Bill Maher Criticizes Doctors Enabling Addicts Like Matthew Perry on ‘Real Time’

Bill Maher called out doctors for prescribing highly addictive medications to addicts, using Matthew Perry’s tragic death as a focal point for his criticism.

“Matthew and I weren’t super close, but he was enough of a friend and enough of a good guy to make me very angry when I read about all the enablers,” Maher stated during his “New Rule” segment on Friday night’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher.

Using the Friends star’s recent passing as an example, Maher highlighted how the “medical industrial complex” continuously fails Americans. He criticized the practice of overprescribing, attributing this issue to Perry’s demise.

“Someone has to tell me why we love taking the piss out of lawyers with lawyer jokes, but not doctors,” Maher argued. “And yet, doctors killed Matthew Perry, just like they killed Michael Jackson, Prince, Tom Petty, Elvis Presley. Doctors have killed more rock stars than twin-engine planes.”

Maher pointed out troubling statistics, mentioning that from 2006 to 2019, over 145 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pills were prescribed, resulting in over 210,000 overdose deaths.

He also expressed his frustration over the rise of fentanyl, a drug 50 times stronger than heroin, which has become increasingly lethal. “Could you be any more irresponsible?” Maher asked. He further criticized the Western medicine approach, saying, “It turns out medicine is a lot like religion. People just want to believe in some kind of priesthood who tells you they can keep you safe.”

Questioning the infallibility of doctors, Maher noted the numerous TV shows about a genius doctor proving other doctors wrong. He criticized pharmaceutical advertising, which is legal only in the United States and New Zealand.

Returning to Perry, Maher said, “Matthew Perry asked his doctor, ‘Is ketamine right for me?’ and his licensed, trained, legitimate doctor texted another doctor and wrote, ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay.’” Maher added that doctors have been charged in the actor’s death, sarcastically stating, “Apparently, the Hippocratic Oath now means, first, do no harm to your bank account.”

Maher lamented Perry’s situation, saying, “Sometimes it takes a village to kill an addict. Matthew and I weren’t super close, but he was enough of a friend and enough of a good guy to make me very angry when I read about all the enablers. I mean, done in by your assistant? To a celebrity, that’s the cruelest blow of all.”

Maher criticized the practice at Perry’s last rehab clinic in Switzerland, where, instead of weaning him off drugs, he was simply given another drug. “It’s like if he had stopped by the firehouse and they set him on fire,” Maher commented.

He continued, “I’m not a doctor. I’m just a comedian who couldn’t possibly know what they know. But here, it’s the world’s single most famous living drug addict, the one who had just written a book with the phrase ‘the big terrible thing’ in the title, the guy who, more than anyone on Earth, came pre-advertised to be weak to the allure of drugs.” His advice? “If that guy comes to you for help, maybe don’t give him more drugs.”

Maher pointed out the growing industry of ketamine clinics, stating that there are over 500 just in America. He criticized the Western medicine approach of differentiating between “respectable” and street drugs, pointing out that both can be equally dangerous. “Oxy is heroin, Adderall is meth, and Ritalin is cocaine for kids,” he remarked.

Ending his segment, Maher issued a stern warning to his viewers: “Everybody needs to know going in, that when it comes to resisting anything that makes a profit in America, you’re on your own.”

He related this to his own experiences, saying, “Yes, I know something about addiction, because I smoked cigarettes for 20 years. That’s an addiction when the drug tells you when to do it. But no, I’m not addicted to pot, because pot never does that, and I’ve never been an everyday smoker. And to those wise asses always asking me if I get high before the show, the answer is no. Well, not right before.”

Source: Decider