A local doctor might be in hot water after recently released photographs on the Web site TMZ.com showed the discoveries of a 2003 raid of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies: a smorgasbord of powerful painkillers and sedatives, some prescribed by a local physician.
The images show several empty prescription bottles of the sedative Xanax for Manuel Rivera and Frank Tyson, Jackson employees, but ostensibly for Jackson himself.
Santa Ynez doctor William VanValin was the prescribing physician.
TMZ reported that notes compiled during the county Sheriff’s investigation back in 2004 said Jackson’s former bodyguard told detectives that the late pop star would use his name and those of other employees to get prescriptions.
It is illegal to issue a prescription under any name other than the actual patient. The Web site also reported that Jackson would have employees pick up prescriptions under his name. When the pharmacy wouldn’t release his medication because it was not under the employee’s name, Jackson would then call the doctor and have the prescription “changed into the name of the person he was sending to pick it up.”
VanValin told the Journal that he was aware of the photographs, but said he declined to comment further.
Sheriff’s spokesman Drew Sugars said his department did not provide TMZ.com with any documents and could not confirm that the documents it referred to were accurate.
Whether or not VanValin committed any wrongdoing, the role doctors played in the death of Jackson is firmly under the spotlight again.
Debbie Nelson, a spokesperson for the Medical Board of California, said cases involving physicians inappropriately prescribing medication is not uncommon, adding that 28 doctors were penalized last year for this offense.
“Depending on the severity of the offense, these doctor could face anywhere from a public reprimand, a requirement to take special classes, such as a medical record keeping course, probation, or they could be stripped of their license to write prescriptions,” she said.
Jackson is not the first Hollywood star whose demise has highlighted the role celebrity-dazzled doctors have played in the deaths of celebrities.
Marilyn Monroe died at 36 from an overdose of sleeping pills in August 1962. She had been under a doctor’s care at the time.
At the age of 42, Elvis Presley died with as many as 10 different drugs coursing through his body. He was known to travel with George Nichopoulos, a former physician who overprescribed drugs to patients. Nichopoulos lost his medical license but was acquitted of criminal charges related to Elvis’ death.
Karen Sternheimer, a sociologist at the University of Southern California who is writing a book on social problems and celebrity culture, says the bottom line is likely why some doctors become drug-pushers for celebrities.
“In the typical doctor-patient relationship, the doctor really holds most of the power: we go to their office, typically wait until they are ready for us, and then see them only briefly,” Sternheimer said. “They have many patients, so if we are unhappy it might not affect their business. But if a doctor treats only one or a few patients, they become important clients financially, which shifts the balance of power and may make them more willing to make ethically questionable decisions.”
Julie Albright, a sociologist at the University of Southern California, said there are a number of reasons doctors may prescribe non-medically called for prescription drugs to celebrity clients.
“Celebrity is a kind of power or influence, which doctors aren’t immune to,” Albright said. “Like other people, they may want to please the celebrity to be a part of their circle.”
Some doctors who treat celebrities gain “bragging rights” with their friends and families. Associating with a celebrity, Albright said, may boost a doctor’s self-esteem and his or her pocketbook. “Lastly, with insurance plans cutting into doctor’s profits, celebrities may add a much needed boost to their finances,” she added. “It’s a boost some doctors are willing to bend their ethical duties to attain.”