January 4, 2006: I'm From The Government. I'm Here To Help You.

How would you like it if you had a controllable mental condition . . . and the drug that let you control it was taken off the market with no substitute?

It can happen. It can happen in this country. It can happen completely without warning; the first you know that your life is about to fall apart is when your pharmacist tells you "Sorry, can't fill this prescription!"

This is what is happening to Teresa Nielsen Hayden, who for many years has been a prominent science fiction editor . . . and for long years before that, an active SF fan. And it's happening to everyone else who uses the drug Cylert to control narcolepsy or ADHD. (And if you are one of those people, I'm very sorry, but the FDA has a plan for your life . . . it involves dozing so much that you can't hold a job.)

You can read more on her blog. It's not a pretty story. If you, or anyone you love, depends on a prescription drug to stay sane, happy, or productive, you'll see how Ralph Nader - bless his headline-grabbing little heart - and pliable bureaucrats at the FDA could quickly turn a normal life into a hopeless one.

If reading more inspires you to write to your Senator and Congressman, good.
-- Steve Jackson

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