NEW PILL COULD SPELL THE END OF POETRY: What if there was a pill that could blunt, even erase, bad memories? Sounds a bit sci-fi, but researchers think they have discovered a drug that can dampen the effects of rape, torture, even war traumas that can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). In an AP story by Marilynn Marchione reprinted in the Marine Corps Times, studies using the drug Propranolol “on 19 longtime PTSD sufferers has provided early encouraging results, Canadian and Harvard University researchers report.” It is in a class of drugs called beta blockers and “is the one most able to cross the blood-brain barrier and get to where stress hormones are wreaking havoc. It already is widely used to treat high blood pressure and is being tested for stage fright.” Some experts wonder that if the drug were given to combat veterans in Iraq before the bad memories form, they could avoid later bouts with PTSD. It could also cause a new set of problems. During stress, the body releases adrenaline and other “fight or flight” hormones that help write memories into the ‘hard drive’ of the brain. Soldiers “need to be able to run and to fight,” said Dr. Roger Pitman, a Harvard University psychiatrist who lead and early study on the drug. He said you could take the soldiers "behind the lines for a couple of days, then you could give it to them after a traumatic event, or before they’re sent home. Some critics also suggest that rape victims would be less able to testify against attackers if their memories were blunted. Other objections have been raised. A few years ago, chairman Leon Kass of the President’s Council on Bioethics heard a briefing on the drug and went a little nuts, announcing that painful memories serve a purpose and are part of the human experience. Not to mention they are key to the creative life of writers, artists, and performers. If Propranolol becomes popular, we could experience a drastic shortage of poetry, which could lead to a huge decline in the GNAP – the Gross National Angst Product. We might be blissful in our forgetfulness, but poorer for it, too.
