Currently viewing the category: "pharmaceuticals"

Flesh Eating Cocaine is Here!

By On · Add Comment · In Adderall, AIDS, cocaine, drug dealers, HIV, junkies, levamisole, Los Angeles, New York City, pharmaceuticals, Ritalin, rotted flesh, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

Listen up, cokeheads–we know when you said you’d give your left ear for another bump you didn’t mean it literally!  But junkies in New York and Los Angeles are doing just that: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports that 82% of street cocaine is laced with the veterinary drug levamisole, which is used to deworm cattle, pigs, sheep…and now junkies.

Levamisole can can also rot the skin off noses, ears and cheeks, doctors says.  Multiple cases of rotted flesh have already been reported.  Eeeeww….

Dealers usually cut the coke with baking soda, but may have turned to the veterinary drug as a way to extend the coke high (studies in rats suggest the drug acts on the same brain receptors as cocaine).  More high, more sales.  But bad for the health: Reports of rotted flesh in the left and right coast’s two biggest cities abound.  Anything for another line…here take my nose.  One doctor reported seeing a man whose entire body was black with dying flesh.

Some users seem to be immune, but others no such luck.  some doctors are comparing the flesh eating effects, and the suppression of white blood cell formation eerily similar to AIDS (Hmmm, seems like somebody has said drugs/AIDS in the same breath before). 

“It’s a little bit like having HIV,” said Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist with Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute in an ABC article. “About 10 percent of those patients will die from severe infections. They may be walking around like a time bomb.”

Dr. Craft believes the problem must be nationwide and we just aren’t seeing the full ramifications yet.

The good news: Once levamisole is cleared from the body, the wounds do heal, leaving behind a shiny scar.  Phew.  And on to another day. 

Just reminds me of one thing: Whether street powder or pharmaceutical crank (think Ritalin, Adderall), drug dealers don’t give F&*# about their customers.  Freakin’ weird.

Pissy Fishes

By On · Add Comment · In drinking water, drugs, fish, health, medication, pharmaceuticals, urine, wastewater

Does poor health result from too little medication in the bloodstream? Think about this, as it’s a philosophical question. You would think that this notion is the common wisdom by the way medications are consumed in this country, but our over-medicated culture is leading to some creepy consequences. Check out this tripper.

Scientists have found that fish caught near wastewater plants in five major U.S. cities contain residues of pharmaceuticals including cholesterol lowering drugs, antihistamines, high blood pressure medication, and antidepressants. This shouldn’t be any surprise to my regular readers as I reported on this nasty little phenomenon last year.

And from where are the fish picking up these pharma-residues? Why from human urine, that’s where. Gross, right? Americans consume so much medication that we are contaminating the oceans where we dump our wastes. And the organisms which habitate these ecosystems are bearing some of the brunt of our faulty (and foul) paradigm.

It is not lost on me that the drugs they found in fish mirror the drugs most commonly pushed on the American people. And if that isn’t enough to make your stomach turn, the EPA reports that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals have been found in our drinking water too.
So what do you think? Is your health so dependent on pharmaceutical drugs that you keep a constant flow of meds passing through your bloodsrtream at all times? Somebody’s is–just ask the fishes.

Pharmaceutical Era’s Most Lasting Impact

By On · Add Comment · In anti-convulsants, antibiotics, drinking water, IMS Health, mood stabilizers, over-the-counter, pain medications, Pharmaceutical Age, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, sex hormones

The 20th century could definitely be called the Pharmaceutical Age; it was teeming with breakthroughs–vaccines, life-saving surgical procedures…Viagra! Advancement seemed to have no bounds. Heart disease? Take this. High blood pressure? Take that. Sniffle? Have an antibiotic. There’s a pill for every ill.

Then came the 21st century and pharmaceutical innovation leapt into new territory. Normal physiology acting up?–have a statin. How about an H2 blocker? Or tranquilizer? We do physiology better than the human body does. Yes, progress.

Then, of course, came performance enhancing drugs–steroids for athletes, steroids for cattle, Ritalin for medical students. Woohoo! Top of the world, Ma!

According to IMS Health, U.S. prescriptions have risen 12% to 3.7 billion over the last five years. 3.7 billion? With prescription drug use skyrocketing, is it any wonder that an AP investigation this week found a vast array of pharmaceutical drugs contaminating the drinking water of 24 major metropolitan areas? It isn’t to me. Check it out: 41 million Americans are drinking water laced with antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, as well as a load of over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. And here’s the best part of it all: The drugs are remnants of non-metabolized pharmaceuticals passed through the urine of our over-medicated countrymen. Pretty gross, eh?

Now to be fair, the concentrations of said drugs are minuscule; however, many experts admit that we do not fully know the health implications of the widespread contamination yet. And to make matters worse, evidence shows that chlorine, a commonly added chemical used to treat water, can react with many pharmaceuticals making them more toxic.

Here’s what stands out the most for me regarding this frightening story. We have become a society so obsessed with quick fixes, especially pharmaceutical drug treatments that I can’t imagine any other scenario than this one happening. Duh! Medications aren’t fully absorbed by the body (thank goodness!) and so they’ve got to go somewhere. We’re taking pharmaceutical drugs by the boatloads–their concentrations in our water supply only reflect our consumption habits. That should speak loudly about what we’re doing to ourselves. Truth is, if you’re a medication junkie, this story probably doesn’t phase you–that would seem rather contradictory. But if you’re not, and you actually care about what goes into your body, then this story has got to creep you out a little; it sure did me.

