Ryan Lewis knows first-hand how drug use can alter one’s life, but rather than share with his fans the journey he’s had combatting drug and alcohol addiction (as he’s done in previous albums), the activist and songwriter is calling out ‘Big Pharma’ – and ‘doctors without morals’ – for prescribing drugs as if they’re candy.
“Drug Dealer”, which is featured in the album This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, seeks to expose how physicians are more likely to prescribe painkillers to a deflated populace rather than help them get healthy, likely due to the hefty paycheck pharmaceutical companies promise.
At present, 70% of the U.S. population takes one or more prescription pills and 50% takes two or more prescribed drugs. This is intriguing, considering the CDC itself has admitted that a minimum of 40% of diseases of affluence (such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, etc…) are preventable.
The issue is two-fold: the foods that are subsidizes are largely fed to animals as well as used to to make cheap fillers in refined, processed foods (making them cheaper than healthier, nutritious fruits, vegetables, seeds, etc…); additionally, people have been taught that the allopathic medical industry is invested in their well-being. Therefore, consumers are more willing to take a pill they’ve been prescribed and not change their unhealthy habits rather than adopt sustainable change which could save them heartache and a lot of money down the road.
The system is corrupt, and this is what Macklemore & Ryan Lewis seeks to expose in “Drug Dealer.” Listen for yourself: