I want to propose a radical idea here: to the executives and employees of the major drug companies- if you are an individual responsible in any way for manufacturing, distributing or selling mind-altering drugs, you should be required to sample your own product before you push it on others in the same way that police officers are required to take a hit from the taser weapon before they can administer it in the field. Undoubtedly this idea would meet intense resistance and never get approved. I can hear the opposing arguments now and the rebuttal of “well if that’s your logic then Smith & Wesson employees should have to…” But what if a vitamin manufacturer was unwilling to consume its own product – would you not be skeptical of what they’re selling? Consider for a moment the current state of the pharmaceutical industry: think about the sums of money involved, the incentives at every level to encourage unnecessary prescription of these drugs, think about how they are defended and litigated to minimize exposure and maximize profit in situations where new information comes to light revealing crippling side effects and ultimately recognize who will bear the cost of this government-sanctioned racket in the form of long-term health issues for a significant chunk our population. More and more western medicine appears broken and the problem cannot be isolated to the chemists inventing the compounds in the lab, the clinicians conducting the trials, the lawyers securing the patents, the drug reps pushing the product, the doctor’s and psychiatrists writing the slips, the insurance companies paying the claims or the pharmacists scooping the pills over the counter – it’s the economics of the whole chain the fact that each individual is so removed from the end result that ensures this ugly trend will perpetuate itself indefinitely.

There’s a brilliant lyric from a song by Jack Johnson called Cookie Jar:

you can’t blame me, says the media man
i wasn’t the one who came up with the plan
i just point my camera at what the people want to see
it’s a two way mirror and you can’t blame me

I understand the dynamics of the situation: “it’s my job” says the salesperson. “It’s my job” says the chemist. “It’s my job” says the lawyer. “Other companies would move into our space if we didn’t” says the CEO. Capitalism has come in direct conflict with the the Hippocratic Oath and the public interest of health and wellness though, and guess which one has steamrolled the other? In such a radical situation, isn’t a radical approach necessary to re-balance the boat? When the boat has demonstrated that it’s not going to right itself an is in fact in an indisputable state of capsizing, isn’t it time to rally the crew and take action to save the ship? Responsibility has to exist at each link of the chain – if you’re pushing the safety of your product and you’re unwilling to sample it yourself, what does that say about the confidence of your assertions that the product is in fact safe?

I will share that for the greater part of 2001 I was on a cocktail of three of the most dangerous prescription drugs in existence: zyprexa, effexor and risperdal. How these substances continue to be sold blows my mind – read some of the patient testimonials from the above links to get a flavor for what these medications do. By some miracle and against the advice of every doctor and psychiatrist that saw me, I weaned myself off of these medications, evaded the path of zombie-dom that was inevitable for me and returned to a normal existence having gone through what I can only say what it must have felt like to the Apollo astronauts when they lost contact with earth on the dark side of the moon. Talking about a personal experience such as this carries a negative stigma, it’s seen as “uncool” and is arguably a risky bit of “career-damaging” info to share publicly. But having had first-hand experience with these medications and learning about the prevalence with which they are now being prescribed, it’s gut-wrenching to think about the lives that are being permanently destroyed under the guise of health and for monetary gain on the part of these drug companies.

Following cognitive dissonance theory I can only imagine the supporting justifications that the employees of these companies must concoct to be okay with what they are doing. These drugs may be helpful in isolated cases as an intervention method but they are being prescribed as a way of life. Pharmaceuticals- don’t kid yourself, you are not improving the lives of your consumers- you are causing child suicides. Short of meeting this plague head-on with a radical addition of checks and balances such as the one I’m suggesting here, what is a possible resolution to this situation? I challenge any representative of one of the major pharmaceuticals to respond to this question. And to everyone else what do you think the answer is to this situation?