a physician in 2003 without
revealing that he had received medications from another practitioner
within 30 days. He pleaded not guilty Friday.

Limbaugh, 55, said that he had been undergoing random drug tests for
21/2 years and "haven't even craved a painkiller since I got out of rehab."

Attorney Roy Black said in a statement Monday that the agreement was
"a common sense resolution and the appropriate way the state should
treat people who have admitted an addiction to prescription pain
medication and voluntarily sought treatment."

Prosecutors launched their investigation in 2003 after Limbaugh's
housekeeper alleged he abused OxyContin and other painkillers.
Limbaugh blamed his addiction on severe back pain.