Personally, I think he is lying- BUT Ambien is a drug I had a few years ago- and while it didnt make me drive asleep on capitol hill, it did lead to me being half awake when woken up and appearing quite drunk...I also did things in my sleep that scared the hell out of me- I don't take ANY sleep aids any more, though I could use a good one, the negative effects have been too severe- melatonin- over the counter- also really messed me up.

I would sleep walk a LOT on Ambien- I had NEVER sleep walked before taking the drug- the good news is that the side effect left me too stoned to find my keys- but I did once wake up in my car, still in the garage... my keys remained in the house.

Ambien is a risky drug, it WILL work for some people, but for others it can be a real danger- I am one of the rare mutants that has a very bad reaction. But, to be honest, I think Pat Kennedy was just jumping on the current story... (Rush Limbaugh was claiming that the 'Ambien Phenomenon' was a new thing just developed to defend Kennedy- the fact is it was a story a few weeks before that- I think Kennedy knew that and tried to hijack that)

Sleep drugs are VERY risky, be VERY careful with them. They are not addictive in my experience, but they can screw up your sleep behavior... some people cannot handle them- I am one of them.

I quit Ambien a few years ago- there was no addiction or withdrawl- but I was so relieved when I quit it- I woke up in the same bed I went to sleep in....

Ambien may really help some people- so dont take my story as evidence that its evil... In all probability it will help you- but if it starts making you do weird things in your sleep- STOP TAKING IT!!!!! It will get worse....