Self-Medicated, Self-Educated
The interviewees in this New York Times report on young people "playing pharmacist" are supposedly abusing prescription psychiatric drugs, but they mostly come across as responsible, inquisitive, and knowledgeable about the pills they buy off the internet:
In dozens of interviews, via e-mail and in person, young people spoke of a sense of empowerment that comes from knowing what to prescribe for themselves, or at least where to turn to figure it out. They are as careful with themselves, they say, as any doctor would be with a patient.
I describe the joys of self-medicating in a military dictatorship here.
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I do not care in the slightest about a right to self-medicate, or a the freedom on this issue, but this seems like a pretty good limus test for seperating the consequentialists from the deontologists.
It should be feasible to collect data on these people. If the data indicates their outcomes were worse, is the regualtion a good idea? Or should the government regulate information services about pharma?
But doctors and experts in drug abuse also say they are flummoxed about how to address the increasing casual misuse of prescription medications by young people for purposes other than getting high.
This seems strikingly similiar to when the bible was translated into native tongues, that flummoxed authority as well.
"But doctors and experts in drug abuse also say they are flummoxed about how to address the increasing casual misuse of prescription medications by young people for purposes other than getting high."
This seems strikingly similiar to when the bible was translated into native tongues, that flummoxed authority as well. Long live the internet!
As a person who has self medicated and swapped meds with my friends, I trust myself to research drugs better than a doctor. Just like anything, with freedom comes responsiblity. I'm responsible enough to know what I'm doing, so let me do it. I went for a year and a half with undiagnosed migraines simply because my auras were atypical (instead of seeing spots, my sight will go grayscale). My doctor didn't know how to deal with a situation that wasn't textbook. As an engineer, I know how to research and solve problems. I knew it was migraines, and I swapped meds with other migriane sufferers I knew (I was prescribed antidepressants instead of migraine meds, so I would swap them for pain meds and they would use my antidepressants either for recreation or to get though a rough day). If I hadn't done so, I would've gone through a whole lot more pain then I needed. But I decided to be an adult and solve my problems for myself. I finally got to a neurologist that diagnosed me correctly, but not everyone is so lucky. I never understood why I wasn't allowed to put into my own body whatever I wanted. Whoops, I forgot, I'm too stupid to know whats good for me.
Dubya spends billions of US taxpayer money to force Democracy medicine down unwilling throats.
A military dictatorship illustrates anarchy works better and for free.
It's a wonderful world!
"I do not care in the slightest about a right to self-medicate, or a the freedom on this issue,"
Way to stand up for liberty.
"It should be feasible to collect data on these people. If the data indicates their outcomes were worse, is the regualtion a good idea?"
If the data indicates their outcomes were worse, then that information would be a good idea to propogate. It certainly would not prescribe the continuation of the Rx-only trend of the FDA. Of course, this is coming from someone who thinks the FDA's only legitimate role should be, in fact, information about drugs. It should have no power to issue Rx-only fiats on any drugs.
"Or should the government regulate information services about pharma?"
Are you fucking kidding me?
Anyone ever see that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer found a dog whose cough sounded like his, took him to the vet, and then started taking the dog medicine?
Kevin-
I prefer not to base my approach to medicine on somebody who stockpiles blood and stores it under the hood of a friend's car. 🙂
thoreau;
FYI, Kramer used his blood to fill up the radiator on Jerry's Saab after it started overheating. He was carrying his blood to a blood bank in a cooler.