Slow Prescription Drug Abuse: Create a National Prescription Database

The problem with prescription drug abuse in this country is spiraling out of control.  Perhaps the one good thing that can come from the deaths of stars like Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, and Corey Haim is that this problem can get the attention it desperately needs.

I've witnessed the effects of prescription drug abuse first hand.  I can tell you there is NOTHING glamorous or acceptable about this issue.  Creating a national prescription narcotic database which every pharmacy is required by law to subscribe to and update in real-time would go very far in slowing this problem.  It would subsequently drive down health care costs by perhaps millions!


The Basic Concept:  When I fill a prescription for a controlled substance, it is automatically updated to a national registry which ALL pharmacies have access to via the web and are required to check for current or pending prescriptions in other pharmacies nationally.  Now, this will also require legislation to make it illegal for doctors to prescribe drugs using pseudonyms.  This is key especially in the case of celebrities.  To remedy privacy concerns, we should mandate privacy laws for pharmacies which not only carry stiffer penalties for breaches in security but also make the breach punishable by mandatory imprisonment for no less than 1 year.  Remember, this is a basic concept, but a very sound one.

The Bottom Line:  It's time to prescribe a real and tangible solution to prescription drug abuse in America.  The only ones profiting from this abuse are the drug companies.  We all know how that story ends.  

Show your support for sound ideas by logging on to http://www.healthreform.gov/

  

Reflections snoitcelfeR

Girl Before A Mirror (1932)  -  Pablo Picasso

As I sat at a glass table outside today, I couldn't help but notice the grand reflection of the mid-day sky.  It made me think about reflections in general and their parallels to everyday life.  Not only is it possible to see yourself in a reflection but it's also possible to see what's behind you.  It's that "behind you" part that really started to grab my attention.  In life, is what's behind us even more important that what's to come...or what is happening now?  There are many schools of thought about "the past" and if one should spend time dwelling on it or learning from it and so on. While I feel as though there should be a balance in all things, I wonder how good it is to revisit the past.

It also occurs to me that if we spend all our time looking behind us, that we can miss ourselves in the reflection...hell, we can miss the actual mirror itself!  Maybe the point of life's reflections is that we spend time looking at everything reflected in the mirror making sure not to forget the importance of the reflection we see or the importance of having a mirror in the first place.  After all...with out life (the mirror), there really are no reflections(self and experiences).  

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Tiger's Wood

Am I the only one who is not surprised by the Tiger Woods drama?  I don't know why everyone is SO shocked by his recent indiscretion or family "let-down".  In a country where you have better odds of surviving certain types of cancer than surviving a marriage, why should anyone really be shocked?

I think it would have been more shocking to realize he had been driving drunk.  While the story is not nearly as interesting as the vague statements continually released by Tiger, this goes to show you that nobody is perfect.  Maybe this is so shocking for some because of the pedestal these celebrities are placed on.  I've said for a long time that celebrity adoration is out of control.  We live in a media-obsessed world where there are very few laws to protect against the paparazzi over-drive we seem to be in the middle of.  I think it's time we all just take a giant step back from all things celebrity.

Tiger is a man.  He's a man who has women (and some men I'm sure) all over the world throwing themselves at him at every turn so they can be the next ex Mrs. Tiger Woods.  He's a man who lives in an American culture of disposable relationships, limitless power, unending influence, and staggering greed.  The American universe conspires against him.

The Bottom Line:
We live in a place where we always want what we can't have.  Like children, we want someone else's toy.  It doesn't change just because someone is in the media spotlight.  In fact, it may be worse at the "top" of the world.    Let Tiger and his family work out their issues.  The world will still be turning tomorrow and he will get back to golf soon enough.