Reply #45: "Drug industry groups are lining up against it", says the original

[No Exit]

post. That is, according to the article in the original post (to which I responded), "drug industry groups" are lining up against the legislation which would place some restrictions on the sale of the over-the-counter pseudoephedrine.

I took "drug industry groups" to mean a large mass of interests which included those who sell prescription drugs, as well as those who sell over-the-counter drugs. The actual manufacturer of pseudoephedrine is only slightly relevant, b/c I'm talking about those who have a financial stake in pseudoephedrine, and that surely includes many others besides just the actual manufacturer (who you say is Chinese.)

So I saw "drug industry" as encompassing those who sell prescription AND non-prescription drugs. This may be incorrect--are you saying that these two types of drugs are sold by two totally separate interests?

You say you don't get the part about "the drug companies are all for restrictions". In that statement, I was definitely referring to those who profit from prescription drugs (narcotics, for example.) The "war on drugs" is, in part, a device to keep the circulation of such things controlled only by the legal sellers/companies. If a company is making profits from a particular narcotic, the last thing it wants is for street dealers to be taking away its profits by selling an equal product to the addicts. When an addict buys heroin from a street dealer, it generates no taxes, and it generates no profit for the legally-formed companies who also sell narcotics (which have a similar effect to that of heroin). We all know there will be some people addicted to narcotics, and they will of course pay any price for what they "need" due to their addiction. Naturally, the legally-formed companies would prefer that these addicts be required to pay for THEIR product--and the legally-formed companies are assisted in this desire by the laws against street sale of narcotics. The street pusher goes to jail, and now the addict has to con some doctor or hospital into prescribing the legal stuff for him. (Think that doesn't happen? Trust me, I know for a fact it happens.)

If you are attempting to persuade me to some liking for pharmaceutical companies, I'm afraid that's a lost cause. I hate the bastards and every encounter I have with having to buy a prescription just makes me hate those bastards more. May they rot in hell. They are price-gouging scum who don't care about human beings, but only care about unfairly gouging money from those who can least afford it--sick people.