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Sunday, March 30

Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists

Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists

Analysis of unseen trials and other data concludes it is no better than placebo

Full text: the PLoS paper

Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian,
Tuesday February 26 2008













A single Prozac capsule. Photograph: Alamy

Prozac, the bestselling antidepressant taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not work and nor do similar drugs in the same class, according to a major review released today.

The study examined all available data on the drugs, including results from clinical trials that the manufacturers chose not to publish at the time. The trials compared the effect on patients taking the drugs with those given a placebo or sugar pill. ...

You may read the whole article at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/26/mentalhealth.medicalresearch


























If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will they still get high? And is such a "pusher" breaking the law?
Also, do you think that it is possible that other medications besides Prozac that are out in the market are ineffective? If so, please feel free to discuss your thought on the subject.

129 comments:

Athena Smith said...




Cure for Your Disease or Empty Promise?


So, yes, there are many drugs out there that simply fool us.

mledoux said...

The whole concern with drugs is if they work or not. I personally feel that if I am unknowingly taking a "sugar pill" that helps my symptoms from whatever ailment subside, then I will happily continue to pay for that "suger pill". The biggest concern I have with drugs, prescription and over-the-counter, is that there is so much advertisement that people in society are trying to self-diagnose instead of having a doctor do it. It is odd to think that 50 years ago if you felt depressed or hopeless you might go for a walk or have a drink, now the answer to feeling down is taking pills, at least that is what the television and magazine adds tell me. I think that medications should only be solicited by health care professionals, not the TV.

Athena Smith said...

JUZ10 emailed me the following comment:

"If you have ever done ecstasy (that was real) then no you wouldn't get high on fake ecstasy pills. However, if it was the first time you had taken it then it is conceivable suppose it is possible to experience some placebo effects, but getting happy from taking Prozac is much different then getting high on fake ecstasy. For example, even the saddest most depressed person will eventually feel some respite from their symptoms with or without an anti-depressant but people don’t just mysteriously get high on ecstasy without taking it. As for the other question, is a dealer who sells fake ecstasy breaking the law, he most certainly is it is called possession and distribution of a counterfeit substance. I also agree with miedoux that there is an excessive amount of advertisement for unnecessary medicines such as the new one for restless led syndrome, which is where people’s legs are uncomfortable and restless when they try to sleep. If those people ate less, sugar and drank less caffeine they wouldn't need a pill for so-called restless leg syndrome. Nevertheless, the sad truth is that advertisements for these unnecessary medicines will only increase in the future. Because, the pharmaceutical companies and in turn the media organization that display then have much to gain by there continuation."

jalane88 said...

To be honest, I hate antidepressants. My fiancĂ© is currently on Lexapro and another drug that is very similar to Xanax. About two months ago he had what I thought was a mental breakdown due to a lot of physical and mental stress. He had made a big job switch and school switch and we had just gotten engaged. The doctors did not even consider putting him through talk therapy or anything, they just put him on a drug. It made him feel horrible and I do not think it helped him deal with the problem at all. Now, after two months of trying different drugs, we still are not at the root of the problem, he passes out frequently, does not sleep at night, and is not the man that I thought I was going to marry at the end of this summer. Half of the time, I cannot even wake him up enough to talk to him. My problem with these drugs is that I think they are prescribed without thought. I think that they are just given to a patient to “level them out” or settle them down and there is little to no thought about the effect on their lives. His parents finally took him of f of the second drug that was supposed to help him sleep at night because he would sleep all day.

LaTrice said...

If a drug dealer sold his customer a sugar pill instead of an actual ecstasy pill the answer is no he or she would not get high. If it's the first attempt of taking the drug ofcourse it would give he or she a rush of hyperness or excitment but not "high."In the case of a drug dealer giving an addict a false drug it is breaking a law but within its self. Selling drugs is clearly against the law so I don't believe an addict can press charges. If the addict can prove that the drug was harmful to he or she then somthing can be done; but 9 times out of 10 he or she would not be able to think logicaly about the situation.In complete contrast if a doctor prescribed a false pill to their patiient a lawsuit is liable

Anonymous said...

It seems to me the people that put us on these drug prescriptions are jumping the gun right to the drugs as opposed to taking healthy steps in helping. I believe in all career fields people are getting more lazy to be frank. Also: parents. I think that if a kid goes up to his parents and says how he feels so down lately because of something in school or anything else important he immediately has a disorder. Uh, how about he's just not having a good week and just needs to walk it off? Nope, they are the parents, therefore experts who KNOW they need to get him some drugs immediately. In the article, it says that more and more small cases are getting drugs. Well, drugs should be at the end of the list of what can be done to combat the feelings they are having.

tabi said...

This Blog just changed my whole outlook on the Drug Administrations, so how do i know if what im taking is actually helping me or fooling me? i feel if someone truuly needs the help dont give them fake pills, but if the patient is obviously not as sick as he/she thinks then give them the placebo.really all that matters is if the person in pain from depressioon or pain from another sourse is feeling better.and for the drug deal who sells fake extacy, yes he should be punished for selling drugs because that is illigal but for selling someone fake extacy i think is hillarious, he should be punished extra for that because people shouldnt be taking it in the first place, thats what they get. : ))

Goob07 said...

Drug dealers selling fake or real drugs is a crime and should be punished. Doctors prescribing fake pills? That is honestly something that never occurred to me. I can see why a placebo would be given to those people that think they have every disease on TV. However, if a person is really sick or depressed the real ones should be given to them. The whole issue with Prozac is that the drug is handed out to easily whether it's the real one or not. I believe that more steps should be taken before the prescription is ever given to ensure that it is the right choice.

Ashley Marie said...

So honestly I am not surprised that these antidepressants really dont work. I fully believe there is no reason to need a drug or pill of any kind to cure depression, simply because it is primarily an emotional state and an entirely mental state. There have never been babies born with depression it is something developed due to life experiences and how people cope with them. Thus if these people are saying these "sugar pills" are curing their depression it is the pure definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy and thus proves my point even more.

I also do not think there should be legalized advertisements for medication due to the stagering statistics that state the likeliness you will recieve these medications simply by referencing the commercial and using the name of the drug regardless if you really need it or if there is anything better. People these days are too preoccupied with needing something to rely on they can not take care of themselves or rely on themselves which is terrifying. If they have a child that has too much energy and they cant control they rely on the diagnosis of ADD and a pill to do it for them, if someone is having a bad day they dont talk they sedate themselves with a pill. What happened to talking about things and solving them for real instead of just hiding them behind the prescription bottles.

sweetklo020 said...

I do not like that fact that people are able to self diagnose. I also don’t like that so many people in America are on some kind of drug for depression. I just want to know why Doctors always assume to give patients pills to solve their problem. I think finding them a counselor should be the first step. If time passes and counseling isn’t working out for the patient then prescribe them something. A lot of people hold their problems in and don’t let anything out. Just talking to someone can help. I think these drugs are prescribed and all of a sudden the person automatically thinks they are better. I wouldn’t want my child on any antidepressants because there are too many risks. There is a strong chance that the person will feel like committing suicide on some of the pills. Why would someone want to take the pills if that could be a chance?

J_Rambo said...

First, I have to say that sending people to counseling before putting them on drugs is key. Kids are raised in such an "over-protective" environment these days that a lot are becoming "softies". They can't handle real stress from normal life decisions. When a problem arises, they turn to the easiest solutions. Now, people coming on television commercials telling the listeners that depression is never normal and needs to be handled with meds, or you'll live life like Eor from Winni the Poo for the rest of your days is just overboard. Great sales technique; bad judgment. Kids are kids, they're going to have their ups and downs, but don't throw thoughts like that in their head. Haven't they heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy? Yes, we're coming out with too many drugs for social problems. Yes, they are just trying to help people. But, it is not really fixing ANYTHING. It's only delaying the problem, or making it a lot worse.

KathleenB said...

I am very much against Antidepressants, when my Mother passed away (a day before the accident on 9/11) I called my doctor to get something to help me get through the funeral services and cleaning out her bedroom, they tried to put me on Prozac then. I did manage to squeeze 3 tranquilizers out of them instead when they realized I was going through a Morning Process, a very normal process. My argument then was I was not permanently depressed, why put me on a drug my body will get addicted to then I would need to see the Doctor again to get off of them.
Just like Ritalin I fell the Doctors abuse their privileges and help Pharmaceutical companies pay their bills.
Now not too long ago John Winters, a Meteorologist on channel 8 killed himself because he was suffering from Clinical Depression. Maybe that is an area they need to focus on. You do seem to here more about it.
I have noticed also from my viewpoint only that it seems more men are diagnosed with this then women, is it because women blame it on menopause? Men don't have that out so they go see the doctor, then the doctor reels them in for a long continual treatment?

MyHead88 said...

The mind is a very powerful tool. Its boundaries are endless and with it no limits to what it can accomplish. People have used meditation and yoga along with self understanding and inner peace to solve problems that cause what is called “depression”. People feel overwhelmed and lost with social issues so a drug that is available and is promoted with promises of relief, is most likely going to be the so called answer to ones problem. Prozac and such drugs made available to the public through the media, create a sort of answer for some people. Taking away someone’s need and ability to solve their own problem through their own understanding and reasoning is what these pills have offered to society. The mind can fix it self in time, but that is the problem no one is willing to solve the problem by self acknowledgement any more, now they want to just get prescribed a pill, pop it and problem solved. Another example of how Americans and along with the rest of the world no longer take time out in their life for the greater things, everything is now quick and fast, we are busy passing everything by and no longer take to appreciate the things that truly matter in this world. A sugar pill can be a way to manipulate the mind, but varies in result, because no case is the same.

Rashera88 said...

