Published with permission from Dr. Kris Held M.D.

 

Insanity reigns, and we must dethrone it. Today, a precious new patient sought my care. She is 28 and was perfectly healthy until 10 days ago when she developed a headache and then rather suddenly started to lose vision in her left eye. She was scared and waited a day or so hoping things would get better, but they’re not, they’re worsening. She confided in her mom who brought her in to see me, based on the recommendations of friends. I’m an M.D., a board certified ophthalmologist, having completed 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, an internship in internal medicine, a three year residency in ophthalmology and ophthalmic surgery, 5 years on faculty as an attending physician at the medical school, and 23 years in private practice.

 

The patient and I engaged in a patient-physician relationship, and I obtained her medical history and examined her. This dear patient needs an immediate work up to make a definitive diagnosis, so that appropriate treatment can be implemented before she loses her vision or worse. She is worried, and so are her mom and I. According to standard practice, I arranged for her to have an immediate MRI scan of her brain. This is where the where the obstruction to her care began. The obstructionist is Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), her “insurance company.”

 

BCBS will not authorize her MRI, because she is an HMO patient and has not seen her assigned “PCP” (primary care physician). If you have a BCBS HMO plan, you must see your PCP before BCBS will cover anything- even if deemed indicated by a board certified specialist. Your designated PCP is your gatekeeper, and there are no exceptions. She has not seen her PCP since having the BCBS HMO policy, because she is 28 and healthy. Apparently BCBS randomly assigned her a PCP, but the physician listed could not be located today, and no one was “on call” for her. In fact, the number listed seemed to be out of business. It just rang and then disconnected time after time. Sadly, there is a scarcity of PCP’s, and it can take months for a patient to get an appointment. Often, PCPs listed by the insurance companies are not actually “in network”, not accepting new patients, not in town anymore, not even in business, or not even practicing medicine anymore. My staff spent hours today trying to ascertain this PCP’s status and obtain authorization for the MRI, to no avail. I called and spent over an hour on hold and talking to various levels of BCBS employees working my way up the ladder through non medical personnel to finally speak to a nurse (God forbid I should get to speak to an actual physician colleague), who tried to get her manager to approve my patient’s MRI. This was all a massive waste of time as BCBS was unyielding. I was told all the usual things, sorry, this is policy, there’s nothing we can do, and even “maybe next time she won’t get the HMO plan.” I was informed all our conversations were being recorded for quality purposes, and I was glad. No one would believe the irrational nonsense I had to endure at the hand of these non-physician BCBS obstructionists without the recordings to prove it. At the end of the day, in spite of my pleas and appeals for rational behavior and ethical care, BCBS said NO, AKA- patient be damned, and screw you while you’re at it.

 

My patient can go to the emergency room tonight, and get the MRI at thousands upon thousands of dollars extra and hours upon hours of waiting and NOT seeing a specialist, and that will be covered. What a waste of valuable resources and abuse of the patient. The MRI I, a specialist, scheduled for this afternoon will not be covered. Further, BCBS negotiated a fee for the MRI of over $4000.00. The patient’s deductible is high. She will have to pay thousands. Ironically, I am an “out of network” physician. I will not enter into agreements with “insurance companies.” I only enter into agreements directly with my patients. I negotiated directly with a local imaging center a fee for the MRI at a fraction of the cost- $350.00. Much to my surprise, the radiologists’ practice has just been purchased by a 3^rd party venture capitalist group, and the fee has increased to $550.00 and growing. Still, $550.00 is much less than the $4000.00 BCBS negotiated. This is all on big hot mess.

 

My patient went home with her mom. She is worried sick and asked me for sedatives to get her through the night. I refused, tried to reassure her, and gave her marching orders. If she suddenly gets worse, she will got to the E.R. BCBS will pay thousands of dollars extra, but the MRI will get done, and she will get actual medical care. It’s all a crapshoot now. God willing, she will make it through the night, and I will literally beg a colleague who is listed as a BCBS “in-network” provider to see her tomorrow to sign off on my (the specialist to whom he would have sent her in the first place) orders for the MRI. We’re hoping it helps that her mom went to high school with him, and I can name drop that to get her in before a few months. Then BCBS will hopefully authorize the MRI. It will most likely cost the patient significantly more money, but will at least “apply to her deductible.” Again, this is all convoluted, irrational, and unethical.