Anyway, on the lighter side: The report did list some drug concentrations of various city water supplies, and I couldn’t help but see the comedy in it all. Check it out and chuckle:

  • New York, the city that never sleeps–tranquilizers
  • Philly, home of the cheesesteak–cholesterol drugs
  • L.A., where narcissism & cocaine share the spotlight–anti anxiety drugs
  • San Francisco, no explanation necessary–sex hormones

I guess our drinking water says a lot about our culture.

More Drug Deaths

By On · Add Comment · In acupuncture, alternative therapies, chiropractic, drugs, exercise, health, pain, pain killers, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, yoga

When we think of drug related deaths, don’t we all assume it’s heroin, barbiturates, or even alcohol that is involved? What if I told you that the fastest growing drug killer in our medicine cabinets today are painkillers – would you believe me? Well you’d better. A recent U.S. study has found that deaths or injuries related to drug treatments have more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 in the United States, with painkillers and immune-system boosters accounting for most.

Ouch. This further hurts a medical industry that increasingly relies on pharmaceutical treatments for every ailment, no matter how minor. Shame that it has even gotten so far as to make non-medical conditions “easily treatable” with drugs (hear my Podcast Episode 3 on lifestyle drugs to get a glimpse of this travesty). When there is a drug for every situation – forget illness, it’s gone way beyond that – then expect death and disability to rise.

The biggest shame is that there are so many “alternative” solutions for pain – like chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, exercise, yoga – yet so many people refuse to try them or give them an honest chance. Making matters worse, far too many medical doctors, and the medical institution as a whole, are slow to accept these alternative therapies as a part of mainstream care. And they certainly aren’t making a habit of referring their patients to these other useful and effective therapies.

Is it fear? Is it a desire to remain the cultural authority on all things health that leads to this sort of negligence? I think it’s both, with a little bit of arrogance tossed in. The general consensus regarding alternative therapies among medical practitioners is, “There is no proof – no scientific evidence.” This concept is such malarkey that it’s almost painful (excuse the pun) to bear. Take chiropractic for example. There is plenty of research on its effectiveness, but the doors need to be opened for serious dialogue to occur between the professions. Furthermore, chiropractic has been helping people remove pain and maintain health for over one hundred years, and has survived attempts to bury it, discredit it, and even outlaw it. How would this be so if scores of people were not being helped by it? Like, get with it, man. When are you going to accept chiropractic’s validity? When are you going to think first of your patients and steer them toward a non-drug option?

The bottom line is this: Keep prescribing drugs like there is no tomorrow, and see death rates soar. It won’t last forever because the public is getting smarter and more savvy (like my readers). Thanks to the Internet, information is easily shared and the position of physician as absolute authority is being severely challenged. Doctors are guides; they are teachers. Teach the truth and people will listen. There is no truth in the excessive manipulation of body chemistry to maintain health. You heard it hear first, so pass the word. And be diligent and cautious when seeking treatment. What you don’t know can kill you.

A Drug for Every Lifestyle

By On · Add Comment · In birth defects, cancer, drugs, lifestyle drugs, male pattern baldness, pharmaceuticals, propecia, Viagra, weight loss drugs

This month on the Dr. Nick Show, I talk at length about lifestyle drugs. Lifestyle drugs are devised to treat conditions that fall outside the medical realm of illness. Take male pattern baldness for instance – medical illness or life circumstance? Oh well, we have drugs to treat it either way. Should insurance companies (read: insurance premium holders/consumers/you and me) have to pay for it?

Another way to define lifestyle drugs is: medicines that treat conditions caused by lifestyle choices. So, for instance, there are some groovy weight-loss drugs on the market right now. Cool. Should you rely on them solely? Hmmm. Or, should you pound the treadmill, pound the weights, and cut the calories? I mean, why should one do all that hard work when there’s this cool little pill? I dunno, why?

Well if you listen to the latest episode of the Dr. Nick Show, you’ll get all the details on lifestyle drugs, and you’ll be able to make a decision on your own. And no matter what, you’ll see how these drugs are defining the direction our culture is moving with regard to pharmaceutical science.

It’s no problem – it simply is what it is. However, just know that every substances comes with an added risk. And there just ain’t an easy answer – like a pill – that can fix all of our problems. The piper always gets paid in one way or another, ya know.
Anyway, lifestyle drugs are here to stay. It’s big business. Check out these booming numbers – BusinessWeek calls them blockbusters (with sales of $1 billion or more a year). Drugs to help people wake and sleep as they please are particularly popular. And, of course, let’s not forget the drugs that help men have better erections.
No, no Campos – that’s help men who can’t have erections.
Uh, no…it’s not. Lot’s of young, healthy guys are partying on Viagra – Viagra and methamphetamine, that is. Or ecstasy. Or coke. Swear. Check it out . But don’t forget the risks gents. There’s always risks. For instance, the baldness drug propecia can cause birth defects if pregnant women inhale particles of broken pills (dosages are taken in half pills, so consumers must break them in half – brilliant, right?) or handle whole pills. And some cancer concerns exist with propecia too (scroll down to possible health concerns).
So, like I said, the lifestyle drugs are here to stay. Risk aside, the market is far too lucrative for pharmaceutical companies to slow down development. No to worry, just know the risks and be careful. Avoiding lifestyle drugs, in my opinion is always best, but, if ya gotta do ’em, then do ’em intelligently – which is, for a very short period of time.
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