My sister has bipolar so I know how its like trying to find a drug that worked for her. She tried so many before she found one but she was perscribed to take it when she needs to take it. In my opinion drugs are really not the solution to solving problems. I believe that people should talk out their problems because if you think about it the drugs that we have today we have no idea what's in them and plus it could make our problems worse or yet if we are lucky make us better. It could take months before a person could find the right drug for them and then after a while of taking the drug how do we know that our bodies won't become imune to them? I want to be a psychiatrist for young children but my goal is to anaylze them for what problem they have and then have mostly briefing meetings and if it is really necessary then I will perscribe a drug but only as a last resort. The fact that drugs are advertized on the TV and Magazine are showing us the positive of the drug and the images and the pictures are like dark going to light. It is not telling us much about the actual drug and in my opinion I believe that any drug should be only solicited by health care professionals for the safety of not only others but ourselves.

MelissaSpeaks said...

I think this whole situation with antidepressants is an accurate theory. I think that people make their minds believe that they are getting better with medicine, when really it's their mind that is the cure. So yes, I believe that if I antidepressants being faked as sugar pills can give you that perception of recuperation, any other drug can do the same. Also, on the question with the drug dealers I am skeptical to believe that "fake" ecstasy pills can give anyone a high. An addict can tell right away if it's fake or not. Yet on the other hand, if it's someone who is trying drugs for the first time, they can make themselves "believe" that they have a drug high, when it's really a sugar one. On the same topic, I think that a drug dealer should go to prison for selling drugs no matter fake or real. Drug dealing is a crime.

ofelia vazquez said...

I have to agree with one of the comments I read about trying counseling first.Obeviously we are not doing enough research on these drugs if there not even working better than a placebo.I've seen some of the commercials for the antidepression drugs and the side effects are really dangerouse sometimes even suicidal thoughts.Every year the pharmacy industry comes up with new medication and all they care is about selling it not if we really need it.I think before people are prescribed these medication they should go through some kind of therapy to help them cope with there issues or sometimes just talking to someone about what your going through may help.

tampa250 said...

What happen to the old remedies our grandparents use to tell us about when it came down to our bodies and health. Every medication is going to have an good or bad effect on a person, hopefully the person will know how to use it wisely for their own sake.If a person take pills that causes them to feel better or for that moment than I'm all for it but if its just making them high or sick than no because when pills make people sick they want to switch and that causes their bodies to become sicker not being able to get use to the first medication.Hopefully one day there will be an medication that will cure all sickness, stress, and depression(God).

arlaince said...

If a drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will yes I do believe that they would still get high, simply because of mind over matter . If you think you’re getting high that is how your body will react to the so called ecstasy. No is such a "pusher" is not breaking the law because he’s causing more good than harm compared to if he really did sell ecstasy. Taking sugar pills is like drinking a soda, I’m not saying it right to deceive a consumer it necessary when saving a life.

Lucretia said...

If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will they still get high?

Physically they wouldn’t, but mentally they might. If you have enough faith in something, you can make yourself believe it. Of course, common sense would tell you if you were really intoxicated or not, but most people are gullible fools.

And is such a "pusher" breaking the law?

Sure, they’re still selling an unidentified ‘drug’ that was not prescribed to them. It’s just a more humorous case. I had a Ziploc bag of Pez candy in my car once, and when I got pulled over the cop would not let me go until he had thoroughly examined what he thought was ‘ecstasy’. It left me with the impression that I still would have been in some kind of trouble, had I been caught trying to sell it as a ‘drug’ to some kids.

Also, do you think that it is possible that other medications besides Prozac that are out in the market are ineffective?

Yes, like probably most of the anti-depressants out there and all that other crap. A lot of these ‘mental illnesses’ are all in our heads. Everyone gets depressed sometimes, everyone goes through mood swings, and sometimes, we can’t focus. People that are too lazy to deal with it get on drugs. This article does not surprise me at all. In fact, I see many more similar revelations in the future.



“I come to you when shadows fall
I leave as the dawn arrives
Hide the truth to deceive them all
How my good intention lies

Secret meetings that we hide
Deeds of iniquity
The price of foolish pride
The cost of immorality

And we hide the truth to deceive them all
And the pain of what will never be

Try to silence the suspicions
Feeding the dark inhibitions
We can never let anyone see
The sin I bring called ecstasy”

countrygirl said...

ok, well if you have never experienced ecstasy and you took a "sugar pill", I believe that your body would not know the difference and that you would still get high. But if you had taken it before, you would know the difference. In test studies, they have a plabco group that receives the "sugar pill" and for some of those people, they believe they are getting better because they are taking something for it. They do not know that they are not receiving the drug promised. Their minds think this pill is going to help me so their body responds to get better. I do not agree with antidepressant drugs, but if the people who are taking them see a difference in themselves, then who I am to say that don't work. The human body is a incredible things and it works in mysterious ways. Chances are if you believe you are getting better, then probably are. For example, when you are sick in the hospital and you are told you are dying, if you give up and say I am dying then you will, but if you say no I am fighting this, at least you have a chance.

mdowd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jmcdonald10 said...

I think drugs are becoming more and more over used in the United States. There is a drug for everything these days, which I don’t really think we need all of them. Everywhere you turn there is some type of adversitment for a new drug, which is making people self medicate themselves which is not the answer. Doctors should be the only on telling a patient what is wrong with them, not a tv commercial. Anti-depressants are a major over used drug. Kids think today just because they are not having a good day they should take a pill for it. I think America needs to go back to living a healthier life and maybe then everyone wouldn’t be so depressed all the time.

mdowd said...

Assuming that a drug dealer is selling sugar pills to someone who has never taken ecstasy before, there's a small chance that the user in question would feel different after taking the pill, but only for a little while. After the excitement and anticipation for the high disappears, the person would feel normal. ecstasy does too much to the brain to be confused with sugar.
Assuming that a drug dealer is selling sugar pills to someone who has never taken ecstasy before, there's a small chance that the user in question would feel different after taking the pill, but only for a little while. After the excitement and anticipation for the high disappears, the person would feel normal. ecstasy does too much to the brain to be confused with sugar. http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_info7.shtml
read even the first paragraph of that article and you will see that sugar has no chance of passing for ecstasy.
As for the ramifications for a dealer who passes off sugar as ecstasy, well, in my opinion he or she should be responsible for the consequences of selling the drug.

I think there are more placebos out there than i realize, especially if you consider the number of drugs, like prozac, which are studied, found to be ineffective, and marketed anyway. I took prozac for over a year when I was younger and it never did a thing for me, regardless of several dosage increases. It was said at the time that because of each person's differences in body chemistry and metabolisms that some drugs are more effective than others. I believe that, but I have also known a lot of other people on whom prozac has had no effect. It would surprise me less to find out that half the drugs out there are actually placebos than it would to learn that each one does exactly what it says it does, but maybe I'm just cynical.

mdowd said...

hmm. the address got cut off, but if you add shtml to the end of it you will go to the page i was trying to give.

Athena Smith said...

Thank you for the link Mdowd. To avoid giving lengthy URLs go to
http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/linking/_A_HREF.html to see how we can do it.


So in your case it would look like
article

Unknown said...

"If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will they still get high? And is such a 'pusher' breaking the law?"
Selling ecstasy?? Of COURSE! Is false advertising unethical and wrong? Of COURSE!
"Do you think that it is possible that other medications besides Prozac that are out in the market are ineffective? If so, please feel free to discuss your thought on the subject."
Yes, I do believe there are many ineffective drugs that are widely used in today's society. Certainly we've all had strong influenced toward the "give me chemistry or give me surgery!" way of life.
It's easy, though, to identify and discuss which methods DON'T work. But I think it more important to devote time and effort towards what WILL work. How about cures instead of treatments? How about religion and philosophy? How about exercise and wellness? What about real lasting health through eating right?
As for interpersonal success, what about cultivating healthy relationships? What if people focused on being kind and forgiving and generous? Would we really have as much of depression and the impulse toward the quick medical fix?
Perhaps these may be more productive ways to approach the problem.

Unknown said...

Oh, and I realized I didn't answer the first question: if they would get high.
My answer is: I've never had ecstasy OR sugar pills.... so I wouldn't know!

hrad said...

If a customer were to take sugar pills thinking it was ecstasy, the customer would not get the symptoms of the real drug. Also, many drugs are effective and ineffective, but it is all depending on the person taking them. I don’t think it is right to give someone a sugar pill than the real drug. Although depending on the problem, some medications are great for a patient that helps their problem. I feel this way because I was given many prescriptions that did not help my problem but had helped others. I do not think it’s right though if a doctor knows it is ineffective before he/she has given it to the patient.

fporzio said...

I do not think that an individual could necessarily get high on a sugar pill just because they were under the misconception that it was ecstasy; I do believe that selling sugar pills as ecstasy is still a crime because you are selling it under the false pretense that it is an illegal substance. I do believe that there are probably many medications on the market that are ineffective. I think that doctors and pharmaceutical companies know the power of the mind and know that people will believe relatively anything that a doctor tells them, which leads to people being misdiagnosed and taking unnecessary medications. I believe that there are probably many drugs on the market for disorders that are probably either being misdiagnosed or are not really disorders at all for the sole purpose of allowing these drug companies and doctors to make a profit. I also think that this should be illegal and is just as bad as selling drugs.

pink blossom said...

I think if a drug dealer sells fake/sugar pills to their customers, I don't think they'd get high. If it's their first time trying them, then maybe. On the other side I really don't believe in taking a pill for depression. I would suggest counseling first before giving any medications.I think it's all in their mind and are mental/emotional stress. I have a friend that is currently taking Prozac. I feel like it's not helping her with depression. She never happy anymore. She always talking about her issues. I think just the fact that you're taking a pill for whatever problem you have makes them feel better. HONESTLY!

pink blossom said...

I think if a drug dealer sells fake/sugar pills to their customers, I don't think they'd get high. If it's their first time trying them, then maybe. On the other side I really don't believe in taking a pill for depression. I would suggest counseling first before giving any medications.I think it's all in their mind and are mental/emotional stress. I have a friend that is currently taking Prozac. I feel like it's not helping her with depression. She never happy anymore. She always talking about her issues. I think just the fact that you're taking a pill for whatever problem you have makes them feel better. HONESTLY!

