Pharmaceutical trials by jury?
It's bound to happen sooner or later. Why not prior to approval?
So much of what we read about the captured regulatory agencies focuses on the problem. The revolving door, the conflicted patent work, the influence Pharma has on the entire field…it all seems so hopeless.
Well, there may not be much hope of it, but we’ve been trying to imagine what a corruption-free approval process might look like. After all, the problem runs pretty deep. Hardly any working scientist in a relevant discipline is actually free of conflict. There are grants to consider, and also the massive institutional bias of those who staked their own careers on the success of pharmaceutical interventions.
But what if those few professionals who maintain independence would sign up for a jury pool, where such conflicts would be a disqualifying factor? There would be an adversarial process, in which attorneys for the manufacturer would face off with a consumer advocate…say, Robert F. Kennedy jr., since we’re dreaming here.
The trial data would become the trial evidence, and the drug manufacturer which is seeking approval would have to win it before a jury. This jury would have both scientists and ordinary citizens, to keep the process transparent, and would be selected and rejected by attorneys if a bias is exposed. All on the record.
Next, a PUBLIC trial will take place, in which the methods and findings will be scrutinized under cross-examination. The drug will be considered dangerous until proven otherwise, to the satisfaction of a unanimous jury.
This may seem extravagant, but, this is exactly what eventually winds up happening when hastily approved drugs are foisted off on the market by corrupt captured regulators. So having a jury-style trial and robust independent approval process, where the data will be examined rather than simply rubber-stamped, would save both lives and future legal costs.
Is this a pipe dream? Sure, the hash is still burning. But when we protest the broken system we now have, it might be more effective if we have an alternative to promote. And who knows? Maybe someday we’ll have a government that cares what the people want and need.
Yeah. It’s a nice dream.
Is this a pipe dream? Sure, the hash is still burning.
Dreams are the quantum crystallization point for visions. Visions communicated synergize minds toward manifestation.