In my post Treatment vs Recreation I looked at how the pharmaceutical industry has come to the rescue of the middle class by making a whole host of drugs that substitute for the illegal variety. I'd like to take another look at the subject Tim Wu brought up in his Slate article. The Class War aspect. Let me quote from Tim:
...the current program of drug legalization in the United States is closely and explicitly tied to the strange economics of the U.S. health-care industry. The consequence is that how people get their dopamine or other brain chemicals is ever more explicitly, like the rest of medicine, tied to questions of class.
Antidepressants and anxiety treatments aren't cheap: A fancy drug like Wellbutrin can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,400 a year. These drugs also require access to a sympathetic doctor who will issue a prescription. That's why, generally speaking, the new legalization program is for better-off Americans. As the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reports, rich people tend to abuse prescription drugs, while poorer Americans tend to self-medicate with old-fashioned illegal drugs or just get drunk.
So there you have it. The well off get "treatment" the poor get jail.
I don't see how in good conscience we can keep doing what we are doing. In fact I pointed it out in a number of articles such as Dr. John Beresford Has Passed where I look at the Nazi connection to the Drug War and How To Put an End to Drug Users where I make that connection even more explicit with a review of Drug Warriors and Their Prey by R.L. Miller. I show exactly how conscience has been buried. We prefer to look the other way and make all kinds of excuses rather than looking at exactly what we are doing. If we faced it, we would have to see ourselves as kinder and gentler Nazis. We don't do mass murder. We do mass incarceration. Not exactly a step up we should be proud of. What exactly is the difference between a war on Jews and a war on the poor? Beats the hell out of me.
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Comments
so, if "legal" drugs cost $1200-2400 a year, what do "illegal" drugs cost? in my ignorance of the street prices i automatically assumed that they were relatively the same. so what's the bitch? is it that the well off (read those with jobs and health insurance) get their drugs paid for? sounds to me like the only class war is the one where people complain that "rich" are getting their drugs as a job benefit.
Sean Sorrentino · October 17, 2007 07:20 AM
Pot costs about 1/2 as much (maybe 1/4) as legal drugs.
If they weren't illegal the cost would be 1/10th to 1/100th.
That would reduce significantly the cost of treatment for people with "mood disorders".
The medical cartel wouldn't like that. Not to mention the criminal cartels.
According to my prescription supplier, a month of generic Wellbutrin (bupropion) is approx $12.00. How does that compare to street drugs?
Heffalump · October 17, 2007 09:14 AM
This entire issue gets complicated by our divisive politics. Most conservatives sputter like liberals with BDS when their ferocity for drug prohibition is characterized as the face of tyranny. Liberal pot smokers agree, but they will countenance any persecution of tobacco smokers. I see coffee is on the horizon--and many of my neighbors in my native bible belt would truly love to have another go at alcohol prohibition.
I've lived in six location throughout the region, each of which claimed to be the Buckle of the Bible Belt--it's best not to attack this faction frivolously.
Brett · October 17, 2007 09:41 AM
Heffalump,
I am not aware of the Wellbutrin situation. Does the price include Drs. visits? That is part of the cost.
Brett,
All I can do is tell the truth as I see it. If the Bible Belt is OK with mood alteration drugs that are prescribed then they should be OK with the currently illegal drugs. They fill the same receptors. Rationally.
I understand rationality does not have much to do with our current situation.
BTW did you look at the tobacco link in "Treatment vs Recreation"? It seems to help schizophrenics.
Believe me, M. Simon, individual practice does not coincide with the law. For many generations, we stumbled to the polls and voted dry, along with our bootleggers. Then there is Hillbilly Heroin and Mountain Meth.
Too many voters are the unthoughtful in search of a categorical imperative.
Brett · October 17, 2007 10:31 AM
$12/month cash retail for generic bupropion? That sounds a bit low. As a "patient pay" co-pay, I'd believe it.
FWIW, bupropion is a derivative of diethylpropion, an old diet pill that would light you up like a freaking Christmas tree.
Mad Insomniac · October 17, 2007 11:28 AM
Twelve dollars is the total for a month. I would only pay $1.45 co-pay. The doctor visit is about $60.00 total (co-pay is $15.00) and you need one every 6 months to keep the prescription renewed.
Heffalump · October 17, 2007 11:48 AM
Heffalump,
Part of the situation is that Drs. will not prescribe to people they think are gaming them. The DEA controls the practice of psychological medicine - among Drs. any way.
Unavailable - for a given individual - is an infinite price. Even illegal drug dealers can come in below that.
by R.L. Miller. I show exactly how conscience has been buried. We prefer to look the other way and make all kinds of excuses rather than looking at exactly what we are doing. If we faced it, we would have to see ourselves as kinder and gentler Nazis. We don't do mass murder. We do mass incarceration. Not exactly a step up we should be proud of. What exactly is the difference between a war on Jews and a war on the poor? Beats the hell out of me.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
so, if "legal" drugs cost $1200-2400 a year, what do "illegal" drugs cost? in my ignorance of the street prices i automatically assumed that they were relatively the same. so what's the bitch? is it that the well off (read those with jobs and health insurance) get their drugs paid for? sounds to me like the only class war is the one where people complain that "rich" are getting their drugs as a job benefit.