LIMBAUGH ADMITS ON RADIO SHOW THAT HE'S HOOKED ON PAINKILLERS

WEST PALM BEACH -- Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh announced during
his radio program Friday that he is addicted to painkillers and is checking
into a rehab center to ``break the hold this highly addictive medication
has on me.''

``You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my
life,'' said Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach County, during a stunning
admission aired nationwide. ``So I need to tell you today that part of what
you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain
medication.''

``Immediately following this broadcast, I am checking myself into a
treatment center for the next 30 days to once and for all break the hold
this highly addictive medication has on me,'' he added.

Limbaugh gave up his job as an ESPN sports analyst Oct. 1, three days after
saying on the sports network's ``Sunday NFL Countdown'' that Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to
see a black quarterback succeed.

The reports of possible drug abuse surfaced at about the same time, first
in the National Enquirer. The tabloid had interviewed Wilma Cline, who said
she became Limbaugh's drug connection after working as his maid. She said
Limbaugh had abused OxyContin and other painkillers.

Law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to
The Associated Press that Limbaugh was being investigated by the Palm Beach
County state attorney's office.

State attorney spokesman Mike Edmondson said Friday his office could
neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was under way. Limbaugh's
attorney, Roy Black, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

``At the present time, the authorities are conducting an investigation, and
I have been asked to limit my public comments until this investigation is
complete,'' Limbaugh said Friday.

Ed Shohat, the attorney for Cline and her husband, said the publication of
the National Enquirer story may have saved Limbaugh's life.

``Sometimes the exercise of First Amendment rights does very positive
things. This may be one of those times,'' Shohat said.

Steve Plamann, executive editor of The National Enquirer, said he was
gratified that Limbaugh confirmed the Enquirer story and that he plans to
seek help.

``We didn't do our stories gleefully. We just reported the facts,'' Plamann
said. ``We don't wish him ill at all and I certainly hope he gets the help
that he needs and gets over his addiction.''

Limbaugh said he started taking painkillers ``some years ago'' after a
doctor prescribed them following a spinal surgery.

His back pain stemming from the surgery persisted, so Limbaugh said he
started taking pills and became hooked.

``Over the past several years I have tried to break my dependence on pain
pills and, in fact, twice checked myself into medical facilities in an
attempt to do so. I have recently agreed with my physician about the next
steps.''

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the politically focused ``Rush
Limbaugh Show'' to more than 650 markets, did not have an immediate
comment, spokesman Michael Sitrick said. Several guest hosts were scheduled
until Limbaugh comes back after rehab.

An addiction specialist said ``it is very, very difficult to develop and
maintain a solid recovery.''

``When someone has developed a substantial pattern of addiction over time,
the urge to restart that pattern is very, very powerful,'' said Dr. Kenneth
Skodnek, a psychiatrist and director of Addiction Services at Nassau
University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y.

Skodnek called Limbaugh's entry into rehab ``a first step,'' adding that
Limbaugh's celebrity may actually help in his recovery.

Celebrities ``do get a lot more attention, so the implications of use
versus abstinence are perhaps much greater than for others. They have
further to fall in failure.''

Associated Press writers John Pain, Rachel La Corte and Terry Spencer in
Miami contributed to this report.