A three-week court hearing about the roles of two doctors in the death of Anna Nicole Smith ended last week with a judge ordering the doctors and Smith’s long-time companion to stand trial on charges of illegally supplying her with prescription drugs, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Amen. Hallelujah. God bless America.

It’s about time.

Smith died 2-1/2 years ago. The medical examiner found a smorgasbord of benzodiazepines in her blood – but no antidepressants. According to reports, she had fallen into a deep depression after her son died in her hospital room, where she had given birth to her daughter just hours earlier. Anna Nicole Smith was 39-years-old. The cause of her death was “combined drug intoxication.” Simply put, she overdosed. But according to prosecutor, Smith did not overdose. Her doctors overdosed her. And now, two of them are looking at prison.

Why is this case so significant? Because finally, someone with some clout has finally realized that doctors who irresponsibly prescribe drugs such as Ativan, Klonopin and Valium – to patients they know are addicts and alcoholics must be held responsible. It was obvious that Smith was an addict/alcoholic. Anyone who watched her reality television show knew that.

Still, her doctors wrote prescriptions – sometimes under an alias – for drugs that are widely prescribed for anxiety and depression and widely abused by addicts/alcoholics. Drugs like Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication. My mother took it in hospice, and, boy, did it work. Klonopin is the drug to which Stevie Nicks was addicted. And Valium, well, let’s just say a lot of us know what Valium feels like. Then there was Soma and Methadone, both habit-forming. And finally Noctec, a very old sedative that is rarely used and must be used — especially by an addict and/or alcoholic — with extreme caution.

If that isn’t criminal malpractice I do not know what it. We saw the same thing with Michael Jackson, whose death was ruled a homicide by drug overdose. Jackson’s doctor has not been charged. However, the doctor prescribed drugs to Jackson – including the benzodiazepine lorazepam – despite Jackson’s well documented drug abuse.

Doctors must understand that prescribing drugs such as benzodiazepines to addicts and alcoholics is setting them up for relapse. I cannot tell you how many addicts/alcoholics I know of who relapsed after being prescribed a drug which should not have been prescribed to them without very, very, very careful medical supervision.

Doctors must understand that to us addicts/alcoholics, the dosing and warning labels on a prescription bottle do not apply to us. Your other patients may follow those guidelines, but the label means little to many addicts/alcoholics if the drug can get them high. That is why doctors who prescribe these kinds of drugs to patients whom they know are dual diagnosed addicts/alcoholics must be held responsible.

There are those who will heap all the blame on the addicts/alcoholics. They should tell their doctors that they are addicts/alcoholics. That sounds good and makes sense if the addict/alcoholic knows and is willing to admit that she is an addict/alcoholic, understands brain chemistry and has a pharmacy degree. Many of us – especially those of us in recovery – trust our doctors. Even when we do divulge our addiction/alcoholism, many still prescribe drugs that threaten our sobriety.

So, bring on the charges and malpractice suits. If that is what it is going to take to teach doctors a lesson about prescribing drugs to dual diagnosed addicts/alcoholics, so be it. There is a little girl out there who will never know her mother and a brilliant artist who will never perform again.

Our loss. The doctors’ fault.

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    Last reviewed: 2 Nov 2009