THE KING OF TRICKS

In the 1950s and 1960s, the use of thalidomide resulted in miscarriages and deformities such as flipper-like arms and legs. More than 10,000 children were affected. When the thalidomide tragedy struck, Congress and the Kennedy administration rushed to pass a law to require drugs to be effective. That effort became the 1962 Kefauver-Harris amendment. It required drug manufacturers to provide proof of the effectiveness and safety of the drugs before the FDA could approve them to be sold in the United States. The 1962 amendment led to use of clinical drug trials. Pharmaceutical companies latched onto the requirement for clinical trials and learned how to use them dishonestly. The companies developed many ways to trick the FDA and get quick approval of inferior drugs. "The King of Tricks" reveals some of these tricks, especially is the unspoken partnership between the drug companies and psychiatry. Many of the dishonest tricks couldn't be done by the drug companies alone. In the book, Richard Martinson represents psychiatry at large. He injured his brain in an accident when he was a boy. This adds to the drama for a psychiatrist with a brain injury is dangerous indeed.