 

I am fed up. I can’t play this game. Patients will be harmed, and no doubt patients will die needlessly, because of insurance “policy.” For the second year in a row, the life expectancy in the USA has gone down- what does that tell you about the corporate practice of medicine? I accused BCBS of malpractice and the unethical obstruction of indicated patient care. I can’t sleep, because I am worried about my patient and angry that the tail is wagging the dog in the name of “universal coverage,” which is a scam, garbage, especially if you bought the HMO plan. And just know this, the ACA, MACRA, and the cascade of failed federal “healthcare” laws, rules, and regulations are all part of a top-down, government scheme for HMO’s on steroids, now called ACO’s (accountable care organizations) or APMs (alternative payment models). It is one giant insane mess. This mess benefits the insurance companies and the central planners. I will continue my fight for this patient in a few short hours. I pray she will get through this ordeal- a medical fiasco, pot stirred and fire stoked by BCBS, and its unethical, rigid, nonsensical, wasteful policies.

 

I call on my physician colleagues to refuse to put up with this anymore. They can’t do it without our consent. I call on my patient colleagues (we are all patients, I have cancer among other things- how about you?) to demand the insurance companies deliver. We are paying these companies thousands upon thousands at the individual and family levels and hundreds of billions at the national level to do what- obstruct, delay, deny, ration our care for their bottom line? Just think of the money from interest alone they make on a month of delays and denials. This insanity must stop. If all physicians would give the few remaining insurance companies a 90 day without cause severance notification tomorrow this would end in short order. Patients must stand up to the insurance companies too. Patients must read the fine print and know what they have signed up for and agreed to. Lawsuits against the obstructionist, rationing insurance companies will be essential. The time is now.

Those who aren’t pausing are the various Fed Heads.

Rant on:

In fact, we’ll be getting a heavy doses of Fedspeak through Hump Day:

Seven times before Wednesday to implement the Fed’s favorite policy tool: The “Jawbone”.

They’ll be looking to clarify anything that is still left in the air from Powell’s first Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony, and we can be sure the mainstream financial press will cheer-lead all the way.

The week is also important because of what we have coming down the pike on Friday:

Recall that while everyday is a day for smashin’ the metals in the eyes of the cartel, this Friday is one of those “extra special” days: Non-farm payrolls.

And if for some reason the markets do not like the number of jobs that were created in the month of February, you know, because it was only transitional because the weather was too cold, or was it too hot, ah, either way, Evans will be there to give the needed spin in the early afternoon in case the BLS Jobs Report does cause some indigestion.

– Rant off.

The big fundamental news of the week, however, would be if there is increasing talk or actually action with regards to President Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. The world stands by ready to see what is to come of The trade Wars.

Today, the President is already seeming to take the position of “Tariffs first, negotiations later”.

We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

…treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

So fundamentally speaking, this is going to be a very interesting week.

I’ve printed out the gold to silver ratio over the last year (instead of the usual last six months):

Even a year ago, the ratio was in the 60s.

To put that into perspective, right now it takes about 80 ounces of silver to buy one single ounce of gold.

At the ratio of 68/69 such as last April, we would be looking at a silver price today of $19.25. ($1325 / 19.25 = GSR of 68.83)

Let that sink in for a moment.

That’s how fast I think silver is going to start moving.

Why?

The move has been up all year, and those massive red candles on the end of the chart are the underlying convulsions seen at the top of a market (in this case the GSR).

There’s another reason why I think silver is ready to start moving in a hurry:

That’s Friday’s Commitments of Futures Traders, also known as the COT Report.

Right now we’ve seen such a royal flush in open interest, that it’s hard to see on the chart, but small specs are actually net short!

We know they’re always on the wrong side of the trade, so we’re really right there at the pivot.

This turn could even be boosted by an epic short squeeze as the depending on how much paper the cartel wants to feed into the squeeze.

Once we get past the sick and twisted 9th anniversary of S&P 500 666 low print (03-06-09), we could even be at $18 as early as the end of the week.

We’ll see.

Things are certainly set-up bullish right now for silver, so much so that we haven’t even looked at the silver chart yet.

So without further ado:

Yeah, I know. Anti-climatic.

I’m known for that.

But I want to look at one thing on the chart that is also very bullish (when it happens).

Now, obviously the 200-day moving average has been falling. We don’t want to see that happening but those are the cards we’ve been dealt smashings we’ve had to endure.

