Remember when I went to the US Virgin Islands? It was a beautiful slice of paradise. You can read about it here and see lovely photos of a little bay where I attempted snorkeling. This bay is home to turtles, octopi, barracuda, spotted eagle rays, and tropical fish. Now it’s home to something else. 

Here’s that bay recently. Are those battleships? Yes, they are. 

Will the USVI be able to return to paradise once more? Here’s the rub, or more precisely, the map that tells the tale. 

Venezuela has oil, lots of it, along with plenty of problems, including an autocrat who won’t leave power, which I’m not knowledgeable enough to sift through. But being a chemist, I’m focusing on the “war on drugs” and calling BS.

The US is having a just say no to drugs moment and although research shows that decriminalizing is the best way to tackle such a crisis, we are gathering war machines in paradise instead, claiming that Venezuela is the source of illegal drugs in the US. It seems about as honest as Portland being a war zone. 

Meanwhile, we are importing drugs with dubious content in the form of generic drugs from contaminated factories. Maybe I’m reaching here but why are we so concerned with one type of drug coming into the US we are all practically forced to settle for a product that very well could contain harmful substances? 

Generic drugs contain the same active ingredient as name brand drugs but for the rest of the pill, the standards do not apply. Generic drugs were approved for use in the US in the dubious year of 1984 and the companies that make them (and our insurance companies) have been cutting costs ever since. Note that the premiums have never gone down. One way to cut costs (and quality inspections and environmental concerns) is to move production overseas. Bacteria, mold, and carcinogens are among the lovely things found in generic pharmaceuticals.

Recently, my doctor prescribed a medication as a preventative. I noticed it was from place with frequent quality control issues—Dr. Reddy’s lab in India. This place makes plenty of common generic drugs for high cholesterol, osteoporosis prevention, stomach acid medications, antidepressants, over the counter pain medications, and more. Needless to say, I didn’t stay with Dr. Reddy for long. 

70% of adults here in the US take some type of legal pill every single day, and many take up to four! When generics are used (which is 90% of the time), these medicines could be contaminated. The FDA is keeping consumers in the dark about where drugs are made and if the factory has had a recent, favorable inspection. 

The whole time the government was handing out Just Say No to Drugs pencils to school kids they were doing nothing at all about contaminated generics. We consumers are paying a premium price in our health insurance costs and getting rock bottom drugs in return. 

I insist on brand name drugs for now (and I have to pay out of pocket while my insurance premiums go up) but who knows how long the companies in the US will face stringent regulations. Regulations seem to be falling lately. We even get drug components from overseas so potential problems already exist. 

If, in the near future, you see or read about going to war with drug cartels, just remember: No one is doing a darn thing about the dangers in the drugs you take and that threat has been going on since 1984. 

The war on drugs, started in the 70s, has been declared an utter failure. The war on regulations and public protections , the war on the US consumer, is sadly going better than ever. And you won’t be seeing any battleships.