Why do drugs have to be tested before they are prescribed?

Answer 1

Drugs are tested on animals and human trials are done further down the line to help protect any end users of the drug that could be affected by any negitve side effects. Think of it like this, you walk into a pharmicy complaining of a hedache and the on call pharmicist says, "take this brown syrup. No one in the world has taken it before it could cure your headache or kill you or cause memory loss but still use it." would you take it then.

Answer 2

Before people ever use a prescription drug, it goes through a long process. It begins in a lab. It may come from a plant used in the jungles of South America. Still, the lab extracts the ingredients. Eventually, the lab finds the active ingredient. Next the lab discovers why the active ingredient works. Next the drug is tried out on animals. If the lab animals do not die, then it is tried out on 10 people. If none of those people die and the drug helps them then it goes to phase 2. In phase 2, it is tried out on a number of people. Some use the new treatment and some use the old treatment. (At one time they used a placebo. Today, if there is a treatment that works, they compare this treatment to one that works.) If the treatment works, then it goes to phase 3. That involves a few thousand people. That point involves getting the dosage correct. If the drug still works, then the drug is made available.

Answer 3

All drugs have side effects, some of which can be fatal. For many drugs, these side effects are so common and severe that the medication is deemed to be too dangerous for human use, as it would cause more harm than good.

Answer 4

Drugs are first subject to computer modeling, which looks at pH, reactivity, dissociation and other chemical factors. Outside of certain parameters, drugs are known to be toxic, irritating, able to cause chemical burns, etc. If the drugs fall within the acceptable parameters on the computer models, they are then tested on living cell and tissue cultures, again looking for signs of irritation and toxicity. If these test results are acceptable, the drug is then tested in at least two different animal models - the exact ones are based upon which animal model best matches the appropriate human physiologic systems being targeted. If these test results are acceptable, a very limited Phase I clinical trial is started with healthy humans being given the drugs and tested for safety and side effects. If the drug passes this test, a Phase II clinical trial to determine dosing, further safety and side effects, as well as some efficacy values. If this phase is passed, a Phase III clincial trial is started in which larger numbers of human subjects are given therapeutic doses and compared to a reference group to see if the drug works.

If all of these tests show the drug is safe, it is approved by FDA after review of the data for prescription use by physicians. However, it is still closely monitored for safety and efficacy after FDA approval.

Answer 5

well i dont no only scientist do at least i think they do, xxxxxx :)

Answer 6

Cocaine - snort a line

meth - smoke crystals

LSD - dissolve on tongue

mariajuana - smoke a spliff, hash cookies... etc.

Answer 7

Initial tests are routinely done on animals. Later on they're tested on human volunteers to check for any side-effects.

Answer 8

They are taken...

Answer 9

by sleeping