But because of that, and with the 50-day moving average turning up in the middle of December, we’re close to what is known as the “golden cross”, which is when the 50-day moving average crosses up and through the 200-day. That is seen as very bullish.

So silver has some things going for it right now:

• GSR too extreme
• GSR convulsing signs of a top
• Small Specs now net-short (amazing)
• “Golden Cross”

So we’ll see.

They’ve defended $17 with authority so we really need to get above $17.50 with authority.

Gold punched through it’s 50-day moving average in the overnight session:

We know which side the cartel would like to keep price on.

But if silver catches a bid first, that’s okay. We need silver to catch up to gold to eventually outperform the yellow metal.

When gold was smashed below the 50-day last week, and I put out the “lower for longer” post, I said I think it will be a short-lived trip under the moving average.

I still think that, with a potential bottom either already behind us, or coming today or tomorrow.

Keeping in line with the sickness of the cartel and their satanic fetish with numbers, I wouldn’t put it past them to smash one more time on that anniversary.

Overnight the other precious metals and the commodities showed weakness:

Platinum is looking bearish on the chart if it doesn’t get to moving soon:

That’s two lower-highs and two lower-lows on the chart, so we really want to see that get turned around.

Palladium was weak overnight:

We’ll have to watch to see if the 50-day doesn’t get too far downward sloping. That wouldn’t be good for the home team.

However, as palladium is mostly an industrial precious metal, the weakness is on par with the weakness in the other commodities.

Copper is doing it’s dance and that continued overnight:

You can see the bearish candle for today already forming. However, if copper can rally from here, we will have an upward trendline forming off of three higher-lows.

Crude was weak overnight as well:

It tried to, but so far could not get above it’s 50-day in the overnight action. Granted, it’s a love-hate with crude. On the one hand, we’re kind-of wanting crude to go up because it’s good for the precious metals, but on the other hand, that comes out of our wallets, albeit with lag, at the pump. Offsetting the difference by adjusting driving behaviors is one way to mitigate the conundrum.

We’ll see what’s in store for the 10-Year Yield:

Its definitely consolidating in the 2.8% – 2.9% range.

The song remains the same, however. The Fed is hiking, the dollar is weakening, the U.S. is going on a binge of spending and Japan and China could be dumping treasuries, so the break-out would most likely be to the upside instead of a break-down.

But then again, everybody and their brother are expecting the break-out. Either way, it’s all good for the precious metals. Gold & silver are inflation hedges, so with rising interest rates the metals perform well, and when real rates are negative, gold and silver function as stores of wealth. And those are but two of the roles found in the precious metals.

Volatility could be making a comeback this week:

We’ll have to see if there are any market shocks this week that could send the VIX one way or another.

Speaking of market shocks, this one’s turning nine tomorrow:

And it doesn’t look at all happy about it.

And the dollar is not really bouncing, even though it did rise overnight:

However, between The Trade Wars and tough talk or weak talk on NAFTA, we could see some longer candles instead of just muddling along.

Stack accordingly…

– Half Dollar

SilverDoctors.com has been on the leading edge of Gold News and Silver News Since 2011. Each month, more than 250,000 investors visit SilverDoctors.com to gain insights on Precious Metals News as well as to stay up-to-date on World News impacting the metals markets.

SDOutlook03-05-18.txt

Those who aren’t pausing are the various Fed Heads.

Rant on:

In fact, we’ll be getting a heavy doses of Fedspeak through Hump Day:

Seven times before Wednesday to implement the Fed’s favorite policy tool: The “Jawbone”.

They’ll be looking to clarify anything that is still left in the air from Powell’s first Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony, and we can be sure the mainstream financial press will cheer-lead all the way.

The week is also important because of what we have coming down the pike on Friday:

Recall that while everyday is a day for smashin’ the metals in the eyes of the cartel, this Friday is one of those “extra special” days: Non-farm payrolls.

And if for some reason the markets do not like the number of jobs that were created in the month of February, you know, because it was only transitional because the weather was too cold, or was it too hot, ah, either way, Evans will be there to give the needed spin in the early afternoon in case the BLS Jobs Report does cause some indigestion.

– Rant off.

The big fundamental news of the week, however, would be if there is increasing talk or actually action with regards to President Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. The world stands by ready to see what is to come of The trade Wars.

Today, the President is already seeming to take the position of “Tariffs first, negotiations later”.

We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

 

…treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

So fundamentally speaking, this is going to be a very interesting week.

