On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, BklynMagus wrote:
> That was part of what ACT UP fought for. Drug decisions
> should be in the hands of the patients, not the bureaucrats.
> All the long-term suvivors/non-progressors I know are
> people who took control of their lives and their drug regimens,
> instead of meekly following the state's prescribed path of
> death.
It's a bit more complicated than that: patients can't know what drug regimens are helpful or dangerous until those pesky scientists actually do research and that pesky FDA assesses that research in a rigorous way. Granted, the pharma influence is troubling, but overall far more lives have been saved by the existence of the FDA bureaucracy than have been lost. --Consider: if people really "took control" of their own drug regimens, many of them would be swayed by anecdotal evidence, charismatic charlatans, placebo effects, etc., and they would expose themselves to ineffective drugs or drugs that actually endanger their health.
Miles