Rob Grill denies 'doctor shopping,' apologizes to physicians and says he hopes to clear his name.

Stephen Hudak | Sentinel Staff Writer - June 5, 2007

MOUNT DORA -- The lead singer of the '60s rock band The Grass Roots faces three felony counts of obtaining prescription painkillers illegally after sheriff's detectives arrested him at his home in Mount Dora.

But Rob Grill, 63, an original member of the band best known for the 1968 smash-hit "Midnight Confessions," called his recent arrest "a misunderstanding," saying he hopes the charges will be dropped and his name cleared.

"I'm no Rush Limbaugh," he said, referring to the conservative radio icon who was accused of "doctor shopping" for OxyContin and hydrocodone in 2006.

State law forbids patients from obtaining the same prescription medicine from multiple doctors. Each felony count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, Assistant State Attorney Emily Brinkman said.

Four doctors provided Grill with prescriptions for a combined 490 doses of the painkiller oxycodone between Feb. 13 and April 12 of this year, according to a detective's affidavit.

Grill said he needed the pain medicine to cope with six hip-replacement surgeries and a degenerative bone disorder called avascular necrosis. He apologized to the doctors whose names were listed on the affidavit.

"None of those doctors are at fault. None of them knew that there were overlapping [prescriptions]," Grill said in a telephone interview. "They were just trying to help me out.

"I apologize to anybody I've embarrassed or done any wrong to. But I'm not a criminal. I've never had any kind of charge against me in my life, 63 years," he said. Grill said he recently swore off prescription painkillers, enrolling in a detoxification program. He denied he had an addiction.

"I have a problem with pain," he said. "I'm just going to deal with it."

His band, which made 16 appearances on American Bandstand, was a fixture on Billboard charts from 1967 to 1972 with multiple classic rock hits, including "Sooner or Later."

He organized and performed a benefit concert last month for the band's lead guitarist Chris Merrell of Lady Lake, who is battling prostate and bone cancer.

Grill spent 90 minutes in sheriff's custody after his arrest May 31. He was released on $6,000 bail, according to the sheriff's Web site.

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