Athena Smith said...

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DaisyDown23 said...

My mother takes an anti-depressant and it really does have an effect on her. When she doesn't take it she gets very emotional and mean. However, it is very had to determine if this pill is like her 'security blanket'because she only takes half of what she's prescribed. She's tried to come completely off of it and it has proven to be a big mistake. I do think some of the medications we buy are just fake and work under the assumption that they're helping us. However, if these drugs wouldn't work if everyone knew they were sugar pills. Power of suggestion is not a bad idea if people are benefiting from it. Im sure if a drug dealer sold a sugar pill it would have little, if any, affects. Ecstacy is a very powerful drug that has extreme effects on the body. There would deffinately be a huge difference in a sugar pill and the real thing.

Megan said...

Yes sometimes medicine is actually a sugar pill. These pills are still effective though; not physically but mentally. I personally took anti-depressant pills for a time. It was not about the effect it was suppose to have on my body as much as the fact that I felt as though I was taking control of my life, that I had a say in whether or not I would let depression have an effect on me. Having the feeling of control over you life is very important when you think everything is going wrong. I know many people believe that depression is not real as much as it is people feeling sorry for themselves, but it does effect your life. Depression is a way you view situations and events that happen in your life, sometimes there are things that really effect you and then effects your personality. These effect changes your life greatly. The sugar pills make you feel as though you can fix things. I will agree with the fact that some people do claim to have depression and want a quick fix for something that is not even wrong. There are people who will abuse it, but not everyone will. Some people actually need the sugar pills. Sometimes people can talk about their situations but for others to even think about it causes a major breakdown and tears. The anti-depressants help these people feel like they will be alright, oddly enough it can make someone feel like the tears will stop because these drugs will help them to deal. I'm not saying the drugs are answers to everything or that someone should stay on these pills for the rest of their lives, but for a temporary help they are useful. Before using these drugs people should talk to a doctor because sometimes they are given too fast when they will not help. Everyone has their sad moments and that’s alright. But other people, like those abused, feel as though it helps. Why should we deny someone something that might help because we believe it isn't right. Everything is different for each individual person, anti-depressants are no exceptions.

catlvr42 said...

This article did mention that Prozac did help people with severe cases. Prozac, as with other drugs in it's category, is used to help decrease the overwhelming feelings caused by depression. It is not ment to be a cure. It's true most people would rather take a pill than change their lifestyle by changing their diet, increasing exercise, meditation or counseling. It's all about how a person deals with things in their life. Also, one pill is not made to suit everyone. For me it took a couple tries of different kinds before I found one without unfavorable side-effects, and it worked. It was a last resort. I had avoided getting help for years due to the stigma behind clinical depression/anxiety. Talking helped me get through an episode but the medication actually lessened the episodes. I feel for people with depression, especially when others say "it's all in your head". It is hard to know what works and what doesn't. My doctor based my initial prescription on what seemed to work for most people. Yes, I think there are medications on the market that are ineffective, but is it because they are prescribed incorrectly or because they don't work for that particular person.

Unknown said...

I believe that most of drugs that are out there are not effective , also are sometimes misrepresented. Therefore, some of the users who are taking these type of drugs like prozac and other anitdepressant drugs are still depressed are overdoising on these types of drugs. On the other hand, the drug dealer who is selling a sugar pill instead of extacy,and they should be punished and for this , I believe that its a very serious crime , but i believe that the pharmaecutical companys do the same thing just legally and advertise themselves as an alternative for your illness when they are really not .

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Prescription medication has become a part of society now. Just about everything that can be wrong with a person has a prescription medication that can cure the problem, or so they say. The bottom line is whether the medication actually works or not, when a person takes a pill that they think will cure an ailment they automatically think that they are being cured. Therefore, even the people who are given placebo's in some of these medical experiments are going to think that they are feeling better no matter what. So to sum it up I think that this experiment really doesn't have much validity.

araya said...

No, a person who takes a sugar pill is not going to get high, may a sugar rush, but not high. Ecstasy is a very tricky drug. A real ecstasy pill is pure MDMA, which will give you a very nice, clean high. Back in the 70's and 80's you could call an 800 number and order it right over the phone. Physicians used to use it to get their patients to be able to open up easily and talk about their issues without getting so upset. When word of the drug hit the streets it became very popular very quick and started to be abused; then that's when it became illegal. Now ecstasy pills are mixed with everything from caffeine to meth, it is very rare you are getting pure MDMA. Trying to sell any type of drug on the street is illegal, fake or not. It is so capitalistic for physicians to just prescribe a drug without any extensive therapy. This world is so money hungry and materialistic that money has almost dehumanized us. It is detrimental for pharmaceutical companies to be advertising on television. It takes a self-esteem issue, or anxiety and turns it into a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated with a an anti-depressant. Now doctors, social workers and parents are wondering why their teenagers are hooked on Xanx and Oxy; and are wondering where they are getting it. It is so readily available to anyone so easily that all they have to do is look in their parents medicine cabinet and their it is. So they take it to school and sell it to their friends. I recently had a good friend pass away from an overdose of Oxy. She got in a fight with her boyfriend, took some Oxy to relax, fell asleep and never woke up. Pharmaceuticals are so dangerous and so unpredictable and most of the time the bottom line issue is someone just needs a little advice and counseling.
It is so funny how we can trick our minds into believing anything we want to believe. That is pretty much how these medicines are working.

btex said...

I believe it is possible for people who have not tried a drug and are given a placebo for them to feel some kind of effect. Such as giving someone who has never drank before non alcholic beer and telling them the opposite. I dont believe a dealer selling fake ecstacy is breaking the law because for one thing he is not selling a real drug thats like busting someone for selling parsley instead of weed. It is that persons fault who bought the drugs fault for buying a drug off the street. Now on the other hand I think drug companies who sell drugs that do nothing should have to pay back the money they basically stole from their customers. They are supposed to be trusted companies who have tested their drugs properly. Yes I am sure their are other drugs out there that do nothing more than what a sugar pill can do.

Chris said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Athena Smith said...

Chris
Please read the comment by jalane88....

bb521 said...

Of course you wouldn't get high on fake exctasy pills! Extacy is a very powerful drug and you would know if you are high on it or not. It is nothing like some antidepressent pill that you can maybe trick yourself into think that you are not depressed anymore. Yes, technically you are breaking the law if you are selling fake exctasy pills. I do believe that it is possible there are other anti-depressants out there that dont work. It is very easy to trick yourself into believing something is helping you even if it really isn't. I dont think anti-depressants really help you. They work in the sense that you aren't depressed but they really just make you not care about anything, you have no emotion. So, yes you are not depressed but it isn't like your happy you dont feel anything. I think that is sometimes worse than feeling depressed.

gjones17 said...

If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills, they will not get high. Ecstasy and anti-depressants are not even close to the same thing ans should not be compared by any means. Taking a sugar pill may make someone happy eventually, because eventually the person is going to start feeling a little better after time to cope with their problems. Taking a sugar pill is not going to help someone get high out of nowhere. Such a "pusher" is breaking the law because making someone pay for ecstasy when they are really getting a placebo is a felony.
Also, other medications besides Prozac out in the market are probably ineffective because companies are trying to make people feel like they need a drug to make their problems go away, even when they don't. Companies are doing anything they can now days to get money, and selling a placebo is most likely one of the things they will do.

Tara Johnson said...

That is just crazy that people can self diagnose now a days. What ever happened to the traditional times where you suck it up and don’t go throwing your self onto 5 different prescription drugs? One problem to the medicine is that doctors don't fully understand why some people develop tolerance to Prozac. When doctors say true tolerance to a medication, they mean that, over time, the patient shows a decreased response to a particular dose of the drug. Patients, however, do respond at a higher dose. That is not always true for the Patients that have “pooped out”, it is said to believe that patients that reduce their dosage will then begin to feel better. I believe that there are just too many different types of medications for every social problem. Depression is a very serious disease and it can affect your life in many ways but, I would first seek counseling before you put your body onto drugs that might not even work out in the future.

JC_Lims said...

I am not a typical person who truly can stand on medicine to help me getting better if I have health or mental problem. In my opinion, all of problems can be solved from how we can control our body, mind and soul in balance.It would be hard to do nowadays as we get busier with our life, but the only things I want to give comment is how we forget the essence of our life. Life is truly hard if we are looking at it as a troubelsomeness but if we look life as a blessing then I believe our depression can be solved by our positive perception.
I do agree with some comments in this blog for instance by doing yoga, getting help from psychoterapist or letting out our problem by talking with others is a better way than taking anti-depressant.

kortneywithak2 said...

I am someone who has believed for a long time that many house hold pain relievers are sugar pills. I never take a tylenol or something of the sort. However, I am bi polar and I used to be on an "anti psychotic" pill that was supposed to help control it. It helped to some extent, but really just made me super tired. And had the same effect on anyone I've seen take it. But I definitely believe many pills are simply a part of the placebo effect. Although in the case of ecstasy I do not think that if someone was given a fake they would feel it. Ecstasy is a drug with many chemicals and other drugs in it, and youw ould not feel the effect of all those drugs if they were not in it. Thats like saying if you smoked salt, would you feel cracked out? No.

As for a drug dealer who is selling fake pills and whether or not he should be punished. Well of course, it was the intention. He or she was still trying to sell or trying to make money off something that although really wasn't dangerous to society, it still could of been.

DLandon said...

I do not mean to sound insensitive, but I am one of those people that believe, “most” depression can be dealt with, with a change of attitude. This article just proves the point. I do understand that depression can be a chemical imbalance in some, however I believe that doctors are usually too quick to prescribe a medicine that only masks the problem. By getting the person to therapy with a psychologist they have a better chance of getting to the root of the problem, thus eliminating the problem in the future. In most cases that I’ve witnessed, and I have been up close and personal with a few, depression is caused by the individual way of processing their emotions, or more critically, not processing their emotions.
In the case of Paxil, they are a joke. They finally lost their paten where other companies can make a generic, so in a last ditch attempt to make even more money; they created Paxil CR, and controlled-release pill. In 2005, after U.S. Marshals seized the tablets from several facilities because of manufacturing problems, the FDA determined that the product, although not harmful, is not necessary and encouraged the consumers to discuss alternatives with their doctors. The FDA says it is not harmful, but in May 2006, GlaxoSmithKline added a new warning about suicide risk in young adults to the label.

