Som-No-Mor

Brief

Som-No-Mor (tm) was an over-the-counter energy and alertness boosting drug produced by Kaufmann-Beich GmbH from the middle of 2525 until that company went out of business at the end of that year. Initial sales were extremely strong, and proponents of the products swore by it. Even after the recall of the product and the bankruptcy of the company, some users continued to horde their stash, and the rare bottle shows up on the black market even now.

History

Som-No-Mor (tm) went into research in April of 2523. Early animal trials were conducted in February and March of 2524. The product went into human testing in September of the same year.

Som-No-Mor (tm) was released to the public on July 23, 2525. Initial sales were impressive: at the Q3 stockholders meeting, it was announced that Som-No-Mor (tm) had shipped over 25 million units 'Verse-wide.

Som-No-Mor (tm) was ordered recalled by the Anglo-Sino Alliance of Planets Parliament on November 17, 2525 after the president of Kaufmann-Beich, Richard Kavanaugh, admitted to falsifying the human trials in order to rush the product into production.

Effects

Som-No-Mor (tm) was said to heighten alertness and boost energy in users, resulting in an increased ability to focus on complicated tasks even when the body is tired. Users describe the feeling as "like being hit with a cold wind, that wakes you up and keeps you that way for hours, man."

Producer Kaufmann-Beich claimed that Som-No-Mor (tm) did not actually increase energy, but only a feeling of alertness. In other words, they claim there was no caloric energy added to the body by Som-No-Mor (tm), a claim that was subsequently verified by external laboratories (but see Controversy, below).

Controversy

Even before the recall, there were unsubstantiated rumors of Som-No-Mor (tm) causing side-effects that ranged from increased jitters to violent mood swings, depending on the individual urban legend in question.

In a press conference on 16 Nov 2525, Kaufmann-Beich president Richard Kavanaugh admitted to having falsified human safety testing results in order to rush Som-No-Mor (tm) into production. Subsequent to this announcement, Parliament ordered the drug recalled. The company went out of business shortly thereafter.

Private testing done after the recall by the Blue Sun corporation revealed that, in fact, Som-No-Mor (tm) would have very serious side effects in roughly 2% of the population, including increased paranoia in those prone, and a risk of heart attacks in some people with rare congenetal conditions. In a report dated March 23, 2526 they concluded that, "Som-No-Mor (tm) is, in it's current incarnation, a public health hazard and the government was right to order its recall."