Hello again steemit ! I'm so glad to see my introductory post garnered some interest..I thought for my first post I would go a little into why herbalism makes sense..especially today when we are surrounded by so many different medications with their varying side effects and tremendous cost. If I'm offering you another option let's take a look at not only why you should consider Herbalism but why you shouldn't always consider what's currently available from our modern pharmaceutical giants..Do they really have our best interests at heart? did I make an erroneous statement saying in my introductory post that curing you isn't good for business.. Let's take a look into some common practices they use that the average person is unaware of.. We have to keep in mind that these companies have but one goal..the same goal all companies have..and that's to make money. Let's start off with a look at Prozac..a medication most of us have heard of as an antidepressant..

Drug giant Eli Lilly spent an enormous amount of money developing this drug and rightfully wanted to reap the financial rewards they were entitled to. when a company develops a new drug they have a certain amount of time where they own the exclusive right to sell the drug. They will often change extraordinary high prices for the drug to cover the cost of research and development, testing and marketing..We may not like this but it's understandable ..they want to get the biggest return on their investment while they can..once their exclusively runs out they will be forced to drop their prices as competitors will flood the market with cheaper generic versions of the drug..This is business 101 right? So what's the shady part?  If you haven't noticed drugs will have 2 names its brand name which is Prozac and it's chemical name..which in this case is Fluoxetine. The chemical name won't change but the brand name might..so how do Eli Lilly and others try to cheat the system? like this.. They can extend their exclusivity on a drug if they can find a new way to use it ..a new indication to use it for..if they can do that they can give the drug a new lifecycle. This is where they get creative..They will often "create" new conditions. This what happened with Prozac..enter "premenstrual dysphoric disorder " that unpleasantness that accompanies menstruation..the mood swings, panic attacks and anxiety..Women have suffered from this since time immemorial and now thanks to Eli Lilly they have an answer..a "new" drug called "Seraphem" a very femmenin sounding drug to help alleviate this condition but one look at the chemical name of Seraphem reveals it's actually Fluoxetine..Prozac. There are millions of women who would never use Prozac because of its known side effects that are now tricked into using it because they believe it's a new drug to treat a new condition..This goes on everyday..GlaxoSmithKline did the same thing with welbutrin another anti depressant that happened to help with smoking..they rebranded it as Zyban.

What else will they do? Well a good part of their marketing goes towards getting doctors on board. This runs very deep and Dr's are courted by these companies from their first day of medical school when drug reps hand them a brand new organizer and continues well into their residency with the gifts getting increasingly more expensive..they know  new Dr's have no money yet..just look at any resident and look at their stethoscope etc..they will all be compliments of one pharmecetical giant or another .Dr's also read medical journals to see what is on the cutting edge of medicine and drugs..Companies are often well aware before a drug is released what potential side effects there are and they work diligently to cover and suppress these potentially harmful side effects..There was a case where a company called Medtronic payed out over 210 million to get surgeons to sign their names on reports written by their own marketing team..downplaying or not mentioning the risks at all..The product was called "Infuse" and it was touted as a bone growth medication ..what they didn't report was that it caused infertility in men and has been linked to cancer..The warnings were always there in the fine print but they were able to change the wording to play up the benefits while downplaying the side effects..They will conduct studies and simply only print the ones that show their product in a favorable light.

How about opioids.? I'm an Army combat veteran and like many of my peers who have been wounded in the line of duty I was given opioids for pain..I was one of the lucky ones..I avoided addiction and thankfully found other non addictive alternatives to manage my pain. Many of my comrades in arms didn't get away so easily..they have become hopelessly addicted to these medications and often seek out street drugs when they are systematically cut off by the government without being weened off them..The F.D.A. lists hydrocodone (Vicodin) as less dangerous than marijuana yet causes over 100,000 emergency room visits per year..The U.S. makes up only 5% of the world's population yet uses 80% of all opioids produced each year..are they trying to take away our pain or create long standing customers..?

We talked a bit about how the drug companies court Dr's through medical school well how about after?  Every ad always tells you "ask your Dr about so and so. they are getting pressure from all sides and they are incentivized by being awatded trips and fancy expensive dinners..and how and what they prescribe is strictly monitored and they need to keep the prescriptions coming if they want the goodies coming..so how can you trust their recommendations?

The company's will also form "shill" organizations like "National center for.." or "The American society of.  " that will endorse these new miracle drugs. They only recommend the medications that are. made by the people who sign their paychecks. Take the American Acne and Rosacea society" which is funded by the Acne medicine faction .they see supposed to be impartial but it's no surprise that Galderma has 13 out of the 15 person panel of "experts" on their payroll..Is it a surprise that they would recommend Galderma's 2,500 a year acne treatment over the much more cost effective one offered by the generic equivalent (only $120) 

Heard of Advair? it was the 5th best selling asthma medication a few years back. GlaxoSmithKline made a lot of money and this was chiefly due to a recommendation by the National heart lung and blood institute..who had twelve of the eighteen person panel on their payroll..GSK have been under investigation for shelling out over 500 million in bribes to Chinese doctors by conducting this underhanded tactic over seas.. They were Trying to get the Dr's on board by having them go after the cheaper generic alternatives offered and prevent them from entering the country..

I can keep going here as I've barely scratched the surface of what the pharmaceutical industry is doing behind closed doors but I'll end with something called "me too" drugs..so what's that? Well it makes up a large percentage of the new drugs that are released each year..you probably thought like a lot of people that each new drug commercial you see is a brand new innovative product but it isn't.. it can take up to a half billion dollars to develop a brand new type of drug so In the interest of profits the drug manufacturers take a. less expensive less riskier route and that's taking an already proven drug and changing the formula ever so slightly make up a new name and pump the majority of their investment into massive media campaigns..now there is a school of thought that says having 15 options for a given type of medication creates competition and reduces prices but in the long run the savings are negligible and the industry focuses more on putting out"safe" bets rather then the tremendous amount that it takes to take a brand new type of drug to market. 

So perhaps I've given you a little look under the hood of the prescription drug Industry and perhaps brought up some things you weren't aware of...maybe even given you food for thought on why They don't have your best interests at heart. This is only half the equation though..this only tells us why not the pharmaceutical industry it doesn't tell you why herbalism is a something you might want to seriously consider..We will go into that aspect of things in my next post.

The Herbalist