I read an article today about a new drug combo being tested by Las Vegas, Nevada drug courts. The drug is called Prometa. It’s a combination of three drugs, all of which have been FDA approved for other uses, but which have not been approved in combination, or for the purpose of drug rehab. The drug combo allegedly curbs cravings for alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine and thereby helps an addict get through a drug rehab program.

When Prometa was tested in the drug courts in Pierce County Washington, the funding was cut before completion of the project because auditors uncovered the fact that Hythiam, Inc., the company that’s marketing Prometa, skewed the results of earlier studies to make Prometa appear widely effective. The auditors also found out that some of the public officials involved in the project, including the head of the clinic administering the program, were investors in Hythiam. The funding was cut, and the Prometa drug rehab program came to a scandalous halt.

Regardless of inadequate and skewed testing and the ethical concerns involved, the Las Vegas drug courts are going to try it out.

The fact that this is being done doesn’t surprise me – there are really no limits to how far a drug company will go to get their products out on the market – but what is surprising is a comment made by Valerie Gruber, director of the Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program at San Francisco General Hospital and a professor at University of California, San Francisco, about on-going clinical trials of Prometa.

“Why can’t (Hythiam) wait a couple of years until these trials are done?” she asked.

Wow! Wake up and smell the coffee Ms. Gruber. They can’t wait for a couple of years because they want M-O-N-E-Y!!!!!!

Prometa costs $5000 per person. There are 48 offenders in the Las Vegas drug court system right now who would be eligible for the Prometa drug rehab program. That’s $240,000. And acceptance by at least one drug court. which may well lead to acceptance by other drug courts, and on and on.

There are millions of people addicted to alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine in the U.S. How much does that add up to?

How did Ms. Gruber get to be the director of the Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program at a major hospital, and a university professor, without figuring out that most drug companies are primarily motivated by the almighty dollar?

They’re not motivated by the desire to get people through a successful drug rehab program – if they were, they’d put their money into that instead of drugs. They want to corner a market, and get rich.

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