GlaxoSmithKline recently lost a $3 billion judgement and, the story goes, was forced to release a bunch of paperwork, or it was somehow made public in the course of the trial. That whole situation is pretty messed up — they were suppressing test results showing that some of their antidepressant meds increased suicide risk in children. But that’s just the same old song — corporations poison kids for money. Old news.

What’s new to me is that some of the paperwork released showed, apparently (I’m at work so I’m blogging before I RTFA), Dr. Drew Pinksy, of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, is some kind of paid spokesperson for GSK’s Wellbutrin brand.

So yeah: everything he says about drugs can be thought of as a paid ad from Big Pharma, the largest cartel of opiate dealers on the planet. Note, for example, the lack of coverage in his show of iboga treatment in favor of abstention treatment — which works about as well with addicts in rehab as it does with teens in sex ed.

But treating serious cases of addiction as moral failure is more profitable than giving people boiled African tree bark. I bet it’s more fun, too.