The Hydroxychloroquine Controversy Is a Reminder That Prescription Laws Are a Government Racket

Posted by freedomforall 3 years, 10 months ago to Government
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"The FDA would say that, technically, people are allowed to use HCQ. It’s just not government approved for anything other than malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. And although doctors may, and do, prescribe it for “off-label” treatments, a prescription—a government-mandated document that controls public access—is still required.

What does it matter, beyond the legal consequences, whether a prescription is written for HCQ or not? In Trump’s case, the president merely requested HCQ from his doctor. It wasn’t even recommended to him. Suppose no prescription were required and HCQ were over the counter. Might Trump or anyone else consult their physician or a pharmacist anyway?

All the prescription law can do is potentially weaken the doctor-patient relationship.

As the late Dr. Thomas Szasz observed in his book Our Right to Drugs, a “colossal charade” between patients, doctors, insurance companies, and the government arises from this regulatory framework of prescription drug laws. He wrote:

The fact that our drug laws require people to secure a prescription for many of the drugs they want (but cannot get on the free market) fosters a mutually degrading dishonesty between physicians and patients."
SOURCE URL: https://mises.org/wire/hydroxychloroquine-controversy-reminder-prescription-laws-are-government-racket


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  • Posted by $ Abaco 3 years, 10 months ago
    Working in the healthcare industry as an awake engineer I ocassionally hear interesting tidbits. One of my favorites..."You know what we call that routine blood test we like to give people? Marketing."

    Just one sample in time of several very time-dependent variables of things that they happen to have expensive drugs for. That's how I understood that one. I thought it was funny...
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 3 years, 10 months ago
    In my day, we didn't "Want" drugs, they were prescribed by the doctor as a result of their examination and our health complaints.

    Never did we go to the doctor saying we Want this drug or another.
    I grew up without them for the most part. Now days, I pull out a Crucifix, thrusting it forward, at the mere mention of allopathic drugs.
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 3 years, 10 months ago
    If you really study this racket, as I have for several years, you will find that it's all a sham. Well, maybe only 99% of it is. Approximately 108,000 in America each year are killed by known, expected prescription drug reactions. As my grandpa used to say, "Death is kinda permanent."

    I know some very good doctors, and plenty of them who are complicit and should be out selling used cars...
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  • Posted by Lucky 3 years, 10 months ago
    When I see my doc it is quite plain that I am not getting the best medical advice that the doc could provide.
    What I get is words from a practitioner of medicine, properly qualified and licensed and with freedom to advise and prescribe within definitions of the licensing and regulatory authorities.
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