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Comment by amelius | Hacker News Reader

Looks like they are selling GLP-1 prescriptions online, with online consultations.

This is borderline illegal.

Seems like that’s basically what entrepreneurship is now

Isn't it capitalism? Adobe fucks you, Microsoft will "upgrade" your Office^W Copilot 365 license to 25-seats(1) if you don't notice, Tesla promises self-driving but drives you into the back of the trucks (what, you didn't read the disclaimer?), even the "leader of the free world" is now a crypto-huckster selling you bibles with his name on it... and is killing civilians in the Middle East and making profit by saying "Oh I'll stop soon!".

(1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47474827

Not capitalism in the way many of us capitalists think it should be practiced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments

Isn't this the same no true scotsman argument as "true communism, as Marx envisioned, has never been put to practice"?

Absolutely.

The beauty of capitalism is that you can just not use Adobe, Microsoft or drive Tesla. Blaming Trump on capitalism is also quite a stretch.

So the beauty of capitalism is billion dollar companies are free to try to scam you, because you're also free to avoid them?

Maybe I should just stand on the street and be a 3-card-monty...

at least the 3-card Monty guy is dealing with you one on one. These companies hire lobbyist to make the illegal, immoral sh*t legal. Easy to keep winning the game when you write the rules.

Eliminating capitalism will not eliminate people trying to scam you or take advantage of you.

This was the same criticism levied against AirBnB, Uber, cryptocurrency, prediction markets, sports betting apps, etc.

The border of legal and illegal is a good place to make money and change.

Yes doing illegal things and getting away with it is a great way to make money.

Some laws represent moral truths and some laws represent the attempt of a prior generation's upper class to protect that wealth.

The willingess to break a bad law is a sign of a good person.

Just because a law is bad doesn't mean breaking it is a good thing. The laws against gambling are bad, but that's because they're too loose, not because they're too strict. Breaking those laws to gamble doesn't make gambling a good thing.

Yeah illegally running a cab is basically the same thing as being Rosa Parks.

Correct. While ride-sharing services aren't perfect, they have significantly reduced rates of service refusals and long-wait times based on race.

By that argument, start a company selling fentanyl because there will be demand for it?

Sorry, but your implied argument is flawed.

You might have to hold my hand on how you got there.

My actual argument was the ride-sharing addressed systemic racism that yellow cab companies did not, that is a good thing.

What net good would fentanyl do to society? If it exists, then yes, sell it. Clean, reliable fentanyl might be a good thing, I don't know.

> hold my hand

The fentanyl using part of society thinks it is great. There you go.

It has become a bit of a pest in Germany since weed was legalized. Every other method of distribution is either inconvenient, like growing it yourself, or borderline difficult to establish, like the social clubs. Now, you just pay 10 euros, fill out an online form, and receive a prescription. I’m not against legalization, quite the opposite but these empty promises that weed is a "cure" for anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses are dangerous. Advertising it this way without a proper medical examination or proper follow ups is wrong. People are going to get hurt because of it and like this fellow here they started to do other drugs like GLP-1, Viagra and ofc peptides as well.

No, it sounds like you're against legalization.

How so?

They legalized it, but not the "right" way, according to you.

The best way to legalize it would be through licensed vendors. We shouldn’t force people who just want to smoke to jump through hoops or fake an illness. This kind of approach is exactly how you end up with messy laws like in the US, where everything relies on precedent instead of being clearly written into the code. When laws aren't solid, they can be overturned by simply adding an addendum to a medical distribution law and make it unobtainable again rather than repealing the legalization itself. It is the classic conservative playbook (btw we see the CDU pushing for exactly this) and it is definitely not something that should be encouraged. So yes it's definitely not the "right" way.

You said it yourself, people are just paying the 10 euro for the prescription to avoid the hassle of growing themseleves or establishing/becoming part of a social club. It's a loophole that works, I doubt those people actually think that it is curing their illnesses.

Some definitely do believe it’s a cure for their illness.

For sure some do, and for some it really helps (although those people could get medical marijuana even before "legalization"). Speaking anecdotally, all the people I know buying weed from pharmacies just say they have "back pain" or "sleep issues" to get the prescription because it's way easier and quicker to find than any other way.

It seems Nowadays for new businesses, lawsuits, maybe even a stint in prison with a 1 million presidential pardon at the end, is all incorporated into a business cost line, in a VC investment funds planning...

They were already warned by the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...

The in person businesses selling them don't do much more thorough consultations in my experience, although at least they try to track your muscle mass and be sure you're not losing too much there.

The whole business model probably just comes down to high demand over supply and traditional primary care doctors not being ready to keep up with prescribing it, though? It's a temporary gap being filled in. I wonder how long it can last.

So it's legal?

A lot of shitty behavior is legal. That doesn't mean that we should accept it if it happens.

Decency exists for a reason.

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