It seems that PHARMA's difficulty in developing drugs with stronger effects than placebo has prompted a creative response to the researching drugs. Kas Thomas at assertTrue(), directs us to a scholarly journal article tackling the "problem": But then Fava and his coauthors make the baffling statement: "Thus far, there has been no attempt to develop … Continue reading The placebo “problem”
Category: Policy
Alcohol’s place in our culture
Following up on yesterday's post, a few articles jumped out at me. First, the Michigan legislature is considering lowering the blood alcohol level for boats and other recreational vehicles to 0.08, so that it matches the BAL for driving a car. Sorta makes sense, right? Look at the comments in the Detroit Free Press and the … Continue reading Alcohol’s place in our culture
“look at alcohol!”
I frequently find myself in discussions about drug policy. I feel strongly that incarcerating people for possession is stupid and wrong, but I'm reluctant to legalize drugs. (I think there are a lot of options in between.) In these discussions, I inevitably hear someone say, "Look at alcohol. It's way worse and it's legal!" My … Continue reading “look at alcohol!”
Heroin Shortages Drive Deadly Alternatives
Though the federal government is participating in marketing buprenorphine as having low addiction potential, buprenorphine is being identified as a growing problem overseas: Responses to the drought varied by country, with drug users in each developing their own preferences for heroin alternatives, according to reports from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and … Continue reading Heroin Shortages Drive Deadly Alternatives
Sentences to ponder
In a book review of Drugs for Life, while discussing the Pharma driven model of health that pathologizes many normal experiences/processes" ...even while risk and illness are treated, health itself can be ill-served.
Pharma gamesmanship in addiction
Points offers a post summarizing the history of Suboxone up to the present. Including the role of NIDA in helping Reckitt: Reckitt brought Subutex and Suboxone to market with part of the costs of development absorbed by NIDA “to ease the burden to Reckitts” (Campbell and Lovell 2012: 135). They note that Reckitt had … Continue reading Pharma gamesmanship in addiction
The “decline effect” hits naltrexone
The "decline effect" hits naltrexone. Background Oral naltrexone is an FDA-approved medication for treating alcohol use disorders. Although its efficacy has been supported in multiple clinical trials, an earlier review found that its effect sizes (ESs) on relapse to heavy drinking and, to a lesser extent, percent days drinking were smaller in more recent trials … Continue reading The “decline effect” hits naltrexone
The benefits of harm reduction are not as obvious as they seem
Theodore Dalrymple points out the inconsistency in the British Medical Journal's vigorous advocacy for harm reduction where heroin is concerned and its squeamishness with harm reduction for nicotine. He pulls a passage from BMJ and inserts comments: What, then, does the BMJ, so much in favour of harm reduction for heroin addicts, say about harm reduction … Continue reading The benefits of harm reduction are not as obvious as they seem
Michigan’s medical marijuana business
Crain's Detroit has an article on the state's medical marijuana business from the grow side to the physicians. The article says that there have been 344,000 patient applications in the state since 2009 and that doctors often charge around $150 to certify patients, that's $51,600,000 in revenue for the docs. Here's a little from the … Continue reading Michigan’s medical marijuana business
$2.2 billion invested in addiction treatment and behavioral health companies
Businessweek has a damning investigation of for-profit methadone treatment. And, who knew that Bain Capital is such a player? Since Jan. 1, 2009, CRC’s clinics haven’t met staffing standards more than 50 times, regulatory records from 15 states show. Clinics were cited 80 times for failing to document that they gave patients enough counseling. … Continue reading $2.2 billion invested in addiction treatment and behavioral health companies
Recovery Review 