Monday, May 3, 2010

A Different view

This article focuses on the benefit of drugs now and in the future for memory. They feel that this technology is great for the advancement of our way of thinking. Ritalin is brought right up from the beginning. Ritalin in ADHD and normal patients makes the mind more able to subdue learning and concentration. The article implies that these drugs are not bad at all for anyone and can actually help people succeed, when most the time they would fail. They then brought up that it also helps with staying awake and being aware even when one is tired before taking this drug. They are excited about the future of these drugs and can't wait for the future of memory. I feel this article is very optimistic about the future. From the sound of the essay, these drug can really do no wrong but help people. This is a front that is totally disproportionated because these drugs are of high abuse and the side effects can actually hurt people. I feel that these drugs are good in a sense but it is not for everyone.


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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Club Drug Was Once a Pharmaceutical

This is an article that examines how a drug that has become popular in today's underground drug culture was originally manufactured by a major german pharmaceutical company. MDMA or methylenedioxymethamphetamine is the most prominent active ingredient in the club drug Ecstasy. MDMA was first synthesized and patented by Merck in 1912. It was originally intended as an appetite suppressant. It was later used in the synthesis of some other pharmaceuticals. One can easily see how some pharmaceuticals that are intended to have a positive effect, like MDMA, or opiate painkillers. But it is seen throughout history that these advances were taken to far and eventually became an issue and not a solution. There has always been a drive for humans to seek a sort of escape through mind-altering substances that dates back to the earliest recordings of history. For example, in China it was written in some of the earliest medical works that Opium and other opiates were good for increasing stamina, subduing pain and increasing male virility. But to go along with the need to escape , there has always been the evil behind the smiling face of mind-altering drugs. addiction and abuse is surely followed by the introduction of drugs like these but they are still refined and distributed by pharmaceutical companies every day. This lack of concern about the unintended aspects of these substances demonstrates how these companies are not particularly bothered by the potential destruction of the human condition.

Link to Article

Our Conclusion

From the research that we have done, the conclusion that we have drawn is that there has been and will continue to be major issues with the role of pharmaceuticals in human enhancement. Not only are there historical issues associated with the power of these drugs, and there are legal issues still to this day. Should we pursue a world in which drugs can be used to control people or make them afraid of the future and potentially miss out on possible medical breakthroughs for people. To go along with this there is a certain control that the producers of pharmaceutical have over doctors that will certainly sway the way that medication is prescribed so there is certainly a chance that patients are forced into something potentially dangerous or unnecessary. Also, historically how these drugs have been pursued and used on enemy and on unknowing military troops, as seen in the video. Also, that the legal code of the United States, has lead to protections of power to use drugs on unwilling people but progression should not stop there. Mind controlling drugs can limit people’s freedoms and we need to be current with our laws about these drugs. It cannot be stated that there will ever be a stop to the use of mind-altering drugs, but perhaps more control should be placed on the influence of pharmaceutical companies and their efforts to push their specific drugs. Also there should certainly be more control over the “accidental” leaks of certain drugs into water systems. This is something that may be unintentional but is certainly hazardous to humanities ability to control itself. The idea that drug companies are able to adulterate the water that the masses consume is derailing human rights struggles. The continued use and abuse of mind altering drugs has been misused in the past and now it is our part to help control the use of these dehumanizing substances that limit our normal human nature.


Friday, April 30, 2010

Doctor's Relationships with Pharmaceutical Companies

After reading this article I was struck by how prevalent of a force the pharmaceutical companies are in the prescribing of their own drugs. Not only do most companies have incredibly expensive advertising campaigns for their products but they also are actively involved in pushing their drugs in doctor's practices. Most drug companies have a huge number of representatives going into doctor's offices and offer promotional deals with the doctors to be biased in their prescription writing. This is incredibly dangerous. There are many instances where the drugs that physicians are prescribing are based on the incentives that the companies offer instead of the true needs of their patients. Another issue that is influencing this process is the fact that many people know this is going on but seem not to be bothered by the fact that this is going on because they are so influenced by the commercials and ad campaigns. To go along with this there is a large amount of trust that patients have with their doctors so they will blindly accept that what their doctors are prescribing is going to be the right thing, but if the doctors are being hustled by these major companies there is no way to know that a patient is receiving the right treatment.


Link to Article

Drugs in the Drinking Water

In November of 1998 there was a study done of german ground water to discover contaminants. it was discovered that there were, among other substances, pharmaceuticals that were prescribed as antiseizure medications, analgesics, and cholesterol regulators. after this study occurred there has been an ongoing investigation all over the world to discover contaminated water sources and in many major cities this has been a major issue. It is incredibly unsafe to have these unprescribed medications in the water that the every one is exposed to in some way or another. Not only is there a possibility for highly dangerous reactions with medications that someone may be on but it is a violation of the rights of self governance that people enjoy. It is one's right to decide whether or not one should be taking any kind of pharmaceutical but to be forced into taking it whether accidental or not is a violation of human rights. If it is so easy to have drugs, like those discussed in the article, in drinking water what is stopping the companies or governments from putting antidepressants or pain killers in the water supply. This idea that the adulteration of water supplies with the drugs is dangerous and needs to come to a end in order to preserve the integrity of humanity.


Link to Article

pharmaceutical and freedom

This article by Liz Else goes into todays mind control devices and drugs and how it effects our freedom. She feel that these technologies, tough they can be helpful, need strict guidelines to ensure peoples rights are followed. She informed that there are new drugs that are out there that help with remembering and forgetting instances. She guided that these drugs are very likely to be abused for self incrimination. That happened in the supreme court case Sells v. Missouri where Sell was being forced to self incriminate by use of psychotic medication. Sells won the case but these cases are bound to plentiful in the next coming years. She then talks about technology in Japan that makes sound waves only go on certain frequencies that one can only hear if standing in front of it. She warns us that this can be used as mind control because you get a crisp sound in your head like little voices. This can make someone feel crazy without them even knowing about it because people can mess with these devices. Overall she is cautious about the coming future and hope that our laws can keep up with the technology.


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A Film about Testing Mind Altering Drugs on Soldiers

This is a film from the British Government about the testing of LSD as a potential chemical weapon. This fits quite well into the idea that many pharmaceuticals, as LSD was created initially as a pharmaceutical, can be used as a controlling power against humans.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-rWnQphPdQ&feature=related