An R Crumb Moment, 2000

Inspired while at the 2000 Ottawa Animation Festival.  The two were seated near the program auditorium when I arrived for registration at 8am, and they were still at the same bench when I took an afternoon break at 4. 

Illustration compilation at lulu press.  Here's the link:  http://ar.gy/3UB9

The FDA Steps Up to Control Narcotic Deaths -- well....

Annual deaths associated with acetaminophen toxicity run about 450 per year.  In 2007, over 11,500 died from hydrocodone toxicity.  Vicodin, Norco, and Lorcet are all combinations of hydrocodone and acetaminophen and are not only heavily abused, but are also implicated in greater numbers of 'accidental deaths' (meaning, abusers who don't make the statistic are accidentally living) each year.
The FDA's response - restrict the amount of acetaminophen in each tablet!
The corporate response?  Abbott, now owners of the Vicodin 'brand' stepped up and made a change in their formulation - no more than 300mg of acetaminophen per tablet (they had allowed up to 750mg per tablet before).  This makes a 'new drug' according to the FDA (a tactic employed by the makers of Tussionex cough syrup for years), and makes previously available 'generics' for 'brand name' Vicodin no longer 'equivalent.'
So a generic company stepped up, got the first approval for a 'generic' and lo - another example of the FDA helping contribute to the rising expense of health care!

The wholesale price of $148.27 is for 100 tablets of this 'generic' for the 'reformulated' Vicodin ES.  Pharmacies could buy a LOT of the old generic, hydrocodone 7.5mg/acetaminophen 750mg for the same price.

A History of Pharmacy - Until 1997, at least...

See the whole first volume! http://www.lulu.com/shop/jim-middleton/uncle-stans-profusely-illustrated-world-no-1/paperback/product-20701680.html

Battle Creek - You've Got A Problem!

The Michigan Automatic Prescription Service (MAPS) offers up a lot of information on controlled substance usage as reported from the state's pharmacies.  Their website even provides the raw data for the entire year of 2010, broken down by zip code.
After some research, it was possible to track down the populations for those zip code regions, then break the general use down 'per capita.'
The categories chosen for this snapshot of 2010 were 'stimulants' (meaning, all varieties of Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and its chemical relatives), 'hydrocodone' (for all drugs similar to Vicodin), 'oxycodone' (for those like Oxycontin), and 'methadone.'
The 49014 area corresponds to an area near Battle Creek known as "Harper Creek."  The 49015 refers to the "Lakeview" region, with 49016 being those who use a PO box as their primary address, 49017 referring to the city's northern side, and 49037 to the general region known as "Urbandale."
I recommend checking out the MAPS program and looking up your particular region and crafting a similar spreadsheet.  Battle Creek may look to be problematic, but I'm almost thinking that other regions may have a bigger problem....
Now, contemplate the causes.....

A Moment of Snarkiness from the 2010 Edition...


 Because sometimes you can smell people before you see them.....



(c) MMIX The Animating Apothecary

        (well so much for making an animated GIF out of this one!)  

Pharmacy Trolls - collect the set!

I enjoy documenting the more entertaining visitors to the retail realm.  Sometimes the calendar drawings create themselves - this is something I overheard during a diabetes consult, and the customer didn't leave before requesting some iodine and Sudafed.  Fifteen minutes later he came back in and asked again - when we told him he was just here, he "thought the place looked familiar."