Here's an article from Dr. Douglass II, M.D. in a Daily Dose e-mail I recieved.
Big Pharma sells date rape drug
Big Pharma's looking for a date with pain victims... but if you say "yes" to this one, watch out -- because they're ready to slip you a mickey like you would not believe.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals has been cooking up a frightening solution for the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia. It's called sodium oxybate, but anyone who watches crime shows probably knows it better as GHB -- the date-rape drug.
Luckily, an FDA panel gave a resounding "hell, no!" to this thing... but that's not the last word on this one. The company says it will try to persuade the FDA to overrule that panel when it makes its final decision next month.
One of the drug's side effects is a loss of consciousness. It's such a reliable side effect that Jazz has even worked it into the bizarre dosing schedule.
Here's how it works: Set your alarm for two hours, and then take your dose. You'll pass right out, but don't expect to get too comfortable -- the second dose needs to be taken when the alarm sounds.
I don't know what's worse: chronic pain... or constantly being forced into, out of, and back into a chemically induced stupor.
And if that's not enough for you, this med can bring plenty of other nasty side effects along for the ride: breathing problems, depression, nausea, coma and even death.
But wait -- because the news here actually gets even worse.
Despite the recent rejection, this drug is already out there, and you don't need to hit the streets to get it. It's been approved for narcolepsy, and is being sold right now under the name Xyrem.
And you know the drill: Once a med is approved for a single condition, docs can prescribe it for any reason they want -- something they've already proven they'll do for Xyrem.
In fact, the drug's maker -- Orphan, now part of Jazz Pharmaceuticals -- had to pay a $20 million fine in 2007 after a whistleblower exposed illegal marketing towards those off-label uses for Xyrem -- including pain.
That's not the only street drug on the menu today -- keep reading for the new depression "wonder drug."
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Street drug aimed at depression
If you want to know the future of medicine, it seems all you have to do is hit the streets. Illegal drugs today, hot new treatments tomorrow.
I've already warned you about Big Pharma's push to get the date rape drug GHB approved for pain... and now, researchers claim you can party your blues away with a hardcore street med used on the "rave" scene.
In fact, they say the drug -- ketamine, a horse tranquilizer also known as Special K -- can stop depression almost instantly, and reverse severe and even suicidal mood swings.
The researchers gave the drug to 18 severely depressed bipolar patients who had already tried -- and failed on -- an average of seven drugs. Within 40 minutes, 71 percent of them were on a bliss-filled trip that lasted up to three days, according to the study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Another new study on rats published in Science found that Special K improved the rodents' moods... although I'm not quite sure how you can tell a depressed rat from a happy one with any great degree of certainty.
But don't sign up for this yet... because there's a reason this addictive drug is so big on the party scene: It delivers a high that users say is on par with a PCP or LSD experience.
And while the researchers behind the new study claimed side effects were limited to headaches, loopiness and a complete disconnection from reality, a recent study from Hong Kong shows what ketamine will REALLY do to you.
Up to 60 percent of the youths taking this med as a party drug ended up depressed and battling poor memory and concentration problems. Long-term users also suffered liver and kidney problems and incontinence, according to the study.
Not exactly promising now, is it?
On the other hand, maybe that's how kids like to "rave" these days -- in adult diapers, weeping in the corner.
It's their party.
But if you're suffering from depression, do yourself a favor and find a different scene.
Rave on,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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