How to think about prescription drugs. Malcolm Gladwell's latest piece in The New Yorker
The emphasis of the prescription-drug debate is all wrong. We've been focussed on the drug manufacturers. But decisions about prevalence, therapeutic mix, and intensity aren't made by the producers of drugs. They’re made by the consumers of drugs.
posted on Oct 31, 2004 - View this thread

An AP story says that generic drugs are cheaper than half price brand name drugs from Canada. What the FDA doesn't say is that most of the time, you can't get generics. The FDA acknowledges that there is a 20 year lag time due to patents. So, if you want an old drug, fine, but most of the time, I suggest, foreign drugs are still cheaper, if you can get them from a reputable source that hasn't been bullied yet.
posted on Jan 19, 2004 - View this thread

Dutch government is distributing cannabis as a prescription painkiller to pharmacies to treat chronically ill patients. The Netherlands are the first country to supply the drug itself, in accordance with United Nations rules on narcotics. This Radio Netherlands article contains an interview with an American expatriate who is now a licensed supplier.
posted on Sep 1, 2003 - View this thread

Oregon Prescription Drug Research. AARP provides a guide to the first publicly funded, unbiased source of information comparing the effectiveness and safety of several categories of prescription drugs.
posted on Nov 25, 2002 - View this thread