Better to be a rat than a grandma…

…if you live in Canada and find yourself participating in research to test new drugs and medical treatments, that is.

A few posts ago I mentioned how appalled I was at my mother-in-law’s treatment by drug researchers when she was waiting for a surprise triple by-pass. Now a new study, Towards the Ethical Governance of Canadian Research Involving Humans: Principles, Policies, Practices and Outcomes, shows her experience is not unique.

The researchers conclusion: “The governance of research involving animals in Canada is not only more stringent, but better.”

Those crazy academics with their fancy ten dollar words...what he's saying is, lab rats are better cared for in drug testing than humans are.

How many Canadians are recruited into studies to test new drugs? About one million. And who are they? They are the disposables, of course, grey hairs and folks who are chronically ill. Like my son’s granny T.

And, to make the story even more disturbing, the overview of the report concludes that,
"It is far easier to find out about research mishaps in Canada from U.S. authorities than from Canadian authorities."

Apparently, while the Canadian research community refuses to disclose when investigators or institutions are involved in misconduct, such as misspending funds, falsifying results or mistreating patients, several Canadian researchers and universities have in recent years been publicly questioned and sanctioned by U.S. regulators.

With all due respect to my American cousins, I can’t say I feel happy about having the country with one of the highest mortality-due-to-doctor-invention rates being Canada’s drug research watchdog…