The Power of Money

Ryan Koch

Curated Paper #2

October 29, 2020

The Power of Money

            Many may believe that science or art connects the world, and that may be true in some instances. However, what really connects our modern world is money. There is an old saying originating from the Bible stating that money is the root of all evil. While money itself is not inherently evil, the saying is correct in stating that money is at the root of almost everything in the world around us. Everything one interacts on a daily basis is connected with money. Think of a normal day; the things you eat for breakfast costs money. The car that you drive costs money. The paper that your homework is printed on and the writing instrument used costs money. Everything one wears, eats, drinks, and does usually involves money in some sense. Unlike the economies of ancient kingdoms which traded different commodities, modern economies are based on the transfer of money. As of 2019, the world’s economy was estimated to be 133 trillion US dollars. Every topic that we research in this class or learn in college is somehow tied to this enormous world economy.

            One of the major links between science and economics is the drug industry. No matter what type, drugs are majorly rooted in money and turning a profit. When the word “drugs” is mentioned in everyday conversations, a vast number of people think of the numerous illegal drugs and the many drug cartels throughout Central and South America that make and transport a wide-array of illicit drugs. Although a lot of drugs do originate from this region, there are a handful of other regions throughout the world, such as the Middle East, that are major players in the drug black market. A United Nations estimate in 2005 found that the illegal drug black market traded nearly $322 billion or approximately one percent of the world’s economy that year (Chawla et Al., 2005).

One of the largest exporters of illegal drugs is the country of Columbia. The drug industry started in Columbia in the 1970s with the growth of marijuana. This industry quickly grew after the United States started a campaign to stop marijuana growth in Mexico. Eventually, the US government pressured the Columbian government to do more to stop the drug’s spread into the United States. As a result, many of the marijuana farms were destroyed, so the majority of the drug cartels switched to producing stronger drugs such as cocaine and heroin which also have higher profit margins than marijuana. Amazingly, by the mid-1990s, these illegal drugs represented about ten percent of the GNP of Columbia. The article also explains that the effects were not isolated to the economy. Many of the politicians became corrupt and paramilitary guerrilla groups became widespread in the country (Thoumi, 2002). The power of money and drugs is amazing as it completely changed a whole country in only a few decades.

A group of researchers created a graph about annual illicit drug use in the United States. The graph splits up drug use by age group each year. It is super interesting to note that after 1980 illegal drug use declined steadily in all young adult groups until about 1990. I wonder if that has something to do with President Reagan’s war on drugs or if it was some other social or economic factor. It is sad to note that the prevalence of illegal drugs used among young adult age groups in 2016 was roughly 30-45% (Johnston et Al., 2018).

The opposite side of the drug industry, the legal pharmaceutical side, is also deeply rooted in money. Specifically, a 2011 research article studied the extreme price differences between brand name drugs and generic versions. Early in the article, the authors shared a startling statistic. The cost of lowering blood pressure in a non-diabetic patient using a brand name drug was about $53,000 per quality adjusted life-year. If the same patient were to take a generic drug, the cost would be just under $8,000 per quality adjusted life-year. That is a major cost difference! The authors also explain that many drug patents are coming due in the near future allowing generic forms of the drugs to be made at a fraction of the cost (Shrank et Al., 2011).

Some may say that the pharmaceutical companies are price gouging, while others say they are just doing what needs to be done. A 2005 study examined the ethics of big pharmaceutical companies holding the exclusive patents to many life-saving prescription drugs. The author argues both sides of the issue to give a full picture of the dilemma. The pharmaceutical companies say that the patents and higher drug costs are purely for the economic reason of paying the research and development costs and turning a profit. Meanwhile, critics claim these companies go too far when they keep treatments away from developing nations or produce a slightly different version of a drug to extend the patent for it and prevent cheaper generic versions from being made. The author ends by providing a possible solution to this ethical dilemma. He suggests having all sides come together and forming an international code to prevent abuses (George, 2005). Creating this international code will hopefully give companies the ability to turn a profit and allow Americans to continue affording their prescriptions to treat an array of illnesses.

There is also another side of money and medicine that is not normally discussed. The economic losses, such as a patient’s loss of income, often accompanies a prolonged illness or disease. I have seen this in my own extended family when my uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. Not only was the surgery to remove the tumor from his brain extremely complicated and expensive, it resulted in my uncle’s loss of employment due to the prolonged medical treatments and negative effects of the cancer. Although his quality of life eventually improved, it came at a great financial cost to both him and his family. With the loss of employment and the mounting medical bills, I can see how money can influence how and if people receive treatments for their medical conditions.

While money has many effects on others and those around us, it also has an effect on each one of us. A study which looked at incentives, including money, classified money as a form of drug to our brain. The authors tried to answer why money is such a strong motivator if it does not have any biological significance. They came up with two possible reasons. The first is that money is a tool that one could reasonably use to get biologically significant items. The second possible reason is that money, like psychoactive drugs, imitates the action of actual incentives, but does not give any added fitness (Lea and Webley, 2006). I can see that for different people the reason may be the first or second reason. For me personally, I feel like both apply. I see money as a way to get something that I need like food, but it also feels rewarding to have a lot of money at the same time even if I do not intend to spend it. Although science allows us to discover new things and improve our lives, it is money that drives our lives and potentially determines our future.

References

Chawla, S., Korenblik, A., Kunnen, S., Le Pichon, T., Nathwani, A., Pietschmann, T., Rhomberg, W., Saadeddin, A., Thomas, J., Tullis, M. (2005). World Drug Report 2005: Volume 1: Analysis (Report). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. p. 127.

George, R. T. (2005). Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Drugs: An Ethical Analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly, 15(4), 549-575. doi:10.5840/beq200515444

Johnston, L. D., Miech, R. A., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Schulenberg, J. E., & Patrick, M. E. (2018). Monitoring the Future; National Survey Results on Drug Use. The National Institute on Drug Abuse at The National Institutes of Health, 1-117.

Lea, S. E., & Webley, P. (2006). Money as tool, money as drug: The biological psychology of a strong incentive. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29(2), 161-209. doi:10.1017/s0140525x06009046

Shrank, W. H., Choudhry, N. K., Liberman, J. N., & Brennan, T. A. (2011). The Use Of Generic Drugs In Prevention Of Chronic Disease Is Far More Cost-Effective Than Thought, And May Save Money. Health Affairs, 30(7), 1351-1357. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0431

Thoumi, F. E. (2002). Illegal Drugs in Colombia: From Illegal Economic Boom to Social Crisis. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 582(1), 102-116. doi:10.1177/0002716202582001008