Bill Cosby’s Quaalude Prescriptions: Key Revelations from Recent Legal Documents
Recent court documents from a lawsuit filed by accuser Donna Motsinger reveal that Bill Cosby admitted under oath to obtaining and refilling a prescription for Quaaludes seven times, explicitly for the purpose of giving them to women to facilitate sex, while claiming he never consumed any himself.
Background on the Admission
Cosby received the initial prescription from Dr. Leroy Amar, a gynecologist and friend, during a poker game at Cosby’s Los Angeles home before 1972. Dr. Amar, described as “disgraced,” had his medical license revoked in California in 1979. The Quaaludes were described as round, white pills.
This testimony emerged in a sealed deposition as part of Motsinger’s lawsuit, where she alleges Cosby drugged and raped her in 1972 while she worked as a server at the Trident restaurant in Sausalito, California. Motsinger claims Cosby gave her a pill she thought was aspirin, after which she lost consciousness and awoke the next day in her home wearing only panties. Cosby is seeking to dismiss the suit, but Motsinger is opposing it.
Context from Prior Cosby Cases
In earlier testimony related to accuser Andrea Constand, Cosby admitted to acquiring seven Quaalude prescriptions in the 1970s for a sore back but stated he kept them to give to young women before sex, never taking them himself. A defense drug analyst testified that Constand’s description of blue pills could not have been Quaaludes, which were not dispensed in that form, suggesting instead Benadryl.Prosecution experts noted symptoms consistent with either drug, but no direct evidence confirmed drugging due to lack of samples. Quaaludes, a sedative banned in 1982, were known as a 1970s “party drug” with perceived aphrodisiac effects.
Historical Notes on Quaaludes
- Quaaludes (methaqualone) were widely prescribed from 1965 to 1983 in the U.S., gaining popularity as a relaxant and “love-making drug” during the disco era due to light regulation and marketing as a safer sedative.
- Added to controlled substances schedules in 1973, they were fully banned in 1984 after abuse concerns, vanishing from the market before major tragedies were widely reported, contributing to nostalgic perceptions.
- Modern parallels include risks with prescription narcotics like OxyContin or Xanax.
These details stem primarily from new filings in the Motsinger case, echoing patterns in Cosby’s prior admissions across multiple lawsuits.
