All drugs are poisons, and that’s OK

[HuckleB]

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/04/07/all-drugs-are-poisons-and-thats-ok/

"...

Another aphorism that I distinctly remember from later in my medical school experience was delivered on the very first day of my pharmacology class. Within the first five minutes the professor told us that all medications were poisons. They all interfere with normal cellular processes in some way. The ones we use as physicians just interfere with cellular processes in a way that can be beneficial in disease, and, quoting Paracelsus, he noted that the dose makes the poison.

So, yes, all medications are poisons in that they “poison” an enzyme or other biomolecule. (Look for a quack near you to quote mine that statement by saying, for instance, “Orac says all medications are poisons” and leaving out the rest of the sentence.) I’ll give you an example: Aspirin. Aspirin, as many of you know, is acetylsalicylic acid. This particular molecule irreversibly inhibits an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX), which is involved in the production of mediators of inflammation, among other things. The exact details aren’t important, such as how aspirin inhibits the COX1 version more than COX 2 or how it does so by attaching an acetyl chemical group to the active site of the enzyme. The point is that aspirin permanently inactivates an enzyme. It poisons the cell. That’s how it works. In fact, when used as a “blood thinner,” aspirin permanently poisons a certain kind of cell, namely the platelet. Because a platelet doesn’t have a nucleus, it can’t make more COX. What it has when it’s made is all that it will ever have, and if that COX is irreversibly blocked, that platelet’s function is impaired for the rest of its lifespan. Again, without getting too technical, that’s how aspirin works as a blood thinner. It’s an antiplatelet drug.

...

As noted above, whenever a physician treats a disease or condition with a drug—or any other treatment, for that matter—it’s a question of balancing risks with benefits. All real physicians know that. It’s what they are trained to do. It’s only in the fantasy world of deluded idiots like Mike Adams, Joe Mercola, antivaccinationists, and the usual assortment of quacks and cranks that there are medications or treatments for illness that have real therapeutic effects that don’t also have risks and side effects. In some cases, these side effects and risks can be serious. Even when true, that doesn’t invalidate or otherwise render useless the treatment and its therapeutic effects.

...

All drugs are poisons, and that’s OK. They couldn’t work if they weren’t poisons. It’s the nature of the poison—and the dose—that determines their usefulness, and all drugs have risks to go along with their benefits. Damn that nuance."

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A very good read, indeed.

[WheelWalker]

1. One person's poisoning is another person's psychedelia. n/t

[meow2u3]

2. One person's poison is another person's medicine

It all depends on the dose. Too much of even beneficial meds can sicken or kill.

[NightWatcher]

3. What does cannabis poison?

I understand about poison medicine, I take "low dose" chemotherapy medicine to poison my body just enough so that it will stop attacking itself. (I have auto immune issues)

[HuckleB]

4. It's certainly not among the most potent poisons, but...

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/833828-overview

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23796481

If it can have a positive effect, it can also have a negative effect for some.