Americans Deluded In A
Pharmaceutical Gulag of Fantasy
By: Christopher C. Barr - Naturally Speaking February 9, 2008
*Truth a Stranger Due to Fiction*
The sudden death of a young man with everything going for him is certainly a
tragedy. When such a one is a very public figure even more attention is drawn to
such a tragedy.
Legendary octogenarian broadcaster Paul Harvey cited the death of actor Heath
Ledger as a heightened tragedy because he was “healthy” and “happy”.
Ledger was on 6 different prescription medications. That is healthy?
Those prescriptions included 2 different antidepressants plus sleeping
medications. That is happy?
America is a brave new world where the meanings of words are without meaning in
the realm of fantasy as Americans are drawn more to the fantasy lands of movies
and Disney as escapes from real meaning in life.
When video (the life blood of Hollywood) turned up of Heath Ledger at some event
with an appearance of drug use there was pressure exerted by the Hollywood
community to protect its own (image that is) convincing its own community not to
air that video.
This tragedy could be a moving picture to awaken audiences to even greater and
too, too common American tragedy. However, that would require a dramatic turn
from fantasy to reality in more ways than one.
*Real life medical drama * The accepted and approved use of drugs combined with
common medical practice is one of the leading causes of death in America.
According to the book ‘Death by Modern Medicine’ written by Dr. Carolyn Dean,
M.D. this is the leading cause.
The sudden death of a young man in the peak of life at the peak of his career
immediately brought talk of suicide with drugs or accidental overdose from wild
drug usage. Yet purportedly it is the accepted and approved use of common drugs
that resulted in this death.
This real life tragedy is all too common in real life. It is also all too
readily ignored, glossed over, or worse, covered up.
*BIG MEDIA Part of BIG GLO$$ Over*
The week following the death of Heath Ledger there were small stories about big
problems and big dollar$ regarding Zyprexa – one of the many multi-billion
dollar drugs among the Eli Lilly stable of highly profitable drugs.
One company spokeswoman said, “the discussions around those are confidential”.
Another corporate spokeswoman added, “we have no intention of sharing those
discussions with the news media”.
The BIG PHARMA Eli Lilly is reportedly in secret negotiations with BIG
GOVERNMENT (both federal and state) to pay (off?) government agencies for damage
to consumers. How would that benefit damaged consumers?
Yet another example of that unholy trinity of BIG government, BIG pharma and BIG
media that acts together as one for their own vested interests decidedly not in
the very best interests of you and of yours.
The Zyprexa problem revolves around more than one issue. One significant issue
is that the drug dramatically increases diabetic incidence.
As recently as 1999 Eli Lilly was the world’s leading provider of insulin
products. They were the first to introduce insulin into the marketplace more
than 80 years ago.
What a coincidence that one multi-billion dollar drug leads to sales of another
multi-billion dollar drug made by the same company.
*Bu$ine$$ As U$ual*
This week on the 7th day of this month is the 4th anniversary of the sudden
death of a young woman with everything going for her. Though not a public figure
at all the death of Traci Johnson is at least as much a tragedy as the recently
passed, famed actor.
Tragically, little if any attention has been placed on the virtually anonymous
Traci Johnson who was indeed healthy and happy. In fact, it is specifically
being healthy and happy that brought this Indiana Bible College student
volunteer who was a leader of her church youth group to her most untimely death.
Teenager Traci Johnson died during the final “safety trial” of a new drug
seeking FDA market approval. Testing of the drug on healthy and happy
individuals was required before it could be approved for those sickly and
unhappy individuals targeted for its use.
Drug company officials immediately noted that they did not believe the drug was
related to the young woman's death. The hastiness of the company statement did
not sit well with family and friends as well as with others.
“All the pathological reports, the toxicity reports, those things don't come
back for weeks. And I am shocked that they have taken such a deliberate defense
to distance themselves from any responsibility," said Joel Barnaby, pastor of
the church where Traci Johnson served as a youth leader for several years.
“I am troubled to the core of my spirit that Eli Lilly has taken such a
defensive posture and been so quick to deny any responsibility," Barnaby said.
*Weaving a tangled web*
The pharmaceutical company spokesman said the drug being studied was “a
treatment for stress, urinary incontinence and depression”.
The final item the spokesman mentioned -- depression -- was actually the primary
purpose for the drug study though it was mentioned last. That at least appears
deceptive. Factually speaking the study was for a planned replacement for that
company's drug for which their patent was running out. This new drug was
projected to take the place of the wildly profitable psychotropic drug Prozac.
The safety trial was the last step before marketing the drug this year with
annual sales then projected – and since met – in the amount of billions of
dollars.
The company assured stockholders that this death would not delay release of the
drug.
How could they know that?
*A Half-Truth*
The company spokesman immediately noted that Traci Johnson's death "took place
while she was taking sugar pills". That makes it sound like her death had
nothing to do with the drug as perhaps a part of the placebo group in the study.
The company spokesman did not reveal the whole truth. One purpose of the drug
trial was to test reactions when the drug is stopped. Traci Johnson was given
six times the normal dosage of the drug and then quickly weaned off that
exceedingly high level over only four days.
On the third day off the overdose level of the drug, Traci Johnson, a previously
happy Bible college student, hung herself leaving no note. This was right within
the period of time that reactions are most expected. Traci "was taking sugar
pills" at that time to check for withdrawal reactions. Is hanging oneself
without a suicide note or even so much as a mention a normal occurrence?
The company spokesman told a half-truth, and half of a truth is a whole lie.
Turning a blind eye?
Slighly more than six months later the FDA announced that the drug, named
Cymbalta, could not be linked to the suicide of Traci Johnson and granted
approval to the drug for immediate marketing.
The FDA declined (or refused) to release written documentation of its
investigation.
Cymbalta is yet another of the multi-billion dollar drugs in the Eli Lilly
stable highly profitable drugs. It is of the antidepressant drug class of which
Heath Ledger was taking not just one but two varieties.
SINbalta may be a more appropriate name for that variety of this drug.
WElie Really may be a more appropriate name for the company grimly reaping blood
money at the expense – both financially and otherwise – of countless numbers of
untold people.
The giant New York Times (NYT) is credited with breaking the news on teenaged
suicide links to antidepressants even though their story came out several days
after this column wrote on the same matter. However, there was no mention of the
Traci Johnson portion of the story in the NYT piece.
Sometime later the NYT even lauded Eli Lilly for forthrightness regarding study
details on antidepressant clinical trials. Yet Traci Johnson and others are not
included in those “details”.
It bears repeating over and over and over again that the unholy trinity of BIG
Government, BIG Pharma and BIG Media continue to act together as one for their
own vested interests without regard for the very best interests of you and
yours.
Mourn, America, for Traci Johnson, and for the vast majority of Americans
deluded in a pharmaceutical gulag of phantasy rather than being firmly based in
reality.
Christopher C. Barr writes Naturally Speaking from Arkansas: The Natural State …
naturally! You may write him at P. O. Box 1147, Pocahontas, Arkansas 72455 or by
e-mail at servantofYHVH@hotmail.com