Doctor: 1,500 Pills Don't Prove Smith Was Addicted
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A pain management doctor says Anna Nicole Smith was not a prescription drug addict and rebuffed a prosecutor's suggestion that prescriptions for 1,500 pills in one month don't prove addiction.
Dr. Perry G. Fine, testifying Wednesday in the drug conspiracy trial against the model's boyfriend and two doctors, says Smith suffered fractured ribs and was seeking relief from chronic pain.
Fine also says that contrary to common views, taking drugs does not cause addiction. He says the disease of addiction is genetically based.
The doctor was testifying as an expert witness for Dr. Sandeep Kapoor.
Kapoor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to providing drugs to an addict. They are not charged with Smith's 2007 overdose death.
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