swoo responds to my diatribe against chinese medicine (scroll down to read.) I respect her opinion, but I’d much rather take some tested drug than a pine cone dipped in Snake Blood. I do think, however, that drug companies should tell us how effective their drugs are compared to placebo.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you (not completely at least). While a lot of CHinese medicine is bogus, “western” medicine definitely has started making serious inquiries and studies into that knowledge. Placebo effect is not so bad, considering some of our most used medicines are just barely and I mean, barely better than placebo. Take Prozac for example. Real reason it’s even prescribed is heavy-handed marketing and lobbying by the drug companies. I’m not sure Prozac’s benefits outweigh the side effects, which for some people include suicidal tendencies. People swear by it yet close to 50% of improvement is simply placebo. I’d say that if we can “trick” the body into not feeling pain or what have you, with minimal side effects — why not? Most of our medicines are palliative in nature anyway, with a whole host of terrible side effects. One poison for another.

But I do know what you are railing against — a sort of ignorance and blind belief in the magical powers of Chinese medicine. Sometimes I think we’re not so better off in this country — we substitute chemicals for life, nutrition, emotions…