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Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/09/28/sleep-now-by-prescription/

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Ramelteon isn\u2019t a bad drug. It\u2019s just that its very existence stands as a condemnation of the entire medical system.

All sleep medications have to straddle a very fine line between \u201cidiotically dangerous\u201d and \u201claughably ineffective\u201d, and Ramelteon manages better than most. It\xa0outperforms placebo, it\u2019s not addictive, it won\u2019t sap your ability to sleep without it, and it doesn\u2019t\xa0screw up your brain so badly that its unofficial mascot is a hallucinatory walrus.

How does it do it? Ramelteon is the first melatonergic drug, selectively binding to MT-1 and MT-2 melatonin receptors. Binding to melatonin receptors presumably mimics the effect of the natural hormone melatonin which is believed to serve a sleep-promoting role.

Now, you might ask yourself \u2013 the natural hormone melatonin is available as an over-the-counter supplement costing a couple cents per pill in every drug store, and\xa0provably\xa0quite safe and effective. Why would anyone go through the trouble of creating a drug that mimics its action? Especially if a month\u2019s supply of the drug costs around $100 \u2013 which it does.