Citizens Forced to Choose Between Food and Medication
Nick Parker
Issue date: 3/22/05 Section: Opinion
The 2004 presidential election spawned some controversial topics. Abortion, gay marriage and foreign policy were some of the biggest debates, but recently it has been the importation of drugs from Canada and social security that have become of the most importance.
Healthcare in this country has become a ridiculous joke. Costs for prescriptions have soared and hospital costs are outlandish. Our senior citizens, in some cases, are forced to choose between food and medication. Both are necessary to their life and very wellbeing. With social security's eminent decline and President Bush's privatization of it, when we're in our 60s we'll have no such luxury.
Since the huge pharmaceutical corporations have hiked their prescription drug costs to astronomical rates, Americans have sought out new markets to get more bang for their buck. Canada and Mexico have received the highest volume of this new importation trend.
Instead of paying upwards of $5,000 for a combined prescription for heart medication, insulin and kidney treatments, a quick stroll through Tijuana can yield practically the same medicine for about $100.
Companies that act as middlemen between Canadian pharmacies and American consumers have flourished in light of the recent necessity for cheap drugs.
The FDA has condemned these actions as illegal and has threatened to penalize these companies. Siding with America's big pharmaceutical corporations, the Food and Drug Administration has stated that Canadian drugs are not safe for American consumption. Their rigorous standards have not been applied to most of these products, and they have been banned because of it.
If this is true, then why haven't we heard of a massive Canadian health epidemic? Why haven't we seen the masses of destitute Canadians crawling at the doorstep of America, begging for premium, high-quality prescriptions? They know that most of these drugs are safe. They're just interested in the money.
In these times of tremendous leviathans of big business and a destitute, impoverished lower economic class, this type of thing is predictable.
If inexpensive drugs can be imported from Canada, then why not let us take them?
Because that's less money in the pockets of American companies.
So what if our goliath corporations take a small hit in the pocketbook? Isn't free enterprise and capitalism the nature of America? Did NAFTA not promise us better living conditions in not only America, but Canada and Mexico? NAFTA is supposed to ensure that intercontinental investments shouldn't be coerced against.
So let's go take a trip to Canada. Or better yet, let's move. Maybe that way we can cut out the prescription Zoloft dependency all together.
Healthcare in this country has become a ridiculous joke. Costs for prescriptions have soared and hospital costs are outlandish. Our senior citizens, in some cases, are forced to choose between food and medication. Both are necessary to their life and very wellbeing. With social security's eminent decline and President Bush's privatization of it, when we're in our 60s we'll have no such luxury.
Since the huge pharmaceutical corporations have hiked their prescription drug costs to astronomical rates, Americans have sought out new markets to get more bang for their buck. Canada and Mexico have received the highest volume of this new importation trend.
Instead of paying upwards of $5,000 for a combined prescription for heart medication, insulin and kidney treatments, a quick stroll through Tijuana can yield practically the same medicine for about $100.
Companies that act as middlemen between Canadian pharmacies and American consumers have flourished in light of the recent necessity for cheap drugs.
The FDA has condemned these actions as illegal and has threatened to penalize these companies. Siding with America's big pharmaceutical corporations, the Food and Drug Administration has stated that Canadian drugs are not safe for American consumption. Their rigorous standards have not been applied to most of these products, and they have been banned because of it.
If this is true, then why haven't we heard of a massive Canadian health epidemic? Why haven't we seen the masses of destitute Canadians crawling at the doorstep of America, begging for premium, high-quality prescriptions? They know that most of these drugs are safe. They're just interested in the money.
In these times of tremendous leviathans of big business and a destitute, impoverished lower economic class, this type of thing is predictable.
If inexpensive drugs can be imported from Canada, then why not let us take them?
Because that's less money in the pockets of American companies.
So what if our goliath corporations take a small hit in the pocketbook? Isn't free enterprise and capitalism the nature of America? Did NAFTA not promise us better living conditions in not only America, but Canada and Mexico? NAFTA is supposed to ensure that intercontinental investments shouldn't be coerced against.
So let's go take a trip to Canada. Or better yet, let's move. Maybe that way we can cut out the prescription Zoloft dependency all together.
