Drugs

Shots – Health News : NPR

Book Exposes How Some Generic Drugmakers Ignored Safety And Committed Fraud : Shots – Health News : NPR

The generic drug boom began in the mid-1980s, when pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer dominated the market. In response to rising costs and complaints over the influence of "big Pharma," Congress unanimously passed the Hatch-Waxman Act in 1984, which created a new regulatory track for generic drugs. As long as generic manufacturers could prove their drugs were bioequivalent to brand-name drugs, meaning they acted similarly in the body, they could get approved. It was a boon for generic drugmakers, and in principle for the American public, allowing market competition to yield less expensive but equivalent drugs. Bottle of Lies Bottle of Lies The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom by Katherine Eban Hardcover, 482 pages purchase But according to Eban, parts of the law incentivized speed over quality. Its "first-to-file" rule granted whichever company filed its FDA application first exclusive rights to sell its version of the generic drug for six months, at near brand-level prices, before competitors could enter the market. According to Eban's reporting, this created a Wild West environment, where being first mattered more than getting it right.

A Visit to Opioid-Country

A Visit to Opioid-Country

"In early November, I got a mild cold. I felt bad for a day, then felt better, then started coughing and didn’t stop coughing for a whole month. As if by way of compensation, the doctor gave me an orange flask of codeine cough syrup. This was a problem for me because I’m a recovering addict. But I didn’t mention this, because I’m a recovering addict. I said to myself: Think of it as medicine."

"I was supposed to take 5 mL every four hours, β€œas needed.” I knew 5 mL was either one teaspoon or one tablespoon, and this confusion was more or less genuine, but I strategically avoided looking up the answer and chose the larger dose. This led predictably to a drug experience. My eyes turned red, I felt a buzzing sensation, I stumbled and walked into walls, I couldn’t relax enough to pee, I couldn’t speak at the right volume, I craved sugar. I was aware that I was behaving more cheerfully than usual, but I did not experience a feeling of good cheer. My head hurt very much. After four hours, I drank what I judged to be a second tablespoon directly from the flask."

September 13, 2018 9:13 am Update

“Smoking marihuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we’re much too high
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends”