Special Report: Damn the Doctors--and Washington

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Talking Suicide. One of the forces driving the movement is a growing distrust of doctors. The onslaught caught many medical associations by surprise. Convinced that the Massachusetts bill would die quickly, the state chapter of the American Cancer Society did not even bother to testify at a hearing on the proposal. Only a dietitian spoke against the bill at a hearing in Arizona. Medical societies in Oregon and Louisiana ducked the issue.

Most doctors are horrified at the prospect of their patients demanding Laetrile. New York Psychiatrist Samuel Klagsbrun told an FDA hearing: "The sad part about it is that for an individual to leave orthodox treatment is to choose to leave their only real chance for survival. It is suicide we're talking about." The FDA has cases of women with cervical cancer who refused surgery, which has a 65% cure rate, in favor of taking Laetrile, and died. Similar cases are cited by Harvard Neurosurgeon H. Thomas Ballantine, a past president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He calls Laetrile "pure quackery." Says Illinois State Representative Eugenia Chapman: "Persons victimized by cancer should not be twice victimized."

Making up for lost time, the FDA is busily assembling all of the evidence against Laetrile. To strengthen the case, the National Cancer Institute is considering testing the drug on cancer patients. FDA Commissioner Donald Kennedy has organized a team of four experts to fly off at a moment's notice to testify before state legislatures. In addition, says Richard Merrill, FDA chief counsel: "We are likely to be more aggressive in enlightening the general public." The agency's lawyers are preparing to mount court challenges against the sale or production of Laetrile under the new state laws. They believe that they can win if the bottles, labels or anything else employed in making or selling the drug crosses a state line.

But no one has yet obtained a license to manufacture or distribute Laetrile in any state. For one thing, some state health authorities seem ready to drag their feet on issuing permits. Arizona Health Services Director Suzanne Dandoy predicts a long delay because her staff lacks the expertise and research data needed to set guidelines. Says Thomas Caton, executive director of Oregon's state board of pharmacy: "We have to do some study to define purity and dose levels."

Scarce Apricots. Moreover, backers have not yet figured out how to manufacture the drug legally in some states—even if there were enough demand to make production profitable—without crossing a state line. Indiana, for instance, has few apricot trees. But the state has plenty of peach trees, so proponents are giving some thought to producing the drug from peach pits.

Even if production does begin in the states that have legalized Laetrile, most doctors will probably refuse to prescribe it for their patients. The Texas Medical Association has already urged its members not to use Laetrile, and other state medical groups are expected to follow suit. The drug would be left in the hands of the same quacks and medical mavericks who have been promoting it for years—and who are slowly beginning to win their battle, state by state.