Utah HB94 (Experimental Drug Legislation)

[Pontius Pilate]

In Utah, legislation is being put before the House that would allow patients to obtain and ingest investigational drugs directly from manufacturers. The patient, as is, must be eligible under certain requirements and have the consent of a doctor. This system is based on similar legislation in Arizona, where The Goldwater Institute originated the model.

As a highly slanted editorial so aptly put it recently, "Individuals do not have the right to prevent their neighbors from ingesting or using substances that may medically benefit them, and therefore lack the authority to delegate this power to the state. As such, government may not legitimately interpose itself between doctor and patient; extricating bureaucrats from this private medical relationship is an important step in protecting liberty and preserving life.

http://le.utah.gov/publicweb/JENKISK/PublicWeb/28021/28021.html

 

[Sprout]

The cynic in me sees nothing but a cushy financial relationship between MDs and the Pharmaceutical Industry - as if it wasn't bad enough already.

 

[ImightBEaPOTATO]

If this can help patients with little time left and with no available treatment, then why not. But let's not forget that drug developpement laws are there to assure quality products that are safe (or should I say have a high reward to risk ratio).

 

[Sprout]

I'm all for ease of access and greater public knowledge of available, if still experimental, treatment options for chronic/terminal suffering, for reasons very close to my heart. The concept is one thing, the potential manipulation by the industry is another.

 

[Solipsis]

Moving from PD >> NSASDD

(Regional topic - not for focus forum)

 

[banana king 84]

The cool thing about Utah is that since it's controlled by one political party, they do things that would be controversial in a competitive two party system. For instance, they legalized cannibidinol oil for a select group of patients having seizures, which states like Iowa copied, thinking it must be ok if "even Utah legalized it."