Did Wu take oxycodone or ibuprofen?

Kari Chisholm

On Tuesday, the Oregonian reported that Congressman David Wu admitted to taking a un-prescribed painkillers from a donor, and claimed that he'd left his own prescription painkiller back in D.C.

"The donor offered me an alternative painkiller, and I took two tablets. This was the only time that this has ever happened," Wu wrote. "I recognize that my action showed poor judgment at the time, and I sincerely regret having put my staff in a difficult position."

The Oregonian also reported that, according to a campaign staffer, the painkiller was oxycodone:

A campaign staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the person still works in politics, confirmed that Wu, 55, had taken oxycodone from the donor.

But on Wednesday, in their print edition, Willamette Week cited the donor by name - and he claims it was ibuprofen:

On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Wu had dinner at Aquariva on the South Waterfront with a donor named Paul O’Brien, an author and speaker on spiritual topics who contributed the federal maximum of $4,800 to Wu in 2010.

“He was in fundraising mode, and the guy was dying of pain in his neck from being on the phone so much,” O’Brien says. “He was on edge because the election was a week away.”

O’Brien says he gave Wu tablets of ibuprofen to ease Wu’s pain, but that apparently upset a female aide accompanying the congressman. O’Brien recalls the exchange between Wu and the staffer was a “conflict.”

“I gave him a couple of ibuprofen and she was so weird,” O’Brien says. “She was trying to control him in a very strange way. I didn’t understand that.... But no, no, nothing untoward happened.”

So, which was it? Ibuprofen or Oxycodone?

It's worth noting that Congressman Wu's statement simply refers to an "alternative painkiller". And certainly, ibuprofen comes in prescription strength form.

But there's a substantial difference between oxycodone and ibuprofen. In a comment here at BlueOregon, Robert J. Harris (a former Washington County deputy D.A. and attorney whose current practice includes criminal law) noted:

Unlawful possession of controlled Substances. Oxycodon/Oxycontin is a schedule II drug, making it a class C Felony. Assuming he had no valid prescription for the Oxy. The donor can be prosecuted for delivery of the drug, a Class B Felony.

At some level, it doesn't matter. Taking someone else's prescription pills is a bad idea. But on another level, it does matter - as oxycodone requires a deeper level of bad judgment than does ibuprofen. (And may help explain why campaign staff felt the need to conduct an intervention when Wu was at a downtown Portland pharmacy -- though, as I previously posted, even a single oxycodone incident doesn't seem to explain that entirely.)

Obviously, there's a discrepancy here in the reporting -- and one that needs to get cleared up so that voters can make their judgments about Congressman Wu's judgment.

By Kari Chisholm Feb. 25, 2011