I’ve printed out the gold to silver ratio over the last year (instead of the usual last six months):

Even a year ago, the ratio was in the 60s.

To put that into perspective, right now it takes about 80 ounces of silver to buy one single ounce of gold.

At the ratio of 68/69 such as last April, we would be looking at a silver price today of $19.25. ($1325 / 19.25 = GSR of 68.83)

Let that sink in for a moment.

That’s how fast I think silver is going to start moving.

Why?

The move has been up all year, and those massive red candles on the end of the chart are the underlying convulsions seen at the top of a market (in this case the GSR).

There’s another reason why I think silver is ready to start moving in a hurry:

That’s Friday’s Commitments of Futures Traders, also known as the COT Report.

Right now we’ve seen such a royal flush in open interest, that it’s hard to see on the chart, but small specs are actually net short!

We know they’re always on the wrong side of the trade, so we’re really right there at the pivot.

This turn could even be boosted by an epic short squeeze as the depending on how much paper the cartel wants to feed into the squeeze.

Once we get past the sick and twisted 9th anniversary of S&P 500 666 low print (03-06-09), we could even be at $18 as early as the end of the week.

We’ll see.

Things are certainly set-up bullish right now for silver, so much so that we haven’t even looked at the silver chart yet.

So without further ado:

Yeah, I know. Anti-climatic.

I’m known for that.

But I want to look at one thing on the chart that is also very bullish (when it happens).

Now, obviously the 200-day moving average has been falling. We don’t want to see that happening but those are the cards we’ve been dealt smashings we’ve had to endure.

But because of that, and with the 50-day moving average turning up in the middle of December, we’re close to what is known as the “golden cross”, which is when the 50-day moving average crosses up and through the 200-day. That is seen as very bullish.

So silver has some things going for it right now:

• GSR too extreme
• GSR convulsing signs of a top
• Small Specs now net-short (amazing)
• “Golden Cross”

So we’ll see.

They’ve defended $17 with authority so we really need to get above $17.50 with authority.

Gold punched through it’s 50-day moving average in the overnight session:

We know which side the cartel would like to keep price on.

But if silver catches a bid first, that’s okay. We need silver to catch up to gold to eventually outperform the yellow metal.

When gold was smashed below the 50-day last week, and I put out the “lower for longer” post, I said I think it will be a short-lived trip under the moving average.

I still think that, with a potential bottom either already behind us, or coming today or tomorrow.

Keeping in line with the sickness of the cartel and their satanic fetish with numbers, I wouldn’t put it past them to smash one more time on that anniversary.

Overnight the other precious metals and the commodities showed weakness:

Platinum is looking bearish on the chart if it doesn’t get to moving soon:

That’s two lower-highs and two lower-lows on the chart, so we really want to see that get turned around.

Palladium was weak overnight:

We’ll have to watch to see if the 50-day doesn’t get too far downward sloping. That wouldn’t be good for the home team.

However, as palladium is mostly an industrial precious metal, the weakness is on par with the weakness in the other commodities.

Copper is doing it’s dance and that continued overnight:

You can see the bearish candle for today already forming. However, if copper can rally from here, we will have an upward trendline forming off of three higher-lows.

Crude was weak overnight as well:

It tried to, but so far could not get above it’s 50-day in the overnight action. Granted, it’s a love-hate with crude. On the one hand, we’re kind-of wanting crude to go up because it’s good for the precious metals, but on the other hand, that comes out of our wallets, albeit with lag, at the pump. Offsetting the difference by adjusting driving behaviors is one way to mitigate the conundrum.

We’ll see what’s in store for the 10-Year Yield:

Its definitely consolidating in the 2.8% – 2.9% range.

The song remains the same, however. The Fed is hiking, the dollar is weakening, the U.S. is going on a binge of spending and Japan and China could be dumping treasuries, so the break-out would most likely be to the upside instead of a break-down.

But then again, everybody and their brother are expecting the break-out. Either way, it’s all good for the precious metals. Gold & silver are inflation hedges, so with rising interest rates the metals perform well, and when real rates are negative, gold and silver function as stores of wealth. And those are but two of the roles found in the precious metals.

Volatility could be making a comeback this week:

We’ll have to see if there are any market shocks this week that could send the VIX one way or another.

Speaking of market shocks, this one’s turning nine tomorrow:

And it doesn’t look at all happy about it.

And the dollar is not really bouncing, even though it did rise overnight:

However, between The Trade Wars and tough talk or weak talk on NAFTA, we could see some longer candles instead of just muddling along.

