I would say we are in a pretty damn sad state of affairs based upon the testimony we have heard above! The standard of medicine was that once the fda approved a drug (meaning it was safe for human consumption) then it was up to doctors how to prescribe it, (off label rights). The strong implication issued by the fda is that they are now the interloper between the doctor patient relationship, the evil mother in law preventing you from getting desperately needed treatment your doctor desires to give you. Repurposing drugs (once deemed safe for human consumption) is a medical staple since the beginning of time (off label prescription rights) but strangely today its looked upon as medical malpractice now with covid, and thousands of people needlessly died because they were refused treatment! Doctors would lose their license if they dared prescribing outside the fda overlords specific approval! Do tell, should this unholy marriage be allowed to continue restricting our medical treatment and services, or should we go back to the old days where they were advisory and treatment was left up to the doctor and patient?
the prescription system is a failure, now it's a tool of the war on drugs if I need a medication, I should be able to buy it over the counter, if I want advice, I pay a doctor for that advice doctors should not be the gatekeeper of medications, people should not have to beg doctors or "say the right words" to get a medication
I'd give you 5 likes if I could! If you havent listened to that hearing Im sure you will find it worth your while, its not something you need to watch, there are no charts except in the intro 1 minute in, you can listen to it while doing other mundane activities. I knew there were problems between the gov, fda, pharma et al, I never really knew just how deep that water ran!
Wonder what ever happened to individual state's rights and state jurisdiction. Yet one more in a long list of examples of questionably unconstitutional federal overreach?
Well, there are prescription pain-killers with the strong potential for addiction... It's off-topic but we can now see the effects of abortion pills being made non-prescription in many states. Tons of slimy guys spiking their girlfriend's food with a crushed-up abortion pill without her knowledge because the guy doesn't want to be stuck on the hook with a baby. Otherwise, FreshAir, I do in large part actually agree with you. Unfortunately your position is probably a little too far Libertarian for most people, especially most people on the Progressive Left (which you seem to be on, judging by your posts in other threads).
yes, so? people take the risk, alcohol is addictive too, don't need a prescription if one has an addictive personality, they best be careful
My opinion is that we should go back to the “ old days where they were advisory and treatment was left up to the doctor and patient”. It seems as though the FDA is overwhelmed in trying to patrol the field and seems to go after natural remedies abnormally hard, despite historical data and texts on treatments. Maybe this suggests big Pharma gets a soft hand with the FDA. There is a lot to be said about this quote: “All disease begins in the gut” – Hippocrates
The irony is sweet that in many if not most countries in central and south America ordinary people can buy "prescription drugs" without a prescription. Those governments trust their citizens, but the US government is under control of the medical industrial complex and the pharmaceutical industry.
You missed my point I think. I agree with you that the war on drugs funds gangs and criminals, including those rogue members of the Central Intelligence Agency who participate in the black market. But the point I was trying to make was that the policies and statutes of many countries in South and Central America allow the citizens to buy drugs over the counter as they see fit, while the policies and statutes of the US demand that those citizens needing certain drugs pay the Piper of the organized medical community.
I agree, but that is part of the war on drugs, the US has made doctors the gatekeepers of drugs in the USA we should go to a doctor to get advice, not to get permission... to buy medications
Have your er considered the things that could go wrong with self medication? Are you going to Google your symptoms and start treatment on your own?
that is why it's wise to pay a doctor for advice.... which I am sure if you read my post, you saw me mention with the prescription system, many can't afford their medications, I am sure you can see what could go wrong in that scenario too
That’s not how it works. You become a patient of the doctor and he has a duty to manage your issue as well as your treatment with pharmaceuticals responsibly. It is not “Hey Doc, I need something for my chest cramps. Nothing seems to work!”
I said that is the way it SHOULD work, yes, your doctor is the gate keeper to the medications you need if you like the government giving doctor that power over you, fine, but many don't
No one is saying it is, but we should be seen as responsible adults not errant children or junkies because we have extreme and intractable pain. My uncle, a literal rocket scientist engineer who designed a good part of the Space Shuttle, committed suicide because one doctor thought that he should not become addicted to the only painkillers that worked and felt it was better that he spend the last year of his life dying by inches instead of in the pleasant company of the family he loved and who loved him. Heroin is actually named that because its inventor thought it would be an heroic substance taking people's intractable pain unto itself. Instead our laws have turned it into a horrible scourge which topples whole governments and may yet end our democracy. God spare us from moralizers.
I consider the 'War On Drugs' to be the prohibition against just a few drugs out of the many thousands we all consume. Some say Richard Nixon to have been the first to employ the term, but it doesn't matter. The 'war' against what many call recreational drugs has been an abysmal failure for society, but a resounding success for the many enforcement bureaucracies. How citizens obtain NON recreational drugs like antibiotics and others is what we discuss here. Citizens of Central American countries are trusted to use their own judgment in deciding what drugs they may need. US citizens are NOT trusted to do the same.
