Though there are channels through which terminally ill patients can access some experimental drugs that have not yet received FDA approval for marketing to the public, in general those drugs must already be proven safe and effective.
Patients who use drugs intravenously may be at high risk for relapse, but their situation is no more futile than that of persons with diabetes and coronary artery disease who smoke and frequent all-you-can-eat buffets.
The ethical questions surrounding the recruitment of patients for clinical trials become more complicated when the recruiting physicians receive financial benefits for each patient enrolled.
The ethical questions surrounding the recruitment of patients for clinical trials become more complicated when the recruiting physicians receive financial benefits for each patient enrolled.