Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
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Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
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Insulin was discovered in 1921 and within five years it was being used to kill. In the UK since then there has been no shortage of murders by Insulin committed by Doctors and Nurses. Famo
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Forums » Open clinical » Cardiology » Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
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Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 2/1/2012 4:09 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 963
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
Insulin was discovered in 1921 and within five years it was being used to kill. In the UK since then there has been no shortage of murders by Insulin committed by Doctors and Nurses. Famous cases like Beverley Allit in the UK, Claus Von Bulow in the USA and hundreds of cases where lay people have used Insulin because they believe it is undetectable. 'Mercy' killings and suicides with the 'drug' occur every year and unbelievably it was finally made a Prescription Only Medicine in 1998! I have personally been involved (from a legal perspective) in two cases of Murder with Insulin by Nurses. Additionally, they are many cases annually of errors in administration by healthcare professionals and lay people. Should it now be a controlled drug?
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 2/1/2012 7:52 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1288
First: 9/12/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
Yes it should, in the USA it is available without prescription, which I find kind of weird, I mean, I need a prescription for Amoxicillin for a sinus infection, and it is not really dangerous, yet I can by insulin without presription and it can cause Death! Kind of backwards huh? Anyone else see this as an almost twisted sort of surreal Illogic? |
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 3/1/2012 5:56 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 624
First: 13/4/2011 Last: 15/5/2013 |
Antibiotics are indeed dangerous for the environment. They have been increasing bacterial resistance over the years. Insulin is costly and unavailable for the poor people in some parts of the world. It is not dangerous for the environment. There should be ample and free access to insulin. All Best, Joey
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 3/1/2012 11:44 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 963
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
In Response to Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?: Antibiotics are indeed dangerous for the environment. They have been increasing bacterial resistance over the years. Insulin is costly and unavailable for the poor people in some parts of the world. It is not dangerous for the environment. There should be ample and free access to insulin. All Best, Joey Posted by Joey Rio I understand your point Joey, but making it a Controlled Drug would not need to make it more expensive. It just means that care is taken to ensure that it is only given to people who actually require it and it is not just handed out over the counter to anyone walking in and saying they want Insulin. |
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 3/1/2012 1:18 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 8
First: 3/2/2010 Last: 16/5/2012 |
The use of a specific drug or medication for murder does not end when the drug is prohibited, people will just use a different drug for the same purpuse. It is necessary to find out WHY this use to these means is so frequent. For example: your story can be seen as a statistical argument for legislation concerning euthanasia as we have in the Netherlands. As a GP in the Netherlands I can say that in my opinion 'murder' with insulin is a rare occurance here... |
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 3/1/2012 3:43 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 963
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
In Response to Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?: The use of a specific drug or medication for murder does not end when the drug is prohibited, people will just use a different drug for the same purpuse. It is necessary to find out WHY this use to these means is so frequent. For example: your story can be seen as a statistical argument for legislation concerning euthanasia as we have in the Netherlands. As a GP in the Netherlands I can say that in my opinion 'murder' with insulin is a rare occurance here... Posted by Dutchdoc I agree that prohibiting a drug does not prevent its misuse or abuse - we see that every day with illicit drugs. Howver, Insulin historically has a reputation for being 'undetectable' (rightly or wrongly) and as also being very effective. It might be sensible to control its administration more closely. If you review records of murder with Insulin around the world it runs very high figures, few other over the counter medicines have the same history. Murder by Insulin overdose has often been described as rare, but as is often said by Pathologists is that unless you look for it it may not be obvious. For example with the chronically ill. I am not suggesting that the world is rampant with Insulin murders but it seems to me to be an area of concern. |
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Re: Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
posted at 3/1/2012 6:06 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 878
First: 17/6/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
I agree with Joey R - insulin use is so common that anyone who really wants to use insulin to kill will get hold of some and adding more controls invariably also adds cost. There are enough issues with access to insulin in the parts of the world without adding more sadian |
Forums » Open clinical » Cardiology » Should Insulin be a Controlled Drug?