Stack accordingly…

– Half Dollar

SilverDoctors.com has been on the leading edge of Gold News and Silver News Since 2011. Each month, more than 250,000 investors visit SilverDoctors.com to gain insights on Precious Metals News as well as to stay up-to-date on World News impacting the metals markets.

Special thanks to The Doc of silverdoctors.com for this contributing editors submission.

 

This is a very busy week for both data dumps and fundamental events.

Everybody will be looking at new home sales, the trade deficit (it’s never a surplus) and the second estimate to 4th quarter GDP:

Notice what happens at 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday. It happens again on Thursday:

That’s new Fed Head Powell’s first Humphrey-Hawkins testimony before congress.

The point is that there are many potential landmines, policy errors, mis-communications and data dumps that the markets might not like. And that’s just the regularly scheduled stuff and doesn’t take into account any economic or political news that’s not on the calendar.

In other words: We should finally see an interesting week.

The gold to silver ratio is right in the middle of where its been for the last several weeks now:

Which means we’re still primed and waiting on the launchpad.

Overnight silver tagged its 50-day moving average:

We’ll have to see how the cartel handles the moving average this week.

Over the last week and a half, it’s been smooth sailing for the cartel with China closed, but now, the entire world is in economic full stride.

Gold is starting to move back up as well:

And while the technicals never got to the ultra-bullish “oversold” status, the all-important 50-day has held, making the call of last Wednesday’s turn all the more correct.

Regardless, notice the pressure on gold & silver after their highs overnight:

We will see a return to the days where gold & silver suprise to the upside when we wake in the morning.

Today was not one of those days, but they are coming.

Palladium is pushing through its moving average:

Of course, palladium was hit the hardest on this correction, but the technicals are looking good.

Platinum is even coming around:

Of course, platinum is going to have some serious resistance to break-out through $1015 – $1020, so we would really like to see platinum surge higher, to say, $1025 to give the signal that the rally is on.

Copper is moving back up:

Dr Copper looks set to open decidedly above its 50-day moving average.

Crude is back above $63:

We’re not that far away from retesting the highs from January, and in addition to the normal rig count, build-up, and draw-down data points, crude oil is something that can be affected by geo-politics, and with all the tensions in the world as well as the now imminent launch of the petro-yuan, we could be back at those highs in a hurry.

The dollar looks to be rolling over:

No, that doesn’t look like the greenback is putting in a double-bottom. It looks like two retests of 90 (which failed).

That’s bearish for the dollar.

Interestingly, the VIX does look like it’s headed back down to 10:

Of course, when the governments working in conjunction with the central banks buy S&P futures, naked-short gold & silver to no tomorrow, and sell VIX, that’s exactly what we should expect.

When they decide to flip the switch and make money on the downside as they destroy the wealth of Americans who think they have wealth but really that wealth is just concentrated in fraudulent paper markets, we’ll see the VIX making new highs instead of making new record number of days below 10.

The problem is we don’t know when they are looking to flip the switch, nor for what reason.

But buying S&P futures it surely looks like somebody did:

The question is, was it the ESF, with their black budget money and dark pools, or was in the Fed with their printing presses and trading desks? The question matters, because if for some reason the government and the Fed are no longer working together, something will give.

For now, with people like Mnuchin and Cohn surrounding President Trump, there’s no reason to believe the government and the Fed are at odds with each other.

So we’ll see.

Maybe the sticking point is how they are going to handle huge deficits in the face of rising interest rates:

That is to say, the tift for taft between what the government wants and what the Fed wants is being ironed out right now.

But that assumes they are in control.

And while they may be, for now.

Hubris could cause either side to lose control on the quick.

Stack accordingly…

– Half Dollar

SilverDoctors.com has been on the leading edge of Gold News and Silver News Since 2011. Each month, more than 250,000 investors visit SilverDoctors.com to gain insights on Precious Metals News as well as to stay up-to-date on World News impacting the metals markets.

Special thanks to Michael Ingmire of Politichicks.com for this contributing editor piece.

 

“I’ve seen the needle and the damage done, a little part of it in everyone
But every junkie’s like a setting sun…”

-Neil Young, Needle and the Damage Done

 

The recent disclosure by Tom Petty’s family of the results of his autopsy was a courageous public service to his fans and to the American public. Petty died of an accidental overdose of a combination of drugs including Fentanyl patches, OxyContin, Restoril, Xanax, Celexa, acetyl fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl.