JamesCowan said...

I think that "emotional medication" is a very corrupt concept in and of itself. If people want to feel better, they should try eating better, exercising, and having sex. People should learn that science cannot cure all of our problems, and that material goods aren't always the answer. With so many people getting high, it's only a matter of time before the problem reaches an epidemic level, and begins to have severe effects on our society. As it stands, alot of my friends pop pills like candy, and then dont get a job, and then complain about being broke, lonely, and out of pills. When is this nonsense going to end?

heather said...

For the first question, whether or not someone would get high off of fake ecstasy, I don’t think so. I’ve never taken either the drug or a knock off sugar pill so I wouldn’t know from a standpoint of experience. However, considering what a powerful drug ecstasy is I wouldn’t imagine that someone would get high off of the knock off form. I’m sure someone who has previously taken ecstasy would know the difference between a sugar rush and the usual high they get from ecstasy. Also yes I think the would-be drug dealer would be breaking the law with possession, intent to sell, etc. As for certain medication not working, I’m not entirely sure what my standpoint on that is. I think it’s a bit extreme to say Prozac or some other drug completely doesn’t work. For example, steroid medications are prescribed for certain diseases, and from witnessing a close relative have to take this medication on a daily basis I will confirm that as a side affect it most certainly does affect your feelings, temper, etc. Basically, I think other medications out there, including Prozac could very well be effective, but to prescribe a person (or prescribe yourself) a medication to help cope with your feelings, is completely ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Studies have shown that when patients have been giving a placebo drug that they themselves report getting better. Mostly because many people believe that a pill will make their problems or pains go away. Most of the time it’s simply mind over matter. But of course in other cases such problems are severe that people actually need the medication. People who prescribe the medications should look into the patients’ problems and/or symptoms. Most of the time doctors just write out a prescription for patients just because they have one symptom that could be caused by anything not just for the first thing that pops into the doctors’ head. Even concerning depression. Not every person really is depressed, they’re probably more or less sad about whatever is happening in their life at that time. The solution is not always pop a pill but do something about your life if you don’t like it. After all some doctors are only in the field for the money and could care less because they’re getting paid regardless.

Athena Smith said...

It was Thomas Szasz who first doubted the existence of mental illness and instead emphasized it was a form of behavior unliked by others, who rust to classify it as a "disorder" in order to boost conformity.
One of his most famous quotes:
"Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic."


Lawrence Stevens wrote Does mental Illness Exist?
I copy the following:

It is sometimes argued that psychiatric drugs "curing" (stopping) the thinking, emotions, or behavior that is called mental illness proves the existence of biological causes of mental illness. This argument is easily refuted: Suppose someone was playing the piano and you didn't like him doing that. Suppose you forced or persuaded him to take a drug that disabled him so severely that he couldn't play the piano anymore. Would this prove his piano playing was caused by a biological abnormality that was cured by the drug? As senseless as this argument is, it is often made. Most if not all psychiatric drugs are neurotoxic, producing a greater or lesser degree of generalized neurological disability. So they do stop disliked behavior and may mentally disable a person enough he can no longer feel angry or unhappy or "depressed". But calling this a "cure" is absurd. Extrapolating from this that the drug must have cured an underlying biological abnormality that was causing the disliked emotions or behavior is equally absurd."

vulcan925 said...

I'm not so sure whether one could feel the same effects of ecstasy with the use of a sugar pill. Honestly I've never done such an experiment. The would-be pusher, should be exposed to the law, for lying and cheating and impersonating. Most drugs on the legal market are inneffective in my opinion. Actually I think they are defective, with side effects and all the other problems. I think that you would end up with more problems that what you started with. I think it is a major problem in this country, that we sell such drugs that can produce horribly crafted drugs that could produce fatal results.

Pamber said...

In my opinion there is great reason to distrust and question if the medication we put in our mouth is a chemical which is going to help as or a placebo or even worse a chemical that’s going to hurt us. From my experience working in the pharmaceutical industry I feel that within the next couple of years more and more questions and lawsuits against drugs will arise, as well as an increasing amount of drugs will be pulled from the market. I base my theory on an overwhelming increase in greed. Most people don’t realize that the government owns a primary amount of drug manufactures mail order and insurance companies. And being that they are the rule makers their easily slithering past regulation and hiding disapproving facts about their products which we as the public trust is safe to digest. Witnessing first hand through my job as a pharmacy tech in a private pharmacy has actually brought me to have a discuss for the government and has veered me from my intended path in becoming a pharmacist. Soon the American public will discover a great amount of white colored crime is being committed within our government through drug companies dishonesty and greed for money.

twin2 said...

I'm not at all shocked to learn that Prozac does not work. I have had the opinion for years that many of these quick fix drugs are a joke. The FDA is allowing these drugs and many others to go on the market everyday. What do they realy know. They do clinical trials on what? Lab rats, monkies? If they are using people, how long do these studies go on for? The don't know what the long term effects will be much less what it is doing for a patient now. I find it dispicable that not only the pharmaceutical companies but the doctors are becoming rich off of these bogus cure alls. To me, this is no different than the bottles of magic potions sold back in the dark ages.

michelleL said...

"...advertisements for these unnecessary medicines will only increase in the future. Because, the pharmaceutical companies and in turn the media organization that display then have much to gain by there continuation."

I agree 100%. I think it is sad because it is obviously all about money!!! It seems like the only thing that matters to the phamaceutical companies is getting rich, even if their users health is at risk . America is so overmedicated and takes a pill for anything and everything. Legal drugs drugs are widely abused for a several reasons. First, some doctors may push them on you and convince you you need them. Many people are also convinced by the 100,000,000.. drug commercials and advertisements. Also, there are many people addicted to prescription drugs as well as adolescents who abuse them for recreation. I reaaly just think alll these drugs are unnessary and are doing more harm then helping.

phillyfan said...

I believe that i would notice the difference between a "sugar pill" and a real ecstasy pill. I have never done ex before but i would know the difference if i had one. I agree with "mledoux" with regards to the whole tv. prescription thing. I think we should just leave it to the professionals and not self-subscribe pills for any nature. I think it is slightly stupid in the first place to take pills because your sad. Do what they did in the old days and suck it up. Pills won't solve your problems they will just delay the symptoms. If doctors do subscribe sgar pills to patients and that patient seems to fool for it then shame on the customer. Certain pills should not be allowed to be sold over the counter because people will use these drugs for other uses and sell them as fake pills to addicts. Overdosing is not a joke it is life threating. Yes selling any kind of pill on the street should be illegsl be that it works or not. A drug pusher is a con-artist and is assisting in some sort of illegal activity even if they are not pushing real drugs. Its all wrong and thats where i stand.

Silly puddy said...

I personally believe that all medications are not worth taking. When I take a medication I take it because I’m seriously ill. I avoid the medications at all cost. Doctors should seek alternative methods that just the short cut for every patient. People should find a hobby, play a sport or adopt a pet. Do something they enjoy and just do it. Don’t just sit at work or at home and take the easy way out, a pill. Let’s face it; it’s all about the money. The money that is paid from the companies to the doctors just for prescribing the medication. These companies all know of the sides effects of these medications and the ingredients, don’t let the media become your influence for it, research it before you digest it. It may just save you from future health problems.

Shirley said...

I do not believe in using synthetic drugs. Nor,do I use pain pills or any other chemically altering drug. Many circumstances maybe inevitable and require a person to use medicines to control a disease or chronic pain.
However, I have listened to many people describe similar situations like jalane88 said. This type of drug consumption is out of control.
Pharmaceutical companies are prodoucing more and more drugs that are not tested and approved by the FDA. What life long affects could these drugs have on an individual?
Just another method to keep Americans addicted to drugs. These drugs don't affect our street kids, instead they are affecting our nations moms and dads. Why?
How can we control our nations juvenille population from illegal drug usage if we as parents are suppressed by our own choice!
Todays stresses are richer than ever and all these drugs do is supress the pain of everyday living not solve the problem.

kel1ove said...

I honestly am not surprised at all that sugar pills have the same effect as actual pills. I had to write a paper on placebos before and many results I researched were the same as this article. When I had allergies, the medicine I usually took was not working anymore.. Maybe my body was adjusted to it or maybe it just is not strong enough to take care of the allergies anymore. I believe a sugar pill of ecstasy would not physically mess anyone up compared to a real one, but it might make people believe they are on the edge

Athena Smith said...

Guys plead go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23941635/

And read the story.
The title is "Drugs that don't work: a tough pill to swallow."

Anonymous said...

For one thing, I think the only people who have the authority to sell any drugs at all, are the doctors and the pharmacists. I also think that selling sugar pills, should be against the law, unless you sign up to be part of a study group. That is essentially stealing. Selling people sugar, at a way higher price than it should be sold at. Even if the sugar pill works, the patient is still being lied too, and charged for something they aren't really getting.

I do believe there are drugs on the market that are ineffective. I have heard stories on the news about drugs that don't work, or don't do what they are supposed to. I believe it is actually more common than we know.

You have to keep in mind, that some drug companies are there to make money. NOT to make you better.

awal said...

