Truth is Stranger than Phiction

Once upon a time, a major pharmaceutical company lobbying group called PhRMA commissioned a thriller novel in which Croatian terrorists poison Canadian prescription drugs. By some strange coincidence, Canadian drugs sometimes cost as little as 10% of the American price, and though it's illegal, Americans like to cross the border to take advantage of lower prices.

Then, a twist! PhRMA and the writers had a falling-out, and the novel changed. The new villian was a big drug company that poisoned Canadian drugs and said Croatian terrorists did it. Tsk, tsk.

Slate

Updated On: 11/29/05 at 03:04 PM

Really? I think it's fixed now, though I don't quite get what went wrong in the first place.