Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Legal Drug Dealers

I have spent a lot of time over the past year and a half around people who are sick, and that means I've been to plenty of doctors offices. The one consistent thing I see (besides the rising cost of health care) is pharmaceutical reps. coming to speak to the doctor.

Believe me, before I start my rant, I know the importance of pharmaceuticals to peoples lives. I just feel it has all spun out of control. The drug companies no longer care what the side effects are, the FDA acts like they have been bought by the pharmaceutical companies, and the people just go fill their prescriptions like sheep in a herd. Look at all the recent lawsuits against drug companies. If you don't know about all the legalities, check out www.adrugrecall.com , they have a list of drugs and current and pending lawsuits against their makers. If you want to know how I feel about the FDA and the drug companies check out stories here and here. If you don't feel like reading my prior stories I can tell you next to government and the church, the FDA and the drug industry comes in just ahead of pyramid schemes and the Mafia for being corrupt.

What I have been observing over the past 18 months or so is just appalling. A doctors office filled to the brim with patients, running late (they all do), and a drug rep walks in. The drug rep goes to the desk and checks in, takes a seat for about 30 seconds and holy shit, they go straight back to see the doctor himself(herself). I can speak for me, but I have read the faces of countless patients, in countless offices, and they are all saying the same thing. What the F#*K? Which is exactly what I am saying. Don't you think that the sick patient should have the right to be seen in a timely fashion and certainly before a drug rep and their free pens and mugs. These reps are nothing more then legalized drug dealers. The companies they work for send them with samples to hand out and all kinds of goodies for the office. The companies they work for give doctors kickbacks (vacations, five star dinners, rounds of golf and monetary incentives for writing a lot of prescriptions for their drugs). I have seen with my own eyes real narcotics dealers and I have seen pharmaceutical reps. There is no difference. These companies and their reps teach from an early age that we need to be medicated. It's all OK if we are medicated. When those meds don't work anymore, we'll put you on stronger meds. When real problems arise people want more powerful drugs and turn to cocaine, crack and heroin and pills that make them happier or zone out. New designer drugs like crystal meth and extasy closely model prescription drugs like Dextromethorphan, pseudoephedrine(for crystal meth) and ritalin, adderall(for extasy). The drug companies are like cartels, with reps as pushers, looking for a new drug that they can get you addicted to. If this country wants to fight the war on drugs they should start with the pharmaceutical companies.
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