Like Prince, who died of an overdose of the narcotic Fentanyl, Tom Petty was facing some painful hip issues. Additionally, he was also suffering from emphysema and knee problems. He had fractured his hip before his lengthy 2017 40^th Anniversary Heartbreakers tour and relied more and more heavily on the meds throughout the tour. I have a couple of questions for Petty and his management: Why not cancel the tour and get the appropriate treatment? I know the music business has contracts and obligations, but what about your life Tom?  The other question is for his doctors: Did you guys ever look at what the other was prescribing? Truly dangerous and potentially incompetent.  Sedatives and narcotics can be deadly mixture as it was in Petty’s case. We also cocoon and pamper our stars to the detriment of their health and happiness.

But the tale that is told here is not just a description of another Rock Star overdose. What follows is a history of an addicted America, the creation of narcotics by our European forefathers, and the current and horrible overprescribing of opioids. In history’s aftermath, we will introduce the newest and oldest drug cartel; Big Pharma.

Let us first discuss the foundation of all opioids, namely opium. The history of opium use in America is as old as our country itself and as old as time. In the 19^th century opium was used to calm cranky babies and to treat asthma. Paregoric, or tincture of opium, was used to treat incontinence in infants and adults. It was still prescribed when I was a child.

The United States government decided to tax opium in 1840 when 24,000 pounds of it was imported into New England and a tariff was placed on the import. More traditionally opium was smoked in America in “opium dens” by Chinese immigrants, by adventurers, musicians, poets and painters. While it is addictive it would take an individual quite some time, including long term daily use, to become addicted to opium. Depending on the individual, addiction would usually occur after daily use of a period of six months or more.

In 1803, Friedrich Wilhelm Sertuerner of Paderborn, Germany discovered the active ingredient of opium by dissolving it in acid and neutralizing it with ammonia. The result was Principium Somniferum or morphine. Morphine was named after the Greek God of dreams, Morpheus.  The western medical community, including physicians in the United States believed that opium was now “tamed.”   Morphine was lauded as “God’s own medicine” and was praised for it’s reliability, long lasting effects and safety. In 1827, the pharmaceutical company E. Merck & Company, of Darmstadt, Germany, opened their big doors to take over the market on opioids and are the foundation of Big Pharma. E. Merck & Company were also the eventual manufacturers of pharmaceutical cocaine. Here we had a replacing of a natural cure with a synthetic one that has serious side effects.

A blatant example of the cure dished out by the legal drug dealers for opium addiction being far worse than the disease. Morphine is far stronger and much more addictive than opium.

In 1843, Dr Alexander Wood of Edinburgh discovered a new way of administering morphine, injection with a syringe. Dr. Wood found the effects on his patients instantaneous and three times more potent than oral administration. For the recreational user, intravenous use was three times as addictive.

In 1874, the English researcher C.R. Wright first synthesized heroin or diacetylmorphine by boiling morphine over a stove. In 1890, the United States government imposed a tax on morphine and opium. Making money on medicine and misery. In 1895, Heinrich Dreser, working for The Bayer Company of Elberfeld, Germany, discovered that diluting morphine with acetyl created a purer version of heroin without the “side effects” of morphine. Three years later Bayer, making of our favorite baby aspirin, created a cure for morphine addiction, heroin. Again, the cure being worse than the disease.

In 1914, the Harrison Act outlawed the commercial sale of opium, morphine, heroin and cocaine in the United States. This forced addicts to purchases their drugs from street dealers. But it was not only street addicts that had problems with narcotics as many average citizens had also become addicted. Organized crime saw an opportunity and filled the need for the now illicit narcotics.

Historically, opium addiction was also nicknamed a “soldiers disease,” as far back as The Civil War. That was because of soldiers becoming addicted to the opium that was being used to treat their pain from war wounds. Additionally, the introduction of the morphine syrette in the medic’s field kits in World War II, further increased the rate of addiction among soldiers. The syrette was similar to a syringe. But it was actually a closed flexible tube. It was similar in appearance to that of a toothpaste tube. It had a wire loop with a guard that was used to break the seal of the attached needle. Than the wire loop was removed and the hollow needle was inserted under the skin at a shallow angle with the tube being flattened by the thumb and fingers of the soldier. The syrette was the creation of the pharmaceutical company Squibb, now known as Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

Narcotics addiction increased throughout the 20^th century hitting new peaks during the Vietnam era. The exposure of many soldiers to the almost pure heroin of “The Golden Triangle,” increased the rate of addiction among our military. The Golden Triangle was the term used for the three countries Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. These three countries produced vast amounts of opium and some of the world’s purest heroin. Many who faced the horrors of war brought home another burden; addiction and the lack of any semblance of any pure heroin in the streets of America. Street heroin was heavily cut and ill suited to the addict’s need.

