Cleared doctor: Anna Nicole had ‘legitimate need’ for drugs

Video: Anna Nicole’s doctor: ‘Chronic pain’ required drugs

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2. Transcript of: Anna Nicole’s doctor: ‘Chronic pain’ required drugs

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   MEREDITH VIEIRA, co-host: But let's begin with those verdicts in the drug conspiracy case tied to Anna Nicole Smith 's death. NBC 's Lee Cowan has the details. Lee , good morning to you.

   LEE COWAN reporting: Well, good morning, Meredith . As you said, there were three people that were on trial, and none of them were actually accused of killing Anna Nicole Smith . But what prosecutors wanted was for them be -- to be convicted of giving drugs to a known addict. But that was an argument the jury didn't buy. Prosecutors had painted Anna Nicole Smith as the victim, strung out on a cocktail of powerful opiates and sedatives that, in the end, took her life. Her physician, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor -- a close friend, it would seem, from the photos of the two of them together -- was accused of enabling her drug use , funneling the Playboy Playmate almost anything that came in a bottle. But Dr. Kapoor argued his prescriptions had nothing to do with her celebrity and everything to do with her legitimate medical condition , chronic pain and grief over the loss of her son, Daniel . And the jury agreed.

   Dr. SANDEEP KAPOOR (Acquitted in Anna Nicole Smith Drug Case): This is really a victory not just for me to be acquitted of this, but it's a victory for patients everywhere in our nation who suffer chronic pain .

   COWAN: He escaped conviction, but not so for Khristine Eroshevich , Anna Nicole 's next-door neighbor and psychiatrist, and Howard K. Stern , Anna Nicole 's longtime friend and lawyer. While the two were acquitted of the most serious charges, both were found guilty of conspiracy, using fake names to obtain her prescriptions.

   Mr. HOWARD K. STERN: This was done to protect Anna Nicole 's privacy, and it was nothing more than that.

   COWAN: But after two months of testimony and 13 days of deliberations, the jury decided Anna Nicole wasn't an addict, but a patient. Their mixed verdict was a disappointment for those wanting to raise a warning flag over what many see as the overuse of prescribed drugs in Hollywood . But to the judge who nearly lost it back in 2007 deciding what to do with Anna Nicole 's body after her death...

   Judge LARRY SEIDLIN: Custody of the remains of Anna Nicole Smith . Ah.

   COWAN: Larry Seidlin now says Thursday's verdict sends a very clear message.

   Judge SEIDLIN: These people have been convicted of felonies. It's not a running a red light traffic ticket. This is a felony that will have permanent damage on their careers and their future.

   COWAN: Now, all three of them are expected to be sentenced at the beginning of next year. They could face three years in state prison, but the judge does have the option of reducing it from a felony down to a misdemeanor, and many people think he may do just that. Meredith :

   VIEIRA: Lee Cowan , thank you very much . Dr. Sandeep Kapoor is with us exclusively along with his attorney, Ellyn Garofalo . Good morning to both of you.

   Ms. ELLYN GAROFALO: Good morning.

   Dr. KAPOOR: Good morning.

   VIEIRA: Doctor, if I can start with you, can you describe your emotions yesterday when you were acquitted on all six charges?

   Dr. KAPOOR: Just exhilarated, shell-shocked. It's been a long ordeal of almost four years. So just absolute, you know, joy and relief, I suppose, after this ordeal.

   VIEIRA: Yeah. The prosecution tried to make the case that you and your co-defendants conspired to unlawfully provide controlled substances to an addict. So why do you think the jury found you not guilty?

   Dr. KAPOOR: Well, I think the jury had all the evidence to look at, which there was a lot of, and really saw that there was legitimate need and that Anna Nicole Smith suffered from, you know, chronic pain and several other medical conditions and, you know, required treatment. And I think the jury was able to sort through all the papers and the records and see that she indeed was a woman who suffered from several medical conditions .

   VIEIRA: So you were simply doing your duty as her doctor.

   Dr. KAPOOR: Yes. I mean, as a -- as a doctor who takes over a practice of many patients, the good duty would be to take care of all patients in the same manner that you would for anybody in the community.

   VIEIRA: You know, during the case, the trial, the prosecution brought up your relationship with Anna Nicole Smith and whether it was a proper one or not. And they read from your -- from your diary, actually. They showed photos of the two of you first at a gay pride parade in 2005 ; then they read from your personal journal where you wrote that you were -- and these are your words -- "making out with my patient, blurring the lines. Can she ruin me?" They argued that a doctor shouldn't have that kind of a relationship with a patient, and you seem to be suggesting in your journal that you have your own problems with it, you know it's wrong.

   Dr. KAPOOR: Well, you know, that -- that's a page taken out of a personal journal of 800 pages, and that was one -- you know, the one afternoon at a charity event that certainly, you know, was taken out of context, again, and blown out of proportion one time that I did socialize with her. It was hardly a relationship. What it was, was a professional relationship with a patient and a doctor. It just happened to be that she was a public figure and the subject of a lot of tabloid fodder. So that became sort of the jumping off point for all the rest of the circuslike atmosphere around her life.

   VIEIRA: But, Ms. Garofalo , I got to ask you. Although the criminal charges have been dropped against your client, he could still face action by the California medical board. You've looked at the pictures. Did he cross the line? Could he be in trouble here?

   Ms. GAROFALO: Well, certainly there may be an investigation or a further investigation by the medical board. We're hoping that the medical board will look at these verdicts and understand the evidence in the criminal matter and forego any further proceedings with respect to Dr. Kapoor . But, you know, time will tell . We really don't know at this point what steps the medical board will take or not take.

   VIEIRA: And, Dr. Kapoor -- Dr. Kapoor , just summing up, over the past few years you've really had your reputation dragged through the mud. Where do you go to get it back?

   Dr. KAPOOR: Well, I just -- I go to my patients and the good work and the loyalty of my patients in the community of Studio City that I work in. You know, I have still a large practice of patients that are loyal and come to me for their everyday medical problems. I still continue to do the work of pain management in cancer pain and noncancer pain. So certainly, just move forward and continue to -- my local reputation is very good. So I just want to move forward.

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