Legal Drug Pushers and Their Victims

I don't like watching those TV commercials for various prescription drugs. They seem to be pushing many of those drugs on people who don't even need them. At the same time, many people are abusing pharmaceutical medications. Have America's pharmaceutical companies become pushers of legal drugs?

I have heard reports that some healthy young people, are taking Viagra or Cialis, as a recreational drug in order to enhance their performance and pleasure. I have also heard that many people are taking these medications in order to counter the sexual side effects of cocaine or other illegal drugs. Cocaine increases a mans libido, but his body is unable to perform while under the influence without some outside help. They sell Viagra and Cialis on the black market and in night clubs to customers who use it recreationally or in combination with illicit drugs.

Pharmaceutical medications have replaced illegal drugs for many addicts, and the drug companies are happy to have their business. I often hear the media touting the fact that deaths from illicit drugs has dropped to 17,000, but they rarely mention that an additional 20,000 people also die annually from abusing legal prescription medications.

Heath Ledger,~~Anna Nichole Smith and~~ her son all died of overdoses legal drug cocktails. Recently I heard a statistic that said 40% of Americans are currently taking some kind of medication. I wonder how much of that is actually necessary.

I fear that many of our lawmakers in Congress are on some type of legal medications such as Prozac, Zoloft, Xanax, Ambien, Valium, Ritalin, etc. Although these medications can be legally prescribed; don't you think that they can affect a lawmakers judgment? Whenever I see Nancy Pelosi on TV, it looks like she is on some type of psychotropic medication. She has facial twitches and it appears that she has a dry mouth. Wouldn't it be prudent to ban lawmakers that have psychological issues that require medication? There is much hysteria about the widespread use of steroids in sports. If an athlete uses performance enhancing drugs, the worst result is that he is cheating & lowering the integrity of that sport. If our highest public servants are not held to the same standards, the mistakes that could be made while they are under the influence of drugs may be much more far-reaching than altering the result of an athletic contest. Some medications warn the user not drive or operate heavy machinery. Shouldn't psychotropic medications warn users not to make decisions affecting national security while under the influence these drugs? I propose random mandatory drug testing of all members of Congress, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, & up to & including the President. If a government official is taking a prescription drug for depression, for example, maybe (s)he shouldn't have all that power & responsibility if (s)he is so depressed.

I do not like the relationship between the government and the pharmaceutical companies. This has led to the overuse and abuse of prescription medication. First, they reversed the law that banned drug advertisements. Then they passed the Medicare Prescription drug program. As a result, 40% of Americans are now on some sort of medication and 20,000 Americans die annually from prescription drug overdose. Now they are pushing for universal health care. If that happens, these problems will only get worse because of the availability of free medication for everyone.