I think that this is a very interesting issue. Also, I don't think that this is the first of this kind if situation. I do find it amazing however that 40 million people use prozac. I think that maybe prozac is too easy to get ahold of and depression is diagnosed too quickly without hesitation. But- for the question on if a drug dealer sells a 'sugar pill' to a client if I think that they will still get high, the answer is yes, but to an extent. I think that those people will only think they are because they would be lead to believe that it has that effect, when in reality, it's just a sugar pill and they are soo messed up to begin with that their minds let them believe that they are 'high'.
To the second question about if I thought that it was possible that other medications besides prozac were ineffective, and sugar pills like prozac, the answer is yes. I think that many medications out there are fakes. First of all, there are WAY too many problems and medications for people, I have a hard time believing that all of those people have actual problems. Not saying I think there are people with problems out there, but I mean, humankind survived before all the medications...

Mousie101 said...

I believe that someone unsure of the result would get high. The “pros” would know that it is a dud and would feel nothing. Although the pill given was a sugar pill, it is breaking the law. Drug dealers are illegal and therefore, selling drugs of any sort is too. There are other medications being sold that are ineffective. Have you not heard about Head On? Apply directly to the forehead? How many people still complained of headaches? There is no way that simple over the counter drug is not really a cure for headaches! There are millions of other medications in the world. There has to be plenty more of placebos out in the world and patients are too naĂŻve to know that doctors lie too.

diana25 said...

No he is not breaking the law they are only sugar pills. The only high they might get is a sugar high. I agree that Prozac does not work it just messes a person up, turns them into a zombie. Also the drug Prozac destroys a person’s memory. I knew someone who was on Prozac for a year and a half and they were all screwed up. They were also on stalazine, lithium, atavan, and zanex. As she was on all of these drugs in the time period of 18 months the drugs took away her emotions and personality it was like she only existed. Stalizine gave her what the doctors called a short gate. A short gate is like whenever a person feels like their feet are in shackles and they can’t move or pick their feet up. I am totally against all of the antidepressants and the prescriptions pills they put people on. I agree on only using the method of counseling.

sunflower said...

I came from China, and I am surprised that so many people take antidepressants in America. In China, most people refuse to take any medicine to go through their difficult times. They believe that antidepressants are chemicals that may help them feel better but may damage other parts of their bodies. When they feel down, they know this is just part of their lives. They prefer to go yoga or do any kinds of exercises, go shopping, or even buy a book which teaches them how to live positively instead of buy medicines. However, I see more people commit suicide in China in recent years as they cannot tolerate the pressure in life. I think if there is a medicine that is really work, then people has the easiest way to go through depression by taking some pills. The key point is the medicine should really work. Nobody likes to be fooled no matter where they are.

jessica figueroa said...

There are many pills for any cause that had end up not beeing what they say they are. For instance like weight pills, that had even caused death, or of course Prozac, that now results that it doesn't work. I believe that there are many "illness" that one might come to think that are real, but it is ourself whom make them real. Some times taking a pill is like not taking anything at all, because even if something "work" there is going to be a point when its not going to have any effects on you, as a result of how long you beeing taking it. It is hard to say wether a a pill works or not, either you belive it does or not. And in my opinion there is allways going to be this kind of problems.

FDLE:OnlyPlace4Me said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FDLE:OnlyPlace4Me said...

"If a would-be drug dealer sells his customers what they think is ecstasy, but only gives them sugar pills will they still get high? And is such a "pusher" breaking the law?" to the first question, No they will not get high; they may act stupid depending on their environment and people around them, But in no way will they receive the affects ecstasy has on a person. Yes this "sugar dealer" will be breaking the law because he is scamming the people, no matter what hes selling he is riping off people. Yes there are several other drugs that a doctor could issue a placebo for and get the same effects.

the fear said...

I do not believe that someone would get high on a fake ecstasy, unless they have never taken the drug before. A person who has taken it would probably be pissed at the guy for burning them with fake drugs. If a dealer was caught with fake pills I think he should still be punished, because he was still trying to sell the real thing and for all we know he may have thought they were real as well. There really is no way to take a street made drug and test it for purity, at least not at that level. The police have the technology to do so but the common pill popper does not. No as for the antidepressants I think it’s a joke. I have a real good friend who is on them by prescription and he is in a constant state of mind that makes him seem like a zombie. If that’s what it takes to make someone “better” than I think we have gone the wrong direction with it. I also know quite a few people who abuse the drug with no cares in the world. These friends of mine act the same way but eat way more than the average dose, and normally drink on top of them. I just had a close friend of mine swear them off as recreation due to a seizure caused by them. The doctors found benzos in his system and told him he most likely came down to fast and just started flopping like a fish. It was scary as hell and makes me wonder why these drugs are on the market and made available to pretty much whoever wants them.

Jeremy Marshall said...

I dont think people would still get high if they took sugar pills thinking it was ecstasy. Its like drinking alchol, people dont act drunk or get drunk off of one drink. If you arent taking actual medicine then there are no symptoms. This whole thing about prozac is ridiculous, if people want to waste their money, then let them. To compare it to illegal drugs is stupid because they arent the same thing. People dont take prozac to get high like they do ecstasy.

tlawrence said...

I think if a drug dealer sold a customer a sugar pill instead of a real ecstasy pill it won't get them high. Maybe they'll just be fooling themselves, bouncing around and have a whole hyper affect on them,but not high. And would I consider that breaking the law? No. It would be like me trying to sell somebody what they think is an unlisensed gun, but was actually a water gun. I think alot of drugs out there are uneffective. I see it as everyone trying to get rich and they will throw out every symptom until they name one that you got.

squeen13 said...

I don't think that a drug dealer who sould sugar pills as ecstasy should be persecuted. He is fooling the client and taking there money, so, I believe, they should only be arressted for theft. They aren't selling harmful schedule I drugs, so there really isn't a reason for them to get in trouble.
I also think that if someone took a sugar pill thinking it was ecstasy they would not get high. Usually when a sugar pill affects someone it's in a way where the mind psychs them out. I don't think the mind would be able to create the whole illusion and intense pleasureable feeling as ecstacy.
In the case of anti-depressants, people think they are depressed most of the time, when they really aren't. Most of the time the depression is in there head, so a sugar pill would "cure" their depression. It's mind over matter.

Celina said...

If someone sells you drugs that are in actuality sugar pills mentally you may be able to convince your self you are getting high just because you want to be high so much. I think this is exactly the problem with these anti depressants; they are really not effective and are prescribed so lightly because most of them are not as effective as they're made out to seem. I have noticed many people who take these kinds of medication act like these medicines are their only hope for sanity and to me they never were depressed but wanted the attention.

I agree that there should be quite a bit more training and conversation that happens prior to a doctor being able to prescribe such medications. But as with everything else there are cases that slip through cracks and for sure this wouldn't solve our problems but it would certainly be a start.

kirsten austin said...

Ecstasy doesn’t only make a person euphoric… Colors are brighter, lights appear stronger leaving trails, your body feels different… Touch is extremely pleasurable, smells are intensified… When you’re rolling on E, you know it. You can feel the change in your body, in your perception… And on top of it your body heats up, and your heart speeds up. However, the drug doesn’t really impair you. What I’m trying to say, is that if you’re experienced with the drug, then a sugar pill isn’t going to do anything for you except make you mad for wasting your money. If the user knows the drug, they know what they’re waiting for after taking it. However, if it’s the user’s first time, or they don’t really know what to expect, it’s easy for them to think that they are feeling it since they don’t really know what they’re supposed to be feeling and especially since the drug doesn’t impair your motor skills. It’s the same with any other drug, or giving a kid nonalcoholic beer. They still act like they’re drunk because they think that’s how they’re supposed to act from seeing other people, or movies, television… As for a dealer pushing sugar pills, they’re still pushing, and should absolutely be arrested for it. It’s still a counterfeit substance, being sold illegally… They would have to be caught directly, however, because a customer can’t exactly go up to a cop shouting about how someone ripped them off when they tried to buy illegal drugs unless they’re ridiculously stupid.
As for other drugs such as Prozac… I absolutely believe that there are medications for depression, anxiety, and all the other problems that come with being a human that are on the market, publicized, and given out like candy at most doctors offices, and don’t work. However it’s the reason that they don’t work that I consider more than anything… I think it depends on the individual’s condition, as well as the dosage… And more than anything, if the person really needs the drug, and if they have been prescribed the right drug. As for Prozac, I don’t know if it works, but it definitely does something… My girlfriend used to be on Prozac a couple years ago, and it made her completely numb. She wasn’t depressed anymore, but she wasn’t happy either. She didn’t feel any emotions, and if anything, she became more depressed because she couldn’t feel anything. What really gets to me about these medications, is that so many people who receive them aren’t receiving any therapy. My friend for years was going to a psychiatrist for ten to fifteen minutes a month, and was prescribed high dosage meds for serious disorders. It makes no sense to me how doctors can give out meds like that without really knowing if that person needs them. They should at least see a psychologist as well who they talk to frequently and who can really taken the time to evaluate them and find the right medication for them, if any. However, most of the people I’ve met who I watched start taking medication didn’t really seem to have any severe or even noticeable problems that would require it. Some on the other hand were greatly helped. I just think that it is given out far too freely without enough insight into the individual’s situation. Almost all of my friends are now on ADD meds, mood stabilizers, or antidepressants. It just bothers me that it’s just as easy for them to get these medications than it is for them to go to Walgreens and buy cough medicine.

AlyssaBeene said...

I have never taken ecstacy but i can not imagine how even if you never had you would THINK you are getting high off of it. I dont believe that you can create your own high if you have never experienced it. I do believe that sugar pills will help bring calm to certain people. Everyone has felt the sensation of "calm" therefore can reproduce it in their minds. My sister was given a placebo sleeping pill because she had convinced herself she had a sleeping disorder. The very first night she took the placebo, she slept soundly through the whole night. We have not told her it is a placebo yet and that was months ago, she has yet to miss a nights sleep.

Alex said...

