Axios reported on September 16 that a growing number of people are turning to do-it-yourself versions of prescription drugs, often sharing advice in online chat communities and listservs. Among the more popular DIY drugs are GLP-1s, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, which help people lose weight--and may even help people reduce alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drug consumption--by directly working on the brain to reduce craving and increase satiety. The Axios reporter stated that the "knee-jerk reaction" of medical professionals is to deride the phenomenon. However, she interviewed Anne Wexler, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, who empathized with the do-it-yourselfers. Wexler empathizes with patients who grow desperate and "willing to do anything to alleviate suffering for themself or a loved one," and told the reporter that DIY medicine tends to "pop up where we see access barriers to treatment."
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Table of Contents
- Axios reported on September 16 that a growing number of people are 1
- DIY drugs are GLP-1s such as semaglutide and tirzepatide which help 1
- The Axios reporter stated that the knee-jerk reaction of medical 1
- Anne Wexler an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at 1
- As Michael F. Cannon and I write in Drug Reformation End Governmentʼs 1
- Power to Require Prescriptions the Food and Drug Administration has a 1
- As I wrote last month while the FDA has not removed barriers to patients 2
- As the Axios reporter Tina Reed wrote 2
- The DIY movement taps into a deeply held sentiment about an 2
- Administration or the sometimes untenable costs of certain drugs or 2
- Of course making or buying DIY drugs can be as risky as obtaining any 2
