#328 The Spin Doctors Spit On Science

Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006
Subject: #328 The Spin Doctors Spit On Science

THE SPIN DOCTORS SPIT ON SCIENCE

******************** PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE ************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #328 – Tue, 25 April 2006

Last Thursday the Food and Drug Administration distributed a press
release “Inter-Agency Advisory Regarding Claims That Smoked Marijuana
Is a Medicine” which you may read at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01362.html

The reaction in the press has been interesting, and worthy of your
letters to the editors. Below we have listed links to a collection of
the press responses as of today, Tuesday morning.

If you need facts to support your letters we suggest these
webpages:

http://www.mpp.org/medical/ Please note the Common Questions about
Medical Marijuana (answered by the Institute of Medicine)

and

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/medicalm.htm

One of the editorials says “If the FDA won’t listen to the scientists,
Congress should take steps to see that it does.” Please contact your
members of Congress and ask them to take those steps.

Thanks for your effort and support.

It’s not what others do it’s what YOU do

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Published Friday, 21 April 2006

New York Times F.D.A Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n495/a01.html

San Francisco Chronicle FDA’s Missive Against Medical Pot URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n495/a10.html

Island Packet (SC) FDA Rejects Marijuana for Medical Uses URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n495/a09.html

Seattle Post-Intelligencer FDA Rejects Medicinal Use of Marijuana URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n495/a08.html

Salt Lake Tribune FDA Says Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n497/a05.html

Chicago Tribune FDA Declares Marijuana Has No Medical Value URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n497/a04.html

Watertown Daily Times (NY) FDA Says Pot Not Medicine URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n499/a07.html

Arizona Republic Rebuffing Scientists, FDA Says Marijuana Has No
Medical Value URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n500/a03.html

Philadelphia Inquirer FDA: No Benefit in Medical Marijuana URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n500/a04.html

Indianapolis Star FDA Says Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n506/a07.html

Oakland Tribune FDA Says No Studies Support Marijuana for Medicinal
Use URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n508/a08.html

Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC) FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From
Marijuana URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n508/a07.html

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Marijuana Useless As Medicine, FDA Says
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a01.html

Gainesville Sun (FL) F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a03.html

Detroit News FDA: No Sound ‘Proof’ For Medical Marijuana URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a07.html

The Register-Guard (OR) FDA Joins Opponents of Medicinal Pot URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n514.a07.html

Published Saturday, 22 April 2006

New York Times F.D.A.’s Report Illuminates Wide Divide on Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n500/a02.html

New York Times
Editorial: The Politics of Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n500/a01.html

Seattle Times Marijuana Has No Medical Use, FDA Says URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n500/a05.html

Gadsden Times (AL) FDA’s Report Illuminates Wide Divide on Marijuana
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n507/a02.html

Gainesville Sun (FL) F.D.A.’s Report Illuminates Wide Divide on
Marijuana URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a02.html

Published Sunday, 23 April 2006

Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Dissembling On Medical Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n506/a03.html

The Oregonian
Column: In The Bush Administration, The Spin Doctors Spit on Science
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a05.html

Published Monday, 24 April 2006

International Herald-Tribune
Editorial: The Politics of Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a06.html

Clayton News Daily (Jonesboro, GA)
Column: FDA Marijuana Stance Good for Anti-Drug Movement
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n509/a08.html

Los Angeles Daily News
Editorial: See No Evil
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n513.a07.html

News Journal (DE)
Editorial: FDA’s Credibility Goes Up in Smoke by Mixing Pot and Politics
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n513/a08.html

Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Editorial: FDA Loses Credibility With Jab At Medical Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n514.a03.html

The Republican (Springfield, MA)
Editorial: Marijuana Research? Don’t Hold Your Breath
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n515/a06.html

The Oracle (U of South FL) OPED: Medical Marijuana Is Nothing to Huff
and Puff About URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a08.html

Published Tuesday, 25 April 2006

New York Times
Column: Potheads and Sudafed
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a04.html

Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
Column: Follow the Drug War Money
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a05.html

St. Paul Pioneer Press
Column: Twisting Science to Serve Political Ideology
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a06.html

Minnesota Daily (U of MN, Minneapolis)
Editorial: FDA Says No to Medicinal Weed
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a07.html

Tracy Press (CA)
Editorial: Blowing Smoke at the White House
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n516.a09.html

The Journal Times (Racine, WI)
Editorial: FDA Ignores Science In Marijuana Holding
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n517.a01.html

Additional news clippings on this issue may be found at this link as
they are MAP archived:

http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Food+and+Drug+Administration

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Suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism
Center

http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides

Or contact MAP Media Activism Facilitator Steve Heath for personal
tips on how to write LTEs that get printed.

heath@mapinc.org

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Prepared by: Richard Lake, http://www.drugnews.org