People Like Taking Drugs. It's Simple As That. If You Haven't Taken An Extacy Pill And You Try Buying One Without Knowing It's A Sugar Pill, You May Think You've Had A Side Effect I Think. You Can't Really Answer That Unless You've Literally Taken A REAL Extacy Pill. If A Person Sold A Fake Drug To Someone, I Wouldn't Really Say It's Breaking The Law. It's Just Not The Real Thing And Is Fooling The Customer. If The Customer Is Trying Ex For The First Time Then They Wouldn't Know Right From Wrong For The Effects. Of Course Selling Real Drugs Is Illegal But I Don't Think They Can Get In Trouble For False Pills. I Don't Really Pay Attention To Drug Problems Or Anything Like That. People Just Need To Take Help From Professionals, Not People On The Streets Selling.

Charles said...

I have always heard so much about this subject but I have never looked into a detailed story about it. The first stated question about the ecstacy pill over a sugar pill, if you have taken ecstacy before you will know if you are getting the real thing or not just by the knowledge of past experiences with the drug. know if you are taking the pill for the first time and then you will still feel some effects. The reasoning for this is odds are you have heard things about this pill and you know people that have told you stories about how they felt. Then your mind will cause you to experience those same feelings, just not to the extreme that a real pill would have. its funny how the mind works.and to answer the other question, yes it is illegal for that person who is selling the drug to do so. there is a name for that type of action but i am not sure of it.

Qt said...

I think a lot of people who are prescribed Prozac do not need it at all and those people are usually the ones that think, “It’s the only thing that keeps me living.” Doctors are so lenient when it comes to depression medication because they don’t require they’re to be any tests or studies on the person to actually prove that are depressed. It is way too easy for the doctor to say, “Well you seem to have the symptoms of depression, I’m going to prescribe you Prozac and see what that does for you”, and then once the person takes it every day they begin to like how they feel on it and get addicted.

"Hey Man" said...

I feel that there is a big problem with the control of prescription drugs, doctors are prescribing people drugs for a problem that the patient might not have at all. There needs to be stricter guidelines for the people getting prescribed anti-depressants and pain killers. Anyone can walk into the doctor’s office and tell them that they are depressed and the doctor will just write a prescription; anyone can walk in and say that their back hurts and the doctor will give them a prescription for pain killers. This is a big problem; people need to go to a psychiatrist before they should be given anti-depressants.

wmp8807 said...

If a drug dealer supposedly was to sell a "sugar pill" to someone, instead of an ecstasy pill, they would not get high in the "real" sense. I think they would probably act as if they were high, because they thought they were taking real drugs. It's like in science experiments when the experimenter gives half the patients the real drug and the other half the placebo and they end up coming out with the same outcome. I don't really have any experience with many of the drugs out there, but I’m extremely sure there are some out there that are not real.

sunshine said...

I think that in a lot of the cases a person does not really need Prozac. A lot of the time they just want a cure for what really can only be cured with time. I personally hate taking medications. I feel like I have more work to keep up with in the day and time to take it. As far as any illegal drugs, well I have never tried any so I wouldn't know if it was fake or real.

gator_girl26 said...

First of all, I find it very disturbing that anyone can self-diagnnose themselves today. I believe only a certified medical doctor should be able to do that. Next, when you go to your doctor with that problem, I think they should be fully aware of the problem you think you are having and the symptoms you think you are experiencing with it and should prescribe counseling before any kind of medication. If a person does not really have a problem, they only think they do and you give them medication for it, they are going to keep coming back for more. I have never taken ecstasy so I cannot speak for what the high you receive from it is like, but I don't think that someone who has taken the drug would think it was real after taking a sugar pill.

Tink1213 said...

I am sure that if someone had never taken ecstasy before, then they might experience “symptoms” from the sugar pills. I think that no matter what drug dealers are selling (sugar pills or real drugs) it’s wrong. I also, do not really believe that prozac is always the best thing for people who are “sick”. I think that if a doctor or doctors have treated a person for a while and they decide that a person needs that medication, then they should receive a prescription. It is way to easy to get medication from doctors. All you have to do is think you have some symptoms and tell them that you saw a commercial and you think that would help you. There are so many people on medication because they think that they are sick and therefore they are put on medicine.

Unknown said...

Yes, I agree that selling a counterfeit anything is wrong and although I have not researched it my self it sounds like something that would be considered illegal. As to other drugs that could be replaced by a placebo and still "work" for those taking it? I am sure it could happen in many cases. Like the old saying "mind over matter" I think most of our problems today mentally are simply in our heads. Like a hypochondriac who always thinks they are ill or coming down something. I also have a problem with self medication thanks to the media people are taking things they don't need left and right and the Dr. are letting people because they need a kick back. I wonder how many of them out there say "no you are not showing symptoms you don't need a pill" But I suppose asking a Dr. to be honest with us would be much like asking a lawyer to not try and rip us off. I know these are stereo types but its what many consider common knowledge not because it is fact for all but sadly because it happens so often. I think the issue with pills is the same, there are some that help those who truly need them but more often then not do nothing at all but play a roll in my mind.

WhiteChoc said...

I agree that in today’s society many people try to self diagnose based on advertisements. I also think that too many people think that prescription drugs are the only solution for some issues. Personally if a doctor prescribed me an anti-depressant I would obtain a second opinion. In many cases simple changes in diet and exercise can improve an individual’s mood and outlook on a situation. I would much rather see doctor’s promoting this method and talk therapy using prescription meds as a last resort. In regards to the question about the drug dealer selling fake ecstasy pills I do believe he should be prosecuted. The drug dealer’s intentions are to profit from a false product. Although the product may not be the real drug the consumer is being deceived.

Girl_in_the_Front said...

well i personally don't take any kinds of pill not unless i am about to die or something, but as far as those ecsaty pills i think that it is just mind over matter, so if i was to be a drug dealer and sold sugar pills people would still get high because thats what is suppose to happen for example when i met my roommates they dranked alcohol a whole lot, adn got drunk every other weekend, so i decided to try it and within a sip i thought i was drunk, becuz that was what was suppose to happen but i really wasn't not to jump off the subject but all that crazy pills are just mind over matter,

thechase16 said...

I really don't have much to say on this article. I do not know anything about antidepressents nor do I plan to. If statistics show that they are effective drugs, then by all means keep them in the market. Now I do feel that if these antidepressents are increasing peoples thought of suicide then they should be outlawed. Asside from this it really does not matter to me what happens in this field.

thechase16 said...

I really don't have much to say on this article. I do not know anything about antidepressents nor do I plan to. If statistics show that they are effective drugs, then by all means keep them in the market. Now I do feel that if these antidepressents are increasing peoples thought of suicide then they should be outlawed. Asside from this it really does not matter to me what happens in this field.

1004 said...

I am the kind of person that swallows pills everytime I am sick. I try to stay away from any kind of pills because I just do not like the idea of swallowing these "drugs" into my body. Now, if I were in a situation where I was on the brink of death, then I would reconsider. The pills that many people are taking, whether they are for antidepressants or for something else I just think they should be really careful about it. There are so many pills out there that does not work but are still selling. Truthfully, I do not really have a lot of say for this article. Just be careful of what you are putting inside your body.

Unknown said...

I strongly agree that antidepressant should only be prescribed to those with severe depression. To many doctor now in day to make quick buck, will quickly diagnose people with depression and give medication with out taking the time to analyze the symptoms to determine how severe the depression is. By doing this doctors would be able to take the correct course of action to treat the depression. There are to many people in society that are ready to go to the doctor to say they are depressed and right away, the doctors will prescribe medication. I know this because I personally experience it. I went to the doctor, expressed my feeling of issues going on in my life and the doctor quickly prescribed me antidepressant, when truly I didn't need any antidepressant. I just needed someone to talk to, so i decided to go to the psychologist; needless to say consoling help a lot more than medicine could.

frankthetank said...

I do believe that a person could think they are high from sugar pills. Especially if that person has never done a drug before. They would be expecting to feel a certain high and their mind could trick them into thinking they are actually high. This is similar to people acting drunk when they thought their drink contained alcohol. Fake drug pushers (sugar pills) should not be punished because they aren't breaking the law. Your mind plays a big role in how a medication works. Tylenol and Aspirin work for people who believe they work. Some people feel that these medicines do not work, so they feel no effects. Prozac users are the same way. In my opinion, it's more of a mind thing than actual scientific linkage.

RikRajos said...

I personally have never taken Prozac, extasy or any other types of drugs, but I do believe that there is this type of corruption in the world today. Everyone seems to be so money hungry and will advertise anything to anyone to make a buck. I mean how hard is it to tell someone that a drug will help them, sell it to them and reap the benefits. At the end of the atrticle the manufactuers mention that not all the facts have been taken into consideration. I would like to know what the other facts are?

Ro-twin said...

In my opinion, I believe the pharmacuetical companies are nothing but scams. I believe majority of their prescriptions are nothing but placebo with a name. Because i find it ironic how some individuals are thinking many medications for certain illness and they are not cured. They still have the same problem. These individuals are brain washed to think they are being cured when they are not. To be honest i do not think medications they prescribe for major illness actually work like depression, cancer, diabetes, and much more. Besides are government is in on it too. The only way this issue will end is if someone put a stop to it for example, if this issus was to happen to a popular individual.

msjessi said...

I think that if a drug dealer gives someone a fake pill (sugar pill) for the first time and they tell the person that it's ecstasy that the person will still have a sugar rush and become hyperactive for a moment of time but of course they will not be high. Also, I actually do think that it is against the law for a drug dealer to sell a customer a placebo when the customer thinks it's ecstasy because that would in some way be drug imitation or counterfeit. This topic is actually kind of appealing to me because I always wondered what type of effects certain drugs had on people and now I don't even know if what people are taking even works for them. I guess I have to look into some more because it's very interesting.

RoxyChic0529 said...

i personally take antidepressants everday. i know that when i dont take them for a while, my whole demeanor changes. the meds i take keep me from going into "fits of anxiety" if you will. when im off my meds, my temper is short, things get to me easier, i worry more and feel totally overwhelmed. i havent taken prozac or anything but i feel the medication i take (Zoloft) does work for me. i'm sure there are other things (besides medication) i could do to make me feel not so overwhelmed, and to not worry as much but my doctor seems to think they work for me, as do i. I was originally prescribed the pills for self mutilation but have since recovered and handle things better. i didnt self diagnose, i never wanted to take meds in the beginning, but they seemed to be a good part of the "recovery process". i have never taken any drugs to "get high" or anything so i suspect that if i was stupid enough to want to and actually boght drugs (that were fake/sugar pills) from a so-called drug dealer that i might think and feel like they were real becuase i have never experienced anything like that before.

