Gambling with drugs
Posted Friday, March 31, 2006 by Mike Adams

The following true story is almost too hilarious to hear sitting down. Prepare to leave your seat. A retired doctor from Austin, Texas named Max Wells is suing multiple drug companies and casinos for $14 million to recoup losses he suffered as a result of — get this — prescription drug side effects. The Parkinson’s drug he was on, the lawsuit claims, causes compulsive gambling behavior. Dr. Wells, it turns out, was so compulsive that he coughed up $14 million in gambling losses before finally being taken off the medicine.

Any time you take prescription drugs, of course, you’re gambling with your health. But Dr. Wells takes the concept to a whole new level. Interestingly, losing $14 million did not bankrupt the man. Can you guess why? Because he’s a retired doctor, and he apparently socked away quite a nice sum of cash treating other people with conventional medicine. I wonder how much money he made from Big Pharma? The irony is almost unbearable…

So what about all the people this doctor may have promoted drugs to over the years? Shouldn’t they also get to sue somebody for their side effects? Their losses probably didn’t reach $14 million — because few people make the money that doctors make — but they may be substantial nonetheless.

It turns out Dr. Max Wells is probably right, by the way, in blaming his compulsive behavior on prescription drugs. A Mayo Clinic study on Parkinson’s patients taking the same drugs (Requip and Mirapex) also developed compulsive behaviors. See www.mayoclinic.org/news2005-rst/2925.html

These drugs really do mess with your head. Casinos would be smart (and no more evil than they are already) to offer free prescriptions to all senior citizens who walk through the door, thereby replacing Parkinsonian shaking with casino shakedowns. “Free drugs for all gamblers!” Sounds like Vegas to me. After all, they already serve free drinks to anyone foolish enough to drink and gamble.

All of this serves as yet one more reason to ditch prescription drugs and switch to natural medicine (healing through foods, herbs, acupuncture, chiropractic, and other modalities). No natural food or herb has ever turned a patient into a compulsive gambler and caused them to lose $14 million. Except, perhaps, tapioca pudding, but that’s only due to the sugar content (which makes children and adults alike commit senseless acts of indulgence).

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