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Jul 29, 2009 7:44 pm US/Eastern
Drug In Jackson Case Grabbed Local Headlines
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Propofol's proper use is supposed to be done under strict supervision to avoid breathing problems.
CBS/CBS
The drug at the center of attention in the death of Michael Jackson also grabbed headlines as it was the same anesthetic used on patients of an oral surgeon from Mt. Lebanon who was recently acquitted on charges he molested his patients.
"Giving [Michael Jackson] doses of Propofol is absolutely crazy. And the defense attorney is going to have a heck of a time with explaining how that's not reckless and finding an expert some expert out there to say what his client was doing was standard practice and I think that's going to be very difficult," Bill Difenderfer, a defense attorney, said.
That's how defense he reacted to drug agents searching for clues from a doctor about whether the anesthetic Propofol was given to Michael Jackson to help him sleep.
Difenderfer defended Mt. Lebanon dentist Dr. Robert Boyda arguing that Propofol and other drugs made alleged victims hallucinate about sexual acts they perceived Boyda to have committed while they were under anesthesia.
Boyda was acquitted of sexually molesting his patients.
Propofol's proper use is supposed to be done under strict supervision to avoid breathing problems.
Dr. Doris Cope, professor and vice chair of pain medicine at UPMC, says the alleged use of Propofol in the Jackson case is disturbing.
"This raises a lot of questions in my mind about his [Jackson's] mental state - about the providers, the safety measures, who was finding the drug - how they got it," said Cope. "This is not a drug you go to the drug store and buy like Tylenol. Who provided it under what circumstances - what the monitoring was? This is not a drug for at home use."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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