`GH' DOC'S ADDICTION TAKES CENTER STAGE.Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer Dr. Alan Quartermaine Dr. Alan Quartermaine has been portrayed continuously by actor Stuart Damon since the character was first introduced in 1977. In 1999, Damon won a "Best Supporting Actor" Emmy Award, for portraying Dr. Quartermaine's addiction to the drug Hydrocodone. , surgeon and hospital chief of staff, has been a pillar of the Port Charles For the fictional city, see . Port Charles is a soap opera which aired on ABC from July 11, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the popular soap opera General Hospital community for more than two decades on the ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. ``General Hospital.'' So, how did he become a drug addict Any individual who habitually uses any narcotic drug so as to endanger the public morals, health, safety, or welfare, or who is so drawn to the use of such narcotic drugs as to have lost the power of self-control with reference to his or her drug use. who's lied to his family and friends, stolen drugs from the hospital, bought dope from a street pusher pusher Drug slang 1. A person who sells drugs, especially the 'heavies'–eg, heroin 2. A metal hanger or umbrella rod used to scrape residue in crack stems and passed out in the park from an overdose? ``He's got a son who's an alcoholic, another one who's a brain-damaged mobster, a wife who had breast cancer and pushed him away for two years then had an affair with a younger man,'' said actor Stuart Damon Stuart Damon (born Stuart Michael Zonis on February 5, 1937) is an American actor. He is best known for 30 years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999. , Quartermaine's portrayer since 1977. ``Then, when he had surgery on his hand last year, he took painkillers - and they made him feel so good, he just kept taking them. ``Now, he can't tell the difference between the pain in his hand and the pain in his heart.'' The truth about the fictional doctor's addiction comes out very publicly at ``GH's'' annual Nurses Ball, which will air Friday and June 22. For Damon, the descent into his character's addiction has been based on the experience of a doctor who worked in the chemical dependency chemical dependency n. A physical and psychological habituation to a mood- or mind-altering drug, such as alcohol or cocaine. chemical dependency unit at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. The real-life doctor ``was a drug addict and a functioning doctor,'' the actor said. ``So, everything I'm doing is absolutely valid, absolutely true.'' Despite what many people believe, doctors are no more likely to become addicts than people in other professions, said Dr. Joseph Haraszti, a Pasadena psychiatrist who's board-certified in addictionology. But because of their access to drugs, they can get large quantities of purer drugs than street-drug users, so they may become more dependent faster - and find the habit harder to kick, Haraszti said. The problem is so prevalent among physicians that the Medical Board of California offers addicted ad·dict·ed adj. 1. Physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance. 2. Compulsively or habitually involved in a practice or behavior, such as gambling. doctors a five-year diversion program A diversion program in the criminal justice system is a program run by a district attorney's office designed to enable offenders of criminal law (usually minor offenses) to avoid criminal charges [1][2]. that includes monitoring, drug testing and therapy, said program director Chet Pelton. Doctors who can't successfully complete the diversion program lose their licenses to practice. Ten to 12 doctors each month apply to enter the program, and the medical board monitors more than 200 of the state's 75,000 doctors annually. Information about a physician's participation in the diversion program is confidential unless a complaint has been filed aginst the doctor or unless the doctor fails to complete the program; then the state medical board is notified. ``General Hospital'' writers researched the subject of physician addiction well, said the medical experts. Like Dr. Quartermaine, most doctors begin taking drugs to ease physical or emotional pain, or both, said Haraszti. And, like the soap doctor, real-life addicted doctors do whatever they have to to keep their secret. ``Doctors try to keep their addiction hidden for a long time - possibly years - basically, until they get caught,'' Haraszti said. ``Eventually they're found out.'' And then there's a big price to pay. ``Alan can pull himself together, even on the drugs, to function as a doctor,'' Damon said. ``But it's so hard, it takes more drugs to get over that. So, the climb back up every day gets harder and harder.'' People marvel that someone with the intelligence of a doctor would become addicted to drugs, ``but intelligence goes out the window when you're an addict,'' said Pelton. ``The urge is so strong to use drugs that your mind does some funny things on you.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Stuart Damon, who portrays ``General Hospital's'' drug-addicted Dr. Alan Quartermaine: ``Alan can pull himself together, even on the drugs, to function as a doctor. But it's so hard, it takes more drugs to get over that. So, the climb back up every day gets harder and harder.'' |
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