I was just thinking about the movie Drugstore Cowboy the other day. It’s one of my favorites, and I think it was a little ahead of its time. It was made in 1989, and while pharmacy robberies have been going on since the first pharmacy opened its doors, they probably weren’t as commonplace as they are these days. After all, there are even more drugs to choose from in 2008.
When I was a reporter for a local newspaper in Northern Virginia, I was of course on the mailing list for all of the police press releases. Pharmacy robberies were among the most common crimes committed in the area. I remember one thief even dressed up as Spiderman to steal Oxycontin from a CVS. In fact, if one does a Google search of “oxycontin robberies,” over 100,000 results pop up.
In any event, “Drugstore Cowboy” did an excellent job of portraying the subculture of prescription drug addicts, and it’s interesting to see that not much has changed since 1989.
So, just to keep up with my occasional updates on FDA drug approvals, I feel compelled to point out that May was a bumper month for new drugs - 166 approvals in total!
The list is way too long to go over in detail, but, wow. 166 new approvals in one month? If that is the norm (which, judging by the approvals listed out for the last few months, it seems to be), that’s almost 2,000 new drug approvals a year. Seems like a lot, doesn’t it?
On the one hand, I suppose we should be thankful that the FDA is there to review all of these drugs for potential safety hazards… but the sheer number of drugs going through the system certainly explains why the screening process is imperfect, and why some drugs slip through the FDA cracks, so to speak. So what is the solution to this? Do we cut down on the number of drugs seeking approval? Do we give the FDA more manpower and more money?
Anyone who is curious about the process for drug approval can learn more here.
Dr. Phil Astin, 52, is facing a total of 175 charges linked to the distribution of prescription drugs to more than 17 patients. Astin was doctor to pro wrestler Chris Benoit. Last year, Benoit killed his wife and child and then took his own life - a tragedy that shocked those who knew the wrestler.
Although no one really knows what caused Benoit to kill his family and commit suicide, there are those who theorize that his brain was addled by the bevy of prescription drugs he was taking. Astin has been accused of prescribing anabolic steroids to the wrestler.
Prior to these most recent charges, Astin had already been indicted a year ago on seven counts of over-prescribing to two different people.
Clearly, there is no shortage of doctors who are willing to bend the law and prescribe drugs to patients who want them. My guess is that for many doctors, it simply boils down to finances - if you’ve got the cash to pay, then the medicine cabinet is at your disposal. And of course, that is why celebrities have easy access to prescription meds. But I always wonder, how does one go about asking their doctor for these drugs? Do you just waltz in on the first appointment and say, “Hey doc, I’m dying for some Vicodin, can you hook me up?” And what is the motivation for doctors that aren’t getting paid to write prescriptions? Do they just want to shut patients up, take their consultation appointment fee, and get them out of their office?
