The BBC published a report today about an overseas pharmacy which supplied Tramadol (an opioid drug) to someone in the UK, who used it to kill himself. For legal reasons it doesn't name the pharmacy but it's in Egypt. The man had Asperger's syndrome and depression.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13928417

This is not the first time the British media have drawn attention to overseas pharmacy companies - the Observer printed this in 2003:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/ ... alth.drugs

Just checked and IHP and Goldpharma are still up, and the government says they can't stop the drugs being imported under current legislation.

As I read it, the news story includes mention that the man had made prior suicide attempts with drugs which were not fully effective.

If someone is sufficiently determined to do something, sooner or later, the something becomes very likely and will often happen.

I suppose it might be psychologically comforting to focus exclusively on what can be labeled as "the proximate cause" even when the proximate cause is essentially trivial within the whole causal chain of an undesired (undesired by whom?) event.

As long as people focus entirely on proximate causes, nothing ever need be done to prevent what actually causes a event regarded as undesirable; given sufficient effort, a nearly endless string of alternate proximate causes can be devised which all will culminate in an event regarded (by whom?) as undesirable, and attributing causality only to the final, often trivial, proximate event, may be a terrific way to perpetuate complicated happenings regarded as undesirable.

I am struggling for words while writing this. It is as though I am enmeshed in an irony of unfathomable ironic tragedy. I happen to find that I am autistic of the supposedly high-functioning Kanner type, and I have a very long list of abusive events which seemingly happened at the behest of non-autistic people who were intent on curing my autism.

The irony is simple and of much sorrow for me. I came with a genetic condition, familial adenomatous polyposis, which gave to me a nearly socially perfect way to effectively commit suicide to escape from a society which effectively treats people autistic in ways similar to me with severely unbridled contemptuous subjectively-experienced abuse. All I needed to do, based on my understanding of biology, was to avoid anything which would have detected cancer before it became terminal. My dad and brother effectively did that, though without the conscious intent I would have needed.

Would it be wise to learn to treat every unique person (is not every person truly unique?) with sufficient respect, kindness, and decency, that no person will ever be put on the path of suicidal ideation?

Inhouse Pharmacy does have a notice on their website that their site isn't intended for use by residents of the UK.

However, they will still ship to the UK, that is just there to cover themselves. I've had deliveries from them since that notice went up.

Is that a recent photo of him? If he was 26 and looked like he was 8yrs-old.. jeezus, that could be tough. And really, an adult wants to off themselves, that's their business. Blaming the overseas pharmacy is pointless; definitely just going to be use to further the interests of politicians and pharmas.