Oct 4, 2004
Leaving Medical Decisions in the Hands of Mindless Govt. Bureaucrats
Despite the public proclamations from candidate Bush about wanting to leave medical decisions in the hands of doctors and patients, the administration continues to show all the consistency of Claude Rains in Casablanca when it comes to policy. See for example this piece from today's Pravda on an innovative attempt by Americans for Safe Access to get marijuana reclassified by the government as a Schedule II drug. This would allow greater access for patients, doctors, and researchers.
The most ridiculous quote in the piece is from David Murray, a policy analyst with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Quoting directly from the piece:
But Murray said it is up to the Food and Drug Administration to decide when a drug has"accepted" medical use. To leave that up to doctors and patients, he said, is like"leaving it to fans in the Redskins' end zone to call a touchdown, instead of the referees."
God forbid if doctors and patients starting making their own choices - he'd be out of work. But his comparison is pretty much on target because Americans probably love one group of people less than football officials, mindless bureaucrats.