Archive for: June 2006

Reporter Mike Tobin has done his readership a great disservice in his glib and shallow effort. The article is entirely one-sided; the pure, unadulterated prosecution line. No context given regarding the Pain Crisis or the War on Doctors. Utter. Trash. Journalism. Dr. Fisher was an expert witness for the defense. Please see his comments linked to below.

Cannabinoids In Medicine: A Review Of Their Therapeutic Potential (Abstract, References and link to Full Text PDF) Mohamed Ben Amar; Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 102(1-2), 1-25; 2006-04-21.

Excerpt: Seventy-two controlled studies evaluating the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids were identified. For each clinical trial, the country where the project was held, the number of patients assessed, the type of study and comparisons done, the products and the dosages used, their efficacy and their adverse effects are described. Cannabinoids present an interesting therapeutic potential as antiemetics, appetite stimulants in …

Doctors: New Target in the War On Drugs? (full text) Wayne J. Guglielmo; Medical Economics; 2006-05-19. Source Excerpt: Does the US Attorney General and the prosecutors who work for him have the right to decide whether a doctor is practicing good medicine? Stutsman thinks not. “As we showed in the Oregon case, the Controlled Substances Act was never intended to allow an unelected law-enforcement official to make subjective medical determinations,” he says, adding that federal prosecutors are now getting criminal convictions based on a civil standard of care. “If these doctors are guilty of malpractice, that’s one thing—but malpractice isn’t a …

On Delivering One’s Wife to Federal Prison (full text) Ed Swaim (husband of Dr. Bordeaux); Addiction, Pain and Public Health website; 2006-06-07. Comment (DeLuca): Letter from Ed Swaim to the pain management advocates of the listServs of the Pain Relief Network] (PRN) and the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain (NFTP). His wife, Dr. Deborah Bordeaux, a noble and brave soul and fine physician, is now in federal prison. She had to report on June 5, 2006, and will be serving two years. This is a black day for us. See also: Why We Lost – Deborah Bordeaux, …

The OxyCops (full text) William Fisher; OpEdNews.com; 2006-03-22. Source Excerpt: Hundreds of physicians have been put on trial for charges ranging from health insurance fraud to drug distribution, even to manslaughter and murder for over-prescribing prescription narcotics. Investigators have also seized doctors’ homes, offices, and bank accounts, leaving them with no resources for their defense. Alexander DeLuca, M.D., MPH, a Board Member of PRN, told us, “Relations between physicians and the DEA have probably never been worse in modern times.” He added, “Law enforcement does not deserve a place at the table where physicians, social workers, and politicians of good will need …

‘The Doctor Wasn’t Cruel Enough’ (full text) Maia Szalavitz; Reason Online; 2006-06-02. Posted: 2006-06-03. Source Excerpt: “Usually, the media buy the tale of evil substances and vile physician-pushers. But Reynolds (of the Pain Relief Network) offered a more compelling alternative narrative. She brought the suffering patients into the media eye. Rather than telling the tale of an evil drug-dealing doctor who brings down the poor addict, she and the patients provided another version of the story, in which the wonderful healer allows his grateful patients to function – until the cops drag him away.” See also: Christine Heberle Comments on the Acquittal …