Thom Hartmann: SCOTUS Gave Big Pharma the Right to Kill & Maim

[thomhartmann]

Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio, joins Thom Hartmann. SCOTUS gave Big Pharma a free pass. While all the media's attention was focused on high-profile cases involving the Voting Rights Act and same-sex marriage - our nine unelected monarchs made a decision that could literally mean life or death for many Americans. On Monday - the Court issued its ruling in the case of Mutual Pharmaceutical Company v. Bartlett - striking yet another blow against our ability to hold drug companies accountable for the dangerous side effects of their products.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[Dustlawyer]

1. As an attorney I have watched our legal rights erode with each passing year.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been working on doing away with or limiting our rights to sue, have a jury trial, caps on damage awards (they say for the frivolous cases) and other impediments to the courthouse. Trial lawyers only get paid out of a percentage of a recovery so they try NOT to sign frivolous or weak cases, there never has been an epidemic of frivolous cases which is what they use to justify the massive tort reform that they are still chipping away at.
Mike is not spouting hyperbole, the drug companies now have immunity (Federal Preemption) from suits over the harmful effects their products cause. What's next?

[KT2000]

2. Complete Corporate Control

Some insurance companies are already requiring people to use the drugs they prefer, even when side effects are known to occur in the individual.

Particular pesticide is linked to breast cancer. That pesticide manufacturer buys chemo drug company. Same company starts a campaign to raise money for breast cancer research by having cancer survivors run for three days. Lots of marketers get in on the fund raising with ribbons on their products.
Fundraising campaign steers research away from environmental causes that may implicate commercial products.
Free market - there is nothing you cannot make money on, especially if morality, ethics and a conscience are not a concern. Paul Bremer's utopia right here in the US!

[mtasselin]

3. Obama

I voted for this person twice, what a mistake this has turned out to be, but then again those other assholes would have done the same thing. The American people don't stand a chance when the guy we expected to be on our side sold us out, sad, sad day for Americans.

[proverbialwisdom]

4. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Take Prescription Drugs, Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center Find

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2013-rst/7543.html

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Take Prescription Drugs, Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center Find

Germ fighters, antidepressants, opioids top list; women, elderly likelier to have prescriptions
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

CORRECTION: Corrects fourth most commonly prescribed drugs to drugs used to lower lipids rather than drugs to control blood pressure, and adds Olmsted Medical Center as study co-author.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center researchers say. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: For audio and video of Dr. Jennifer St. Sauver talking about the study, visit the Mayo Clinic News Network: http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org

The findings offer insight into prescribing practices. The statistics from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minn. are comparable to those elsewhere in the United States, says study author Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., a member of the Mayo Clinic Population Health Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

<>

Prescription drug use has increased steadily in the U.S. for the past decade. The percentage of people who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44 percent in 1999-2000 to 48 percent in 2007-08. Spending on prescription drugs reached $250 billion in 2009 the year studied, and accounted for 12 percent of total personal health care expenditures. Drug-related spending is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, the researchers say.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

[boilerbabe]

5. profit motive trumps everything, nt