America Menaced by Drugs!

Prescription drugs, that is.

Check out this article by Denis Leary — “America’s Gone Nuts On Prescription Drugs.” It’s humorously written, but he makes some valid points. Scary points.

What in the fuck have we turned into? He opens his article with:

“If you're sitting at the blackjack table wearing an adult diaper with a face the size of Elvis's ass and a four-hour erection, maybe it's time to cut down on the pills.”

I can’t believe these ridiculous “Ask Your Doctor About…” TV commercials have actually brainwashed millions of people. People actually watch those ads, with all the dire warnings about scary side effects, and then think “Cool. I’m gonna ask my doctor about that.”

I like what he said about side effects:

“Nausea, anal leakage, dysplasia, and temporary blindness are not just great name choices for late 80's heavy metal bands — they are but a few of the little prices Americans are willing to pay each time they swallow a magic pill designed to help them lose weight, gain confidence, stop shaking or become the proud owners of medically-induced erections.”

There was an Opus cartoon a few years ago that was all about taking one drug, then taking another drug to get rid of the side effects of the first drug, then taking a third drug to squelch the side effects of the second drug, then you need a fourth drug to counteract…

Now obviously there’s been some incredible medical research that’s helped millions of people. But if you have a serious illness, a late-night TV commercial is probably not offering the help you need.

I won’t pretend to know what it’s like to be clinically depressed, but I think I’d rather stay depressed than be stuck with a bunch of permanent uncontrollable involuntary movements. Or as Denis Leary puts it:

“How depressed do you have to be when in order to feel better, you're walking around like a naked grape with a head full of bells and a sudden desire to punch a stranger in the throat?”

And as one of the commenters at the end of this article points out, these hideous side effects are possible if you take just that one drug. If somebody is already on certain medications and/or has gotten sucked in by several of those “Ask Your Doctor About…” commercials, what sort of mutational unthinkable side effects…

Don’t even go there.

The Wonders of Modern Medicine

What ever did people do back in those dark ages before the pharmaceutical industry saved us?

Now, thank God, there's a cure for everything.

cross-posted at Bring It On!