The Wonder Drug?

Last week we learned that Viagra is being used to make horses run faster. This week we learn that it has been given to convicted sex offenders and we are paying for it, as the funding for the pill comes from Medicaid. In the past four years, Florida has spent $93,000 on Viagra for these offenders. Other states have spent more.

The states felt that they had to supply Viagra as such dispensation conformed to the rules. Apparently, no one saw fit to ask whether supplying Viagra to convicted sex offenders might lead to more crime.

Fortunately, the federal government has now ruled that states have discretion as to the distribution of drugs under the Medicaid program and it is unlikely such a blatant misuse of common sense will recur.