• Latest

Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2

December 9, 2013

How to Replace Vital Documents Lost or Damaged by Floods

September 19, 2023

9th-12th Grade Students Invited to Submit to Bennington College Young Writers Awards

September 19, 2023

Ten Key Facts to Know About Federal Disaster Assistance

September 19, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

September 19, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

The Blessings of Fall

September 19, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Amadeus (1984)

September 12, 2023

Montpelier Food Pantry Now in City Center

September 12, 2023

Green Mountain Youth Symphony Fall 2023 Fundraising Appeal

September 12, 2023

Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience Announced

September 12, 2023

Governor Phil Scott and Mental Health Officials Encourage Residents to Check In On Themselves and Others

September 12, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Meet John Doe (1941)

September 5, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

A Hidden Treasure

September 5, 2023
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Friday, September 22, 2023
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2

vt-world by vt-world
December 9, 2013
in Max's View
0

 

There are two different categories of drugs:

 

1. Medicine prescribed by a doctor that you purchase legally at a pharmacy.

 

2. Medicine that you learn about from friends or the internet that you have to purchase from a dealer and could potentially lead to arrest.

 

There is no official definition to determine which substances can be purchased legally for a small copay and which substances can lead to a long jail sentence. So who gets to decide?

 

In the United States, it’s the FDA.

 

The Food and Drug Administration was established in 1906. The organization has the stated purpose of making sure that any legal drug is “safe and effective when used as directed.” Any new medication needs to be rigorously tested before being approved for legal sale in the US.

 

That sounds like a pretty wholesome mission statement. However, there are flaws in the foundation of the FDA. What happens when a new disease strikes and people don’t have years to wait for a new experimental drug to be approved? And what happens when a powerful corporation has a new treatment and is willing to pay to make sure that it doesn’t have any competition?

 

Both of these questions are posed in “Dallas Buyers Club.” And the answers are unsettling.

 

The year was 1985. Texas party animal Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) was diagnosed with HIV. He pleaded with doctors for help. But the only AIDS medicine they had was AZT and it was still in the trial stage. The hospital effectively told him to drop dead.

 

Ron wasn’t going down without a fight. He went to Mexico and began taking an experimental cocktail of virus inhibitors and white blood cell boosters. When he started feeling better, Ron smuggled the medicine back home and began selling it to his fellow HIV patients.

 

You’d think that the medical establishment would have tried to learn from Ron’s success or at least congratulated him for helping so many sick people. But no. The company that produced AZT wanted to keep its monopoly. They worked with the FDA to shut down Ron’s business and confiscate his supply of alternative medicine.

 

It’s a shameful episode in an American history. The FDA actively stopped dying people from receiving the treatment they wanted. That is morally indefensible.

 

For the record, I am grateful for the pharmaceuticals industry. The world is a better place thanks to their research and their medicines. The innovative immune suppressant drugs that I take for Crohn’s disease allow me to function and go to work every day.

 

However, I am disappointed that another known treatment for Crohn’s disease – marijuana – remains illegal. And that’s for no other reason than the fact that neither Merck nor Pfizer has found a way to mass produce a profitable Cannabis pill.

 

The way that drugs become medicine in America has become a slow, bureaucratic, and corrupt process. “Dallas Buyers Club” is a powerful message movie that exposes one of the darkest episodes in the history of the FDA.

 

Previous Post

Governor Richard Snelling

Next Post

Reiss’s Pieces

Next Post

Reiss’s Pieces

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Summer Guide 2023
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In