So much for proper drug testing!!!

Merck Agrees to Settle Vioxx Suits for $4.85 Billion

By ALEX BERENSON

Published: November 9, 2007

Three years after withdrawing its pain medication Vioxx from the market, Merck has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits by people who claim they or their family members suffered injury or died after taking the drug, according to two lawyers with direct knowledge of the matter.

I read the New York Times on line and this headline struck me for two reasons. The first is that Merck can be sued for so much money. I am sure it will not come to that much but it is amazing the profits that pharmaceutical companies make. They all cry that the research costs so much that they have to get their investment back through high prices. When I read headlines like this I question their research and think the money is spent on advertising and keeping the American public terrified about what the next big problem for mankind will be. It is a shame that the AMA does not take a more responsible position in examining what is being offered to the public and why. The FDA is not doing its job. So we the public are being led by profit makers and not by the folks who should be leading us. So emperical random testing is not a good answer for each person tested is different than the next and each mouse or rat is totally different than the human. Homeopathy on the other hand works on the basis of Like treats Like so a minute dose of Alium Cepa (red onion) will deal with a runny nose and smarting eyes and coffea cruda, a minute dose of raw coffee will stop the overactive mind. We all know that coffee causes over activity which is why we don't often drink coffee before bed time. So Like treats Like - what will cause something in a large dose when given in a small dose will trigger the body to deal with that symptom. That is how it works and the way they find out about remedies and create remedy profiles is by taking measured doses of the testing remedy and see what it will cause and once they know they use that substance in a small dose as a remedy for the symptom. Most remedies commonly used have been used successfully for at least 100 years. So when I put Arnica on my sore back I am following millions of others who for over 100 years have done the same thing and found relief. Not only that Homeopathic remedies have no known side effects. A lot different than the drugs that are being rushed into the market today supposedly tested and proved to be effective and safe. What a lot of hogwash we are being led to believe. I do not debunk medicine as a whole for there is lots good in the practice of it but I do feel they and we are being led astray by the idea that empirical testing is how to find positive proof of effectiveness and safety.