The Other Cartel

A 30-year career pharmacist was asked if Diabetes 2 Type was a hoax. His response? He laughed.

The next time I had the opportunity to ask the same question, again, he laughed.

He then finally explained his amusement. What he has known for 30 years as a pharmacist sounded funny coming from a novice like me.

You don’t have type 2 anything. You’re consuming an excess of sugary crap foods. Your body’s defense is insulin but, cannot produce enough to combat the effects of the crap food you eat. Think cheese fries.

Here’s where “the other cartel” comes in.

Through motion pictures and TV most Americans equate “cartel” with the grungy looking guy in a filthy t-shirt, handcuffed, and in the hands of the DEA.  

Literally speaking, a cartel is not a criminal enterprise.

Cartels are generally considered to be a type of cooperation among firms producing similar products or operating in the same industry, and they can range from legally mandated and enforced agreements to merely a loose agreement among firm’s representatives.

However, they are mainly characterized by their market manipulation of pricing, output, or access to market entry, which would be illegal in many countries. With the power of lobbyists, fed by “big pharma’s” political donations, journalist have a nearly impossible task trying to keep up with “big pharma” and their enablers; the lobbyists, politicians, and the courts.

The “big pharma” drug companies, as a group, can be accurately defined as a cartel in the sense that they cooperate in pricing and production decisions, keep out rivals, and engage in similar activities of market manipulation. Unlike the gangster variety, as a member of this cartel you get to live in the finest neighborhoods, wear the finest clothes, and vacation where you are unavailable for comment.

However, this does not necessarily mean that they are breaking the law in any way. The conundrum is that the current laws are ineffective. Just the way “big pharma” prefers them.

Thank heaven for the remote control.

Mute those damned drug commercials!