Notes from the Prozac Nation: Vol. I, No.1

As promised, here is my first installment of Notes from the Prozac Nation (NFPN). I am furiously getting my syllabi done, so this is a quick post.

• "The popularity of antidepressants among women puts a premium on men who are skilled lovers. A woman who might have had an orgasm with even the most clumsy guy is now forced to seek out a man who is willing and able to invest 1-2 hours cleverly to bring about the main event." --An observation from a friend of mine, who, perhaps, has some experience with female sexual dysfunction.



• John McCain, gearing up for Presidential race, blasts Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.
  



• The battle in CA over Prop. 79 (which would force the Big Pharma to cut costs on prescription drugs for the poor, elderly or uninsured) rages on. Big Pharma has $60 million dollars to spend on TV ads, trying to convince the voters to choose their ballot initative which supports Pharma 's plan to voluntarily offer discounts (when it feels like it, I guess?) rather than deal with the red tape and bureaucracy of CA state government



• Wyeth Pharmaceuticals sponsored a study that claims depression patients don't take their medication as regularly as they should.



• Scarlett Johansson takes our favorite Scientologist Tom Cruise to task for his anti-choice stance--that is, anti-anti-depressant choice. Johansson says, "I think people have their own right to choose whether or not they want to stop taking a drug. I can go into a very lengthy conversation with anyone about a woman's right to choose and things like that, but I don't believe in forcing my opinion on people."



• Kudos to the University of Cincinnati who are using NIH money to figure out why (hmmm? I wonder) depressed African American's are diagnosed as schizophrenic.