Safe To Whom?

The notion of a drug being simply "safe" or "effective" is entirely fallacious. There are degrees of safety and degrees of effectiveness. One major drawback of monopolistic drug regulation among many is that only one version of "safe" and "effective" can exist. Life is not so simple. Most decisions we make involve evaluating the benefit of an action weighed against the risk, whether it be crossing the street, working in a factory, playing a sport, or investing in the market. Why should the use of medications be any different?

An article in the USA Today points to people who are no longer allowed to make this choice as a result of the recent recall of the painkiller Vioxx.

Lori Rubinstein is stating that she would take Vioxx despite the increased risk of heart attack and stroke. She knows the risks and perceives the benefits of pain relief to be greater by her own lights.

There are millions of people out there who similarly are deprived of the unique, subjective choice of weighing the risks and benefits of drugs. Though Vioxx was pulled voluntarily by Merck, the the US government bans drugs outright which do not meet its single standard of "safe". This is the "Not Seen" side of pharmaceutical regulation, the white collar Drug War of our time. How many millions suffer from pain daily because medications are deemed simply "unsafe"? How many millions are prevented from obtaining relief and repose as they try to live a tolerable existence against illness? How many die each year waiting for the FDA to declare a drug "effective" by its standards?

The choice to intake a chemical in one's body is as fundamental as the ability to express our views in public, the power to form voluntary relationships with others on our own terms, and the choice of which god, if any, to worship. Taking away this choice robs us of our autonomy to pursue our own personal paths in life. It demeans our very existence by depriving us of the dignity to make decisions for ourselves and take reponsibility for the consequences that follow. It is paternalism of the highest degree.