Imagine there was a drug that an addict could take just ONE dose to relieve them from their addiction and the dreaded withdrawal. Well, apparently there is... but there is a catch.
Okay, why am I even talking about this, you wonder? Well I'm sitting here watching Law and Order: SVU where a heroin addicted kid needed to clean up to testify against the bad guy, but the bad guy was his dealer and legal guardian (lucky kid, huh?). Long story short, the psychologist of the show, Dr. Wuang, spoke of a drug, Ibogaine, that could cure almost all addictions. However, the drug was no longer legal in the USA (but is used worldwide) because its patent expired and no drug company would pay to run the needed trials for the FDA to approve it. The reason no drug company would pay for the trials was because there is apparently no profit in selling Ibogaine. They make more money selling Methadone, then Ibogaine. Which in case you didn't know, Methadone is used to treat opioid addicts. The drug blocks the euphoric effects of heroin, morphine, other opioids. So patients no longer need those illegal drugs, instead they need the legal Methadone in place to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Well, after patients start Methadone, they are suppose to slowly decrease their amounts until the patients no longer need Methadone or any other drug. However, a high number of patients become addicted to Methadone, so instead of getting off drugs, they get on to uhh... legal drugs.
Ibogaine on the other hand, is usually extracted from the Iboga plant, and is used in the UK, Canada, and many other countries as a form of drug treatment. Ibogaine is used to remove the dependency of methadone, nicotine, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamines, as well as compulsive behaviors. One dose of Ibogaine removes the patients desire to use.
My point is not to bash Methadone, obviously it has helped a lot of people get clean and move on with their lives. My point was that there is a drug that could help addicts in a better way but because of its lack of profitableness it swept under the covers.
If I tugged on your interest line, I have a lil news video on Ibogaine... Ibogaine In the News
...end of rant.
On current affairs, MiKayla, Erin, and I went on a nice little 5.11 mile run this morning! That is now the longest distance I have ever ran. Just 1.9 miles until it can be considered a 10k! So even if I do nothing today, I can at least say I achieved that!
nice little rant you had there, l-dawg. i actually enjoyed reading it quite a lot. my older sister, sarah, read it with me and she said that you are quite the little thinker and that you have a good noggin on you. and she said that you actually only have 1.09 miles to go until you have reached a 10k. she says a lot of things.
ReplyDeletewe really enjoyed reading this together, can you tell???
"nice, little" 5 mi run lol HA
ReplyDeletei didnt know about ibogaine, but it is so like american drug companies to let people suffer and die just over the profit of ONE out of millions of their drugs! thank you for enlightening us! i love reading these kinds of posts, youre awesome.