Editorial: Thriller? Or mind control?

Monday, Oct. 24, 2005 | 9:09 a.m.

Curled up with a good book, a reader is taking advantage of one of the few remaining respites from advertising. Or is he? What if the whole book is an advertisement, or worse, a subliminal message perpetrated by scheming lobbyists?

Can't happen? Don't be so sure. The co-author of "The Karasik Conspiracy," an as-yet unpublished suspense novel, asserts that the book was commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The book's original plot revolved around terrorists poisoning prescription drugs that Americans buy from Canada. Kenin Spivak, the co-author, told the Toronto Globe and Mail that the goal of the book was to "scare Americans into opposing the importation of low-cost prescriptions from Canada."

PhRMA is a powerful lobbying group for the American drug industry. It is strongly opposed -- officially for safety reasons -- to a growing trend among states to allow residents to import their prescriptions from Canada, where drugs are sold much more cheaply than in the United States. The Nevada Legislature, for example, has approved an importation plan, but it is on hold until it gets legal clearance from the attorney general. It is estimated that Americans import about $800 million worth of drugs from Canada a year. While drug companies make the claim that drugs from Canada are not safe, it's also obvious that drugs bought from Canada cut into their profits.

"We absolutely and positively did not commission the book," a PhRMA spokesman told the Canadan newspaper. But the spokesman, Ken Johnson, did admit that "a rogue employee" arranged to make payments for the book through a consultant, the newspaper reported. Johnson was quoted as saying the book project was a "screwball idea that we would never, ever support or condone." Johnson told the paper that the rogue employee's project was discovered and halted last summer.

The book, the paper said, has been rewritten, although its basic plot is the same. It is scheduled for release in December. We view this whole incident as insidious. We hope lobbying and other interest groups develop policies to guard against such "rogue employees," and that publishers are alert to this possibility and remain vigilant.