Indicted by the state of New Jersey for the murder of retired Colonel William Farber. Dr Carl Coppolino had been having an affair with Farber's wife, Marjorie. Did he kill Marjorie's husband and his own wife so he could marry Marjorie? If he did, he may have regretted it, for Marjorie Farber became the prosecution's star witness, claiming her former lover had hypnotized her into becoming an unwilling accomplice in the death of her husband. Famed attorney F. Lee Bailey led the defense and concluded that Marjorie Farber was a classic case of a woman scorned. But did the jury agree?
"Deadly Medicine tells the dramatic story of a great tragedy involving a class of drugs still on the market. It reveals why the same medical system that brings us lifesaving treatments can create a catastrophe almost beyond imagining." "The story begins with a new heart drug created in the research laboratories of the 3M Company. In animals, this drug appears unusually effective in suppressing irregular heartbeats. Hoping for a blockbuster, 3M launches clinical tests in humans and plans how to seize the market from competing companies. But as medical researchers test Tambocor, as the drug is called, the first signs of potential trouble appear. At Stanford University, a doctor warns that this type of powerful drug may be dangerous. Other experiments fail to demonstrate the expected benefits of such drugs. But with the support of their clinical doctors and with millions of dollars invested in Tambocor, 3M moves ahead and seeks approval from the FDA. Other companies also follow suit with similar drugs." "Questions about the safety of Tambocor have already reached the medical review staff at the FDA in Washington, D.C., where a behind-the-scenes drama takes place. 3M presses for approval of Tambocor, while the FDA staff tries to interpret the meaning of reports that some patients who have taken the drug suddenly drop dead. Without a green light from the FDA, Tambocor may be doomed." "The final chapters in the story unfold as 3M gets to the marketplace and, using all the skills of a modern pharmaceutical manufacturer, persuades doctors to use Tambocor. At the same time, an important clinical trial begins. The National Institutes of Health launch an experiment with more than a thousand patients to measure the benefits of Tambocor and two similar drugs. The shocking results of that study and the response of the doctors and companies who promoted these drugs bring the tragedy to a powerful conclusion." "Deadly Medicine is a human story about the brilliant and driven doctors who worked on Tambocor and similar heart drugs - at pharmaceutical companies, within the FDA, and at university medical research centers. It provides a vivid and disturbing account of the system by which drugs are discovered, tested, and marketed to doctors. Through the tragic story of how tens of thousands of patients died prematurely from one class of heart drugs, Deadly Medicine also exposes major flaws in this system."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE THE THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AFTER HEART DISEASE AND CANCER. In his latest ground-breaking book, Peter C Gotzsche exposes the pharmaceutical industries and their charade of fraudulent behaviour, both in research and marketing where the morally repugnant disregard for human lives is the norm. He convincingly draws close co
Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively. Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives, and this lack of aggregated knowledge has broad public health implications. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids provides a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to the health effects and potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis. This report provides a research agendaâ€"outlining gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for providing additional insight into these issuesâ€"that summarizes and prioritizes pressing research needs.
The Drug Expert: A Practical Guide to the Impact of Drug Use in Legal Proceedings targets academic and industry pharmacologists, pharmacology graduate students, and professionals and students of affiliated disciplines, such as pharmacy and toxicology. Users will find it to be an invaluable reference for those involved in the field. In addition, pharmacists and others who increasingly serve as expert witnesses and toxicologists will find an array of very useful information. - Focuses on important topics for the consulting pharmacologist, including prescription, over-the-counter and illegal drugs and their effects on criminal and civil proceedings - Details the "how-to aspects of being an expert witness in pharmacology by presenting real-life cases and effective tips and experiences - Includes several appendices, such as a sample letter of engagement and fee schedule, a litigation report, a consulting invoice and valuable resources
Originally published in 2012, revised edition published in 2013, by Fourth Estate, Great Britain; Published in the United States in 2012, revised edition also, by Faber and Faber, Inc.
Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.
Did You Know? Eating too much broccoli could be deadly if you also take the popluar blood thinner called Coumadin (warfarin)? Grapefruit juice, when used to wash down certain atihistamines, immune suppressors, or blood pressure drugs, can cause blood levels of these powerful drugs to soar? The result: serious side effects. Birth control pills might be rendered ineffective by the following substances: barbituates, antibiotics, anti-fungal drugs, tuberculosis drugs, certain anticonvulsants? Is Your Life In Danger? Everyone has taken more than one pill simultaneously. Yet every time you combine drugs with prescription medicines, foods, vitamins, minerals, herbs or alcohol you explose yourself to the risk of a potentially dangerous interaction. Deadly Drug Interactions Can Help You. Over 200 easy-to-understand charts with information on medications for pain relief, allergies, asthma, arthritis, heart problems, depression, diabetes, contraception, ulcers and much more. Descriptions of the symptoms of interactions. Specific concerns of women, children and older people. Vital information of Lanoxin, Cardizem, Prozac, Mevacor, Ortho-Novum, Tagamet, Coumadin, Dilatin, Cipro, Synthroid, Procardia, and scores of other commonly prescribed medicines.
Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.
A four-year investigation into the world of synthetic drugs—from black market factories to users & dealers to harm reduction activists—and what it revealed. A deeply human story, Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of a hazardous and illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. “A whole new crop of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape,” writes Ben Westhoff. “These are known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory, and are much more potent than traditional drugs” —and all-too-often tragically lethal. Drugs like fentanyl, K2, and Spice—and those with arcane acronyms like 25i-NBOMe—were all originally conceived in legitimate laboratories for proper scientific and medicinal purposes. Their formulas were then hijacked and manufactured by rogue chemists, largely in China, who change their molecular structures to stay ahead of the law, making the drugs’ effects impossible to predict. Westhoff has infiltrated this shadowy world. He tracks down the little-known scientists who invented these drugs and inadvertently killed thousands, as well as a mysterious drug baron who turned the law upside down in his home country of New Zealand. Westhoff visits the shady factories in China from which these drugs emanate, providing startling and original reporting on how China’s vast chemical industry operates, and how the Chinese government subsidizes it. Poignantly, he chronicles the lives of addicted users and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug awareness organizers in the United States and Europe. Together they represent the shocking and riveting full anatomy of a calamity we are just beginning to understand. From its depths, as Westhoff relates, are emerging new strategies that may provide essential long-term solutions to the drug crisis that has affected so many. “Timely and agonizing. . . . An impressive work of investigative journalism.” —USA Today “Westhoff explores the many-tentacled world of illicit opioids, from the streets of East St. Louis to Chinese pharmaceutical companies, from music festivals deep in the Michigan woods to sanctioned ‘shooting up rooms’ in Barcelona, in this frank, insightful, and occasionally searing exposé. . . . Westhoff’s well-reported and researched work will likely open eyes, slow knee-jerk responses, and start much needed conversations.” —Publishers Weekly “Our 25 Favorite Books of 2019” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Best Books of 2019” —Buzzfeed “Best Nonfiction of 2019” —Kirkus Reviews “50 Best Books of 2019” —Daily Telegraph “Best Nonfiction Books of 2019” —Tyler Cowen “Best Books of 2019” —Yahoo Finance
