Is Big Pharma's next blockbuster Viagra for the brain?

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Kay Van Wey

I was recently walking through La Guardia airport in a typical traveler's daze when a prominently displayed magazine cover jumped out at me.The title was "Pills to make you smarter".

I was hooked. I had to read more. Make no mistake. I wasn't in the market for a magazine in the first place. I was already heavily laden with the six issues of my local bar publication that I had been intending to read. And frankly, if I was going to buy a magazine it was pretty tempting to succumb to the urge to find out what exactly is going on with Lindsey Lohan. But the magazine marketing geniuses made a first time purchaser of Scientific American out of me.

The article, "Turbocharging the brain", queries: "Will a pill at breakfast improve concentration and memory-and will it do so without long term detriment to your health"? The article chronicles the fascinating scientific developments in cognitive enhancement drugs to treat Alzheimers and other dementias. But, it also raises a very disturbing question. Will these drugs ultimately be marketed and sold to healthy people as "lifestyle enhancement" drugs?

Currently, neuroethicists are debating this issue in the neuroscientific community. I certainly am not qualified to enter that debate. However, this is what I do know. With the advent of direct to consumer marketing, the big pharmaceutical companies have spoon fed us a steady diet of propoganda that there is a pill for everything that ails us. We are the "super size me" generation who believes that more is better. Multi-billion dollar industries have profited from our desire to eat more, be stronger, look better, and perform better in the bedroom.

The temptation to "super size" our brains could create an enormous demand for these "smart drugs", or as some have referred to them "viagra for the brain". As one neuro ethicist put it "Within the pharmaceutical field, people recognize that a successful cognitive enhancer could be the best selling pharmaceutical of all time".  We needn't say more at this point. With the potential for hundreds of billions of dollars to be made, the pharmaceutical industry will find a way to use their slick marketing machines to convince us that we "need" these drugs. They will pay scientists and physicians to write articles in esteemed medical journals advocating their use and minimizing any potential side effects. Mark my words. It may not be in my lifetime, but this will come to fruition.

So, at the end of the day, the pharmaceutical industry will continue to wield enormous power over us. Some futurists have concocted the symbol "H1" to denote an enhanced version of humanity. Think of all the "lifestyle enhancement " drugs that can be peddled to the super-sized human.  The question is what does this make us as human beings, what would a society of super-sized humans look like and would you want to live in it?

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Appearance on Dan Rather Reports Tonight, October 27th!

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Kay Van Wey

Please tune in for a special Dan Rather Reports episode tonight , Tuesday October 27th at 8:00 PM EST on HDNet . The episode will feature the growing national pill mill problem by profiling Ken and Esther Scarborough of Beaumont, Texas, whose 25-year-old son, Christopher, died an accidental death caused from combined drug toxicity on September 23, 2007.  

I represent the Scarborough family and will also appear on the episode to discuss prescription drug diversion throughout the U.S.

VIEWING DETAILS:

  • Where: HDNet Dan Rather Reports
  • Live:  Viewing details at HDnet
  • Recording: download the episode on iTunes

 

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What is a pill mill?

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Kay Van Wey

A pill mill is a doctor's office or medical clinic whose purpose is not to treat sick or injured patients, but instead to reap enormous profits through the illegal diversion of prescription drugs. Law enforcement estimates that there may be tens of thousands of these pill mills currently operating in the United States.

While not all pill mills look alike, they can often times be spotted by the crowds of people gathering in their parking lots or the makeshift banner advertising "pain management" or "pain clinic". Pill mill doctors rarely have any pain management credentials, usually do not have hospital privileges, see 80-100 patients per day and typically only accept cash.

Pill mills work in conjunction with shady pharmacies and unethical pharmacists who are willing to turn a blind eye to apparent non-therapeutic prescribing practices.  Remember, the prescriptions are only worth the paper they are written on until a willing pharmacist agrees to dispense the drugs.

Some pill mills may have the appearance of a legitimate medical practice. However, the encounter will typically be very brief. Oftentimes, there will be very little medical history, little or no physical examination, no laboratory or diagnostic studies performed.  Some pill mills routinely write prescriptions for a drug cocktail, which is a combination of Lorcet or Vicodin, Soma and Xanax. This combination of drugs is commonly referred to as a "party pack", "Holy Trinity" or in some parts of the country a "Las Vegas Cocktail".

A legitimate pain management practice may also dispense narcotic pain medications, but only after a thorough physical examination, detailed understanding of the patient's medical history, and diagnostic tests. Typically, medical treatment such as physical therapy, injections, surgical procedures and psychotherapy are provided in conjunction with the prescription. 

Some pill mill operators have become smarter about flying under the radar screen and have adopted ways of looking more like legitimate medical practices.

Partially gathered by the CBS Evening news and myself, here are some tell tale signs of a typical pill mill:

  • It accepts cash only
  • You may or may not be seen by a physician
  • No physical exam required or performed
  • No medical records or X-rays are needed
  • Prior medical records not required
  • You ask for the medications rather than the doctor deciding what you need
  • The same drugs and combinations of drugs are prescribed over and over to most patients
  • There is scant medical documentation
  • You’re directed to "their” pharmacy
  • They treat pain with pills only
  • They give you a set number of pills and tell you specific date to come back for more
  • Huge quantities of drugs are prescribed at one time
  • They may have security guards
  • They may have a line of people outside or in the waiting room
  • They may accept out of town or out of state patients
  • Patients may arrive in carloads

Again, pill mills come in all shapes and sizes and some are better at hiding their true colors. However, there are a staggering number of pill mills that are operating right under the noses of law enforcement, medical licensing boards and other government regulatory agencies. Law enforcement is well aware of these types of clinics, but little has been done to eradicate them.  Meanwhile, enormous fortunes are being made and people continue to die from prescription drug addiction.

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