Mina Armanious said...

The person merely thinking that the pill will have some effect on his or her mood drastically can change one’s outlook. One other reason that Prozac could be considered effective is that some of the side effects could make a person happier. For example, Prozac is a stimulant, which can boost a person out of the tiredness that most depressed people feel. The positive side effects alone are not good reasons to be having a large percentage of the American society on drugs such as Prozac. There are many natural means to change one’s mood such as eating well, taking one’s vitamins, getting sufficient sleep, and exercising. It seems today people are more willing to putting themselves at risk by taking antidepressants than they are willing to take care of themselves naturally.

Sam Shukla said...

I have never taken any kind of antidepressant medication before so I really don’t know if they are effective or not but I think ,that doctors are sometimes too quick to just give a patient a prescription for some pills and just send them home. I really think doctors should maybe get these patients counseling and therapy rather than just giving them prescription drugs and sending them on there way home. Many of the times the side effects of these medications are worse than what they are used to treat. As far as a drug dealer selling placebo’s to his/her customers, I don’t think that that individual should be punished by the law for two reasons. The first reason being, that individual isn’t actually distributing a real drug and the individuals who are fooled into thinking that the placebo is the real drug and somehow are feeling the effects of the intended drug are having illusions of the mind. The second reason being that those who do not feel the effects of the drug will probably be considerably angry at their dealer for ripping them off and the dealer will have to deal with angry customers seeking a refund or to possible physically harm the dealer, which I think is punishment enough for selling the placebos.

matthew said...

I don't understand how instead of trying to actually help the patient, so many doctors just prescribe these anti-depressant pills. I for one am against taking pills to help with depression. I believe the best medicine for depression is talk therapy and time.

If you take a sugar pill believing it's ectasy, i highly doubt you are still going to get high off the pill. Also this should not be considered a crime, it's the cusomer's decision to buy from the dealer.

foXyE77 said...

I do believe that taking pills for the most part is mind over matter.That goes for everyone, for example when we have a head ache we take advil, whether it is just a minor head ache or a migrane,after we take it in just a few minutes we start to feel better is it that the advil actually did its job in 5 minutes or is it that because we know that advil will cure the pain we automatically start to feel better?That goes for anything we swallow in order to feel something...whether it be over the counter drugs,prescription drugs,and even illegal drugs such as ecstasy.Now a days with all the medication that is pretty much handed out to anyone that believes they have a problem it's not surprising that a sugar pill can solve their problem.That just goes to show that for the most part people are looking for any excuse to get a pill to help cure something they can cure themselves,except of course for the few people that actually do have a psyhological problems and benefit from the drugs.

SocialButterfly said...

I guess that is the problem with todays society; Everyone wants to take medication. My mom is even on these diet pills and she thinks they work because she is actually looking better. But it is really because she is excersing like crazy and eating healthier. Also, my dad had to tell her that when she thought she was depressed, a while ago, it wasnt serious. She used to want to take a pill for everything. That is all fixed now and thankfully it didn't last long. But there are people who are way worse and are probably taking a pill for everything and are in danger of harming their body. And even some docters just go ahead and prescribe a prescription for anything. When I was younger, I went to a yearly physical examine and when I mentioned something slightly annoying, not very concerning, about my ankle, she wrote two prescriptions. I don't remember what they were for but I didn't take them and my dad didn't take me back. Medience should be for people who really have something wrong with them. Everyone else who is just thinking something is wrong, shouldn't ignore serious symptoms, but should not be so quick to want a pill right away. And how come the FDA didnt catch that prozac didnt work? If we are suppose to have a Federal protection for the public, then why wasnt this seen? And what if the pill they let pass, had dangerous effecting results later in life. Like, what if the side effects added up overtime of taking a certain pill and they didnt catch it.

hurricanes520 said...

It is hard to say if someone would get “high” if taking a sugar pill that was thought to be ecstasy. Your mind controls your body it thinks your sick it makes you sick. Someone might go to the doctor looking for a quick fix to their problem, as we learned in class that many physicians prescribe this medication when the patient asks for them. I know first hand that many of this antidepressants work, although it may take some time for your body to get used to them side effects are always a risk when starting any type of medication. These side effects will usually go away or you and your physician can talk about the medication and find a cocktail that is right for your situation. America is dependent on their “drugs” I would say that almost everyone or nearly everyone has once been or know someone that is one some sort of antidepressant medication. As for this medications being ineffective I think that the ones that are ineffective are the patients that think their ineffective. I believe that the body controls the mind thinking that the body needs some sort of medication when truly it doesn’t.

googleit@yahoo said...

I know that someone wont get high off Ecstasy but medical drugs are a different story. There have been many studies on the "placebo" effects. I think its illegal to sell any drugs even if they are fake so that would be a crime but when a sugar pill is used and has scientific evidence to back it up
then I can see the justification of using the "fake". I don't think it is wrong to practice this method as long as it works because in the end the patient is achieving the same goal they wanted when starting the medication. I think its a good idea.

dwtc said...

I think that there are many drugs on the market today that are fake. I can exactly recall the effect but I am pretty sure it is called the placebo effect; where a subject takes a "drug" and the only influence it has on them is what their mind controls. I think there are many drugs like this on the market. If not 100% ineffective, I think there are even MORE drugs that deal with mind control and faking someones mind. Often times whether or not I take a medicine for a common cold, I will overcome the cold in the same amount of time. Who is to say whether or not the drugs actually worked for me? I think that many marketing corporations base what they sell on their consumers lack of knowledge of the drugs they are purchasing.

tennispro said...

I think that there are many drugs in this world that dont work. Well when I say dont work I am talking about physically. There are many tests out there that show that if you think you are taking a drug that is suppose to make you feel better, you can start feeling better even if it is just a normal substance in the pill. If you were a drug dealer and you give someone white powder and say it is cocaine and that person is an under cover cop, is what the drug dealer did illegal?

tquintero728 said...

If a would-be drug dealer sells someone what they think is ecstasy, I do think that the person would still experience a high. I believe this because placebos are very effective. You could have ingested a sugar pill, but if in your head, you think it is a drug, then you will act as if you are under the influence of drugs. The so called “pusher”, in my opinion should still be punished. I think this because, for one, the person is a fraud. Two, the person is acting criminally, whether doing something illegal or not. The police would investigate this situation, while wasting valuable time that could have been spent on another case. I do believe that there are other prescriptions on the market that could potentially be ineffective. There is always the possibility.

BucFan1984 said...

If a dealer sells a “customer” a sugar pill instead of the drug they were looking for as long as the person believes it I think they will convince there body to think they are high. They would be breaking the law for false advertizing that is what I think about that because they are selling a fictional product. When it comes to drug trafficking it would be a stretch with sugar pills. It is also possible that Prozac is not the only drug that is out there that could not be as effective as believed. As long as the patient or the test subjects produce good results they can say water with sugar is good for you. There really could be a longer testing period overseen by multiple personnel on the issue so it doesn’t happen. Even drug out now should be tested and retested every once in a while to make sure it is still the right formula as is listed.

wanttobefit said...

If I get cheated by taking a sugar pill instead of the real thing, then shame on them, but if I need to take anti-depressants in the first place, shame on me. It is sad, I mean,pathetic that people today resort to pills for everything especially depression. For the most part, depression is self inflicted anyway so to me it's hillarious that people have paid for sugar pills instead of Prozac and it helped them. Which means that either one, the placebo effect worked,or they never needed a darn thing after all!

lil_princess86 said...

I personally feel that most people just think it works but I believe that it does not work at all. There are alot of studies done on how prozac doesnt really work like people think. If a psychiatrist prescribes them this pill an average person wouldnt question someone who has a doctorate in psychiatry. You cant always believe everything someone tells you so why would you always believe everything a psychiatrist says. These prescribtions are costly and they generate big profit for all the parties involved without acknowledging the patient care and the outcome. Patients in desperation they become addicted to the idea that the medication is working.

EUrban said...

I believe that many doctors really try to push many drugs upon people instead of truly thinking about what the patient is in need of. My friend is an extremely depressed person and when she takes her medicine I feel that she is still depressed. In my opinion since it is found that these drugs are in fact not working there should be the alternative of counseling involved. This to me could change the way people think and the things they do and in the end make them happier instead of just drugging them. I know that I personally would not want to be on a medication for depression I would want someone to simply help me get a better outlook of life to make me happier.

Anonymous said...

This is an example of the pharmaceutical companies being like any other company in America these days. Its all about profit. So what that a drug probably doesn't work like they promised. As long as no one dies from the drugs, and they make money, the pharmaceutical companies will continue to do what they have been doing to for years. Thats what makes me mad, no one seeing that this is about a company more worried about profits then helping the consumer. And when something bad comes out like this, people get paid to spin it to make it not look as bad. Somebody in the drug companies thought it was ok to do whatever it took to keep these drugs on the market even when they really don't do anything at all, and that this sicking to think about. I really dont think this is the last we will hear about drugs not doing what they were promised they would do.

max said...

If the dealer sold a customer a sugar pill I think to some degree the customer will get high. They think that they are taking ecstasy so they will act different. If it’s the first time for the customer then I don’t think anything will happen since they don’t know what ecstasy does to their body. Technically they are breaking the law by selling the sugar pills as ecstasy but I don’t think it should be against the law. I do believe that other drugs that are out on the market are ineffective. I do however think that each drug affects different people differently. So a drug that works for someone doesn’t means that it will help other people

phildo888 said...

