When the worlds of medicine, money, relationships, morality, and the law meet, some very strange things often happen.
In the world of medicine…
Five years ago, the United States Food & Drug Administration approved the Swiss human growth hormone Dragontropin as a valid treatment for Americans suffering from AIDS. It was seen as a potential breakthrough for extending the lives of people suffering from HIV. Growth hormone helps to fight the muscle-wasting properties of the disease, which keeps patients alive much longer. If the Somatropin treatments proved useful, many more manufacturers would deliver growth hormone products to the FDA, who would approve them, giving AIDS patients a cheaper product offering.
In the world of money…
HGH does not come cheap, and it cost a lot more money five years ago. Twelve weeks in the Somatropin program came with a price tag of $21,000. Needless to say, most people could not afford almost $90,000 per year to pay for the treatment. However, since AIDS was a scary disease that touches people from all walks life, the government decided to use federal funding to pay for the Somatropin. Hundreds of HIV patients received tens of millions of dollars’ worth of human growth hormone.
In the world of relationships…
It’s no secret that the worlds of top amateur and professional bodybuilding are tied very closely to the homosexual community. And it’s a fact that many homosexuals do suffer from AIDS. Many bodybuilders are actually HIV-positive, and use bodybuilding (and steroids) to extend both the quantity and quality of their lives. It didn’t take long for people in the bodybuilding community to realize the value of AIDS medication for their bodybuilding goals.
In the world of morality…
A quagmire soon arose. People with incurable HIV could suddenly make thousands of dollars per week reselling their government-funded HGH to bodybuilders who were unable to locate it legally on their own. What should the AIDS victim do? He is sick and likely has money problems. The government isn’t giving him a penny during his time of need, but they are providing him with a product worth thousands of dollars. Is he wrong to sell the product to meet his personal needs remaining in his brief life?
In the world of law…
Federal agents conducted a series of raids around the nation and arrested people, and confiscated millions of dollars’ worth of federally-funded human growth hormone. The AIDS sufferers sold it to steroid dealers, out of need or out of greed. Many bodybuilders around the country received legitimate, high-grade growth hormone complements of the federal government.
This story is just another example of the oddities that can arise from a society which places such harsh criminal penalties upon possession and sale of products so useful for enriching many lives. Legalization of HGH would drop the price significantly, and the manufacturers, AIDS patients, bodybuilders, and everyday joes would be happy. Instead, to the detriment of many lives, and to the pilferage of many public dollars, we prefer to do things the hard way.
