Monopoly loves to expand. Pharmacists around the world are finding ways to preserve their exclusive right to sell drugs. Do you want to buy "Plan B," a "morning after" contraceptive hitherto sold only as a prescription drug in America. Rather than allowing it to be dispensed freely, the FDA forced a "voluntary”"accord on Barr Laboratories, the drug's maker, for it to be sold from behind the pharmacist's counter. If an identity check reveals the purchaser to be under 18, Plan B will still require a prescription; if the buyer is 18 or over, the pharmacist can dispense it freely. This landmark decision could prove to be the thin edge of a very big wedge. The arrival of Plan B may herald the emergence of a class of pharmaceuticals unknown in America: behind-the-counter (BTC) drugs (link here)”.

Enough said.