The only way a drug dealer could get away with that is if they sold this "ecstasy" to someone who has never taken drugs. This is very unlikely because some random clean person is not going to try to get drugs from some dude on the street, but if they did it is possible they may think they are high, but anyone with experience could tell you if they are under the influence or not. As for other drugs on the market being faux, there are most certainly a few. I'm going to make a guess that RLS is not a real disease. Otherwise know as restless leg syndrome, creepy crawlers, and jumpy foots, and yes those are all real names. To take medication for things like this is ridiculous; it is no wonder Prozac was found ineffective. People are coming up with disorders so they can make medication for it, and it has gotten way out of hand.

APhilibert said...

I suppose that if a fake drug is helping people feel better, than I am not anybody to oppose that. I personally take very few medications because I do not believe in them. Even if a medication does work, and the taker does not believe in the results, the likely hood of the patients symptoms being resolved is slim. On the other hand, with the medicalization of everything, a pill has become the quick easy solution to all of your problems. As America becomes more lazy and fast paced, they desire an answer that is as quick and simple as tossing back a pill, even if there are no medical reasons for it working.

TTZ3806 said...

If Prozac isn't effective, then who knows what other prescription drug doesn't work? It's crazy how doctors just seem to hand out prescription pills with no problem, but it's even more rediculous how they aren't even effective. No wonder kids are getting high off of prescription pills these days. It is so easy to get.It is a great idea from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that patients claiming they have depression should have counceling before they can be prescribed any sort of medication. The patients given the sugar pills may believe they are getting cured, when they are really not. The drug dealer's customer would not become high if given sugar pills instead of ecstasy. It's a different scenario.

mndz05 said...

Well to begin with if a so-called drug dealer sold a fake ecstasy pill to a person who has taken the real drug before then I don’t think they would have the same feeling they would if they were to take the real one. Now if it were somebody who has never done it before and were doing it for the first time, I think they would feel it because they have that mentality of getting high. I think it would be considered as breaking the law because they were intentionally trying to sell it just as if they were selling the real thing. As for the advertised medications I don’t think they should just be prescribed just like that. People who really need these medications should leave this as a last option. Like the article mentioned in other words they are just trying to make their money they don’t really care how it affects the patients. I would definitely go with counseling first. I don’t agree with none of them.

Dawid said...

Its crazy to debate on this subject because its scary but yet true. Why because it goes further than just prozac think of all the medicines pills and drug products that doctors prescribe can they really be proserous to ones health or even life. By even at times making situations worse causing life and death conflicting with and inflicting ones mind with dishonesty in order for them to make ends meat or gross income for their martial status. For example my mother suffers from various sickness associated with her pressure and doctors prescribed her some pills to take and after a couple of weeks approximatly she started to have weird reactions and just seemed worse not also seeing she hated taking pills already she stop taking them started taking different herbs and natural things to help with her illness for a couple of weeks straight on a daily basis. And few weeks later for her appointment her doctor simply stated that their were no signs at all of her illness and still wanted her take the pills because he felt it would keep her illness at a low risk or rate of occuring frequently or get worse.

pcgirl said...

I think kids that are not addicted to ecstasy would believe they are high off the sugar pills, but addicts probably would not. I do not believe it is ethical or moral to lie but pushers are breaking the law in my opinion. I mean we talked in class about AirBorne getting in trouble for this so why shouldn’t pushers get the same punishment. As for medication, I believe it is wrong to charge people ridiculous prescription prices for sugar pills. However, I do not see any harm if the patient is given a sugar pill at a reasonable price and is given documentation of the pill saying in one way or another what the pill consist of. I do not see how companies can be so deceiving to customers. I guess very thing in the world is revolved around money so it does not surprise me that it is happening. I believe there should be something done with the standards that are involved in the distribution on medication.

Anonymous said...

If a drug dealer sold someone a sugar pill that looked like an ecstasy pill, what would happen would be the same thing that happens when an adult gives a younger kid a non-alcoholic beer. The kid gets excited that there getting a beer. It will give them the illusion that they’re buzzed because it’s all in there head. They think there consuming alcohol so they will probably get light headed or something.I think most of the mass-produced medicine out in wal mart, like aspirin and cough medicine don’t even work. How do we know what’s in that stuff, where supposed to belieive that they get the right amount of there so called medicine into those millions of pills. I think that Prozac is not the only drug out there that doesn’t work.

Mony88 said...

I never thought Prozac was a good drug anyway. To learn that is does not work is not shocking at all. Many drugs now a day are fake and get people addicted just because they think its working. The FDA allows new drugs everyday to go on the markets that don’t work. It’s all about money. They take lab results that are based on animal testing and if people are used it is not for long testing. Many drugs have hazardous side effects that can cause mental and physical harm to the people taking them for a long time. It’s sad that the doctors are supposed to be trusted and just do it for the money. It’s bad when they know it does not work but they still prescribe it, these people are supposed to be trusted.

mmariem25 said...

It is very possible that customers might get high or feel good after taking a sugar pill they buy from a drug dealer which they think is a “feel good drug.” Their euphoric feelings can in this case probably be attributed to the fact that thinking they bought a feel good drug makes them happy. Perhaps the pusher cannot be prosecuted for breaking the law with respect to illegal drugs but he might be prosecuted or sued for false advertising or fraud. My father takes about 20 different pills a day. He plans his whole life around the taking of his daily medications. Yet when some crisis occurs and he is unable to take one pill or another for a couple of days there seems to be no downhill slide in his “health.” So yes I do think one’s mental attitude has a lot to do with whether medication is beneficial or not. But look at the positive side. Think how many jobs are in play in drug making industries, pharmacies, research labs and the medical practices of physicians. Discovering drugs, manufacturing drugs, prescribing drugs and selling drugs keep people employed and anxious customers calm. A sure “prescription” for success!

roxanita said...

I think that sometimes people are so desperate on finding depressant, that they go ahead and buy what ever anyone says it is helpful in the market whether its an actual depressant or not, believing the effects. I believe it’s also in one’s head, because if you by the pill consciously thinking what the effects are going to be, when you take the pill your going to feel the way you want to feel thinking the pill has it’s effects. It is natural for us to believe what is visually occurring because it is our first instinct, especially when one takes specific pills for a specific purpose.

JR8 said...

I think if someone is thinking there taking an ecstasy pill for the first time but really taking a sugar pill that person will think they are high or at least felling different, but really they are just having a sugar rush not getting “high”. As, for the fact if the person selling the drug would be considered a drug dealer is yes that person would because he is telling everyone it is ecstasy which is illegal and selling drugs fake or real is illegal so yes they should be punished just like someone else that was selling the real ecstasy pill.

M.Gonzalez said...

It is amazing how many issues we are now having with drugs that truly don’t treat what they claim to treat. I believe this is clearly illegal, and should be addressed and there should be major fines against all companies who distribute the drugs. Just as if a drug dealer provided say a sugar pill instead of ecstasy, I believe that is completely wrong, and the purchaser should get their money back. As for the question about if a person would realize the difference, I believe in the ecstasy case they would. Only because of the powerful hallucinogens that ecstasy has. I also believe there are definitely other drugs in the market that are also frauds, and they have recently surfaced in that couple of months including, Vytorin the cholesterol drug, and even Airborn. However, the drug companies still continue to make a ridiculous amount of money, and they are not punished for it. This needs to change, and there needs to be harsher penalties for them because these drugs cost us way too much money.

richwhitegirl said...

I believe this process would be a good way to seed out people who might not really be clinically depressed from those who seem that even with the sugar pills still feel down. Even through experiments like this I personally believe that depression is real because even though some people felt better with the sugar pills some did not.Sometimes when people feel like they are going threw a rough time they might think they have depression in truth this is something everyone feels at one point in their lives, but if you feel that way all the time then there in lies your problem.

Britt said...

I believe that drug use is psychological. Personally, I have never taken any drugs such as extasy, but I have taken pills like Advil and after taking Advil for a long period of time I feel like it doesn't work anymore, mostly because I think it's my mind tricking me because my body is used to the pill now. I'm sure that if someone was given a sugar pill then the side affects would vary depending on that person's mood. If someone is looking to get high, then no matter what they take, they are going to act differently than they were before they took the "sugar pill". If you put a thought in your head and you thought you were taking the real drug then im almost sure someone would get a high off of it. On the other hand if it were a drug addict, then I think they might know the difference in what they were taking, if they weren't already high. And yes I think it should be illegal for someone to sell fake drugs. Whether or not the pills are real or fake shouldn't be the concern. They had evert intension of leading people to believe they were buying drugs to get high and that is illegal. I think the would-be drug dealer should be treated as a real drug dealer and faced with the same pinalties.

Britt said...

*penalties ;)

Britt said...

I believe that drug use is psychological. Personally, I have never taken any drugs such as extasy, but I have taken pills like Advil and after taking Advil for a long period of time I feel like it doesn't work anymore, mostly because I think it's my mind tricking me because my body is used to the pill now. I'm sure that if someone was given a sugar pill then the side affects would vary depending on that person's mood. If someone is looking to get high, then no matter what they take, they are going to act differently than they were before they took the "sugar pill". If you put a thought in your head and you thought you were taking the real drug then im almost sure someone would get a high off of it. On the other hand if it were a drug addict, then I think they might know the difference in what they were taking, if they weren't already high. And yes I think it should be illegal for someone to sell fake drugs. Whether or not the pills are real or fake shouldn't be the concern. They had evert intension of leading people to believe they were buying drugs to get high and that is illegal. I think the would-be drug dealer should be treated as a real drug dealer and faced with the same pinalties.

TMyers1087 said...

I believe that this is a real issue in our country. Selling ineffective drugs to patients is just another way for companies to get rich. I think there could be more drugs out there, other that antidepressants, that also try to make money from their patients by fooling them. Before anyone is prescribed any drug for depression, they should be seen by a councelor to be shure. This would most likely cut down on the number of people that are being prescribed antidepressants. By seeing a councelor first, maybe people would change their minds about needing to take the drug. This would then decrease the probabilty of the side effects that can come when taking the drug.