Alternative Medicine

A long time ago, when LT was struggling with ADHD, and possibly bi-polar (but most likely being on Autism spectrum), I used to read journal articles on neurobiology constantly while I waited on my lab experiments to run. I read about every neuroreceptor and small molecule drug I could find information on, seeking answers that never materialized. I was a dedicated scientist – and I believed it hook, line and sinker.

I don’t disbelieve science today by any means. But I do look upon most current psych meds (and many other drugs) with great disdain. I had to learn the hard way, as my breadth of experience in life deepened, and my perspectives broadened and matured – a more accurate reality. Humanity has been treating mental and physical ailments for eons effectively with natural herbs and traditional practices. In most cases, clinical trials are now confirming they’re actually more efficacious than the drugs that pharma has been throwing at us. Further they usually have far less detrimental side effects – and we certainly have far more experience with them. In reality, modern medicine is the result of trial and error experimentation. Discarding the experience of eons of natural medicine never made logical sense – but it made money.

When I worked in pharma, I refused to take on projects that I didn’t think would truly make a difference. Too many times, drugs are investigated that don’t really serve a purpose – and we invest billions of dollars in them – only for the marketing gurus to spin and weave a story that in reality is meaningless. This doesn’t apply to all drugs. We need vaccines, we need effective immunology and gene-therapy based treatments that replace functional and signaling proteins that drastically improve quality of life. But as a somewhat jaded ex-pharma program leader who has seen a lot of money go to unneeded drug development, that’s my spiel and I’m sticking to it.