So the Big Pharma Cartel comes to rescue again, with a cure worse than the disease, in the guise of methadone. Methadone was originally developed in Germany between 1937 to 1939 by Gustav Ehrhart and Max Bockmulh. It was approved for use in the United States in 1947. Though it was used to treat pain issues, it was also found to help people withdraw from heroin as early as the 1950’s But it was not until 1971 that the first methadone clinics were established. There were two types of methadone clinics; private facilities where the waiting list was not as lengthy and the big Pharma and government collaboration that created the public methadone clinic. The public clinic where Medicaid is accepted, but the waiting list is longer. At these clinics methadone is mixed with a juice and was drank by the addict, daily.

Whereas an addict can withdraw from the physical effects of heroin in 72 to 96 hours, methadone can take six weeks or more for the addict to withdraw from it’s grip. The physical after effects are said to be horrible. Many people develop arthritis and blame it on the long term use of methadone. In addition, many addicts go back to heroin after quitting methadone.

Somewhere in the context of our drug culture we moved from substances that merely shifted consciousness to the substances that absolutely blot out our consciousness. I always liked the statement that the Poet James Douglas Morrison made about pain where“ Pain is like a radio, it is something to carry.” While Mr. Morrison probably meant the experience of emotional or spiritual pain, I think that it can apply to physical pain also. Pain is a warning sign that something needs to be fixed in our bodies. Big Pharma, tries to sell us on a pain free existence. Whether they are advertising Dilaudid, OxyContin, Fentanyl or other narcotics, they advertise that we don’t need to feel pain with these narcotics that are far too easily prescribed by well meaning, or not so well meaning, medical professionals. Many doctors are receiving bonuses from drug companies for the prescribing and overprescribing of these sort of drugs. Shameful.

Fentanyl, depending on the dosage, can be 25 to 50 times stronger than heroin. In fact, many drug cartels and their dealers, cut medium to high grade heroin with fentanyl making a deadly potion that is sending many addicts into a permanent embrace with the Greek God Morpheus. The overdose death rate for heroin is decreasing while the rate of death due to fentanyl use and abuse is increasing. Many addicts are not sure if they are getting heroin or fentanyl from street dealers.

Ironic, that many American manufacturers of fentanyl also manufacture the drug, Narcan, chemically known as naloxone HCI.  Narcan is used by paramedics and emergency personnel to reverse a narcotic overdose. It is a narcotic antagonist and has saved many lives. It is not, however, a replacement for emergency medical care in the case of an overdose. Inexplicably, without any real innovative change in it’s formula, the price of Narcan has increased in the past few years from $18.00 a dose to about $82.00 a dose. So many manufacturers are getting paid twice with an increased fentanyl overdose rate and the use of Narcan to bring the overdose victim back to consciousness. Whether in the shadows or filling the corporate coffers, the motivation for any drug pusher is usually greed.

Some states in the U.S, such as Mississippi, Ohio and Oregon, have brought lawsuits against drug companies citing gross negligence and their false advertising that underplays the dangerous addictive properties of drugs like OxyContin. Millions of opioids are being flooded into rural areas like West Virginia to the point that it seems like Big Government and Big Pharma want to wipe out a portion of our population. The overdose rate is up, as are the profits.

The opioid problem has to be handled like a national pandemic. It is time for all cognizant Americans to declare war on Big Pharma. Make no mistake, Big Pharma is a drug cartel and needs to be treated as the criminal enterprise that they have become. The writer, William S. Burroughs, stated that “ Addiction is a disease of exposure.” The overprescribing of opioids is exposing a great strata of our population to the dangers of addiction and the considerable possibility of an early death. There is no real medical or chemical cure for a spiritual problem and ultimately, addiction is a spiritual problem. For many, addiction is like a form of accidental suicide. So what is the real difference between Big Pharma and a drug cartel leader like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman? As far as I know El Chapo never dined at the White House. I am hopeful because President Trump is taking the fight to the enemy.