From: drand@spinner.osf.org (Douglas Rand)
Subject: Re: Why the FDA raided Wright
Organization: Open Software Foundation
	<des.31@helix.nih.gov>
Date: 15 Sep 92 18:01:43

In article <des.31@helix.nih.gov> des@helix.nih.gov (David E. Scheim) writes:

   In article <DRAND.92Sep14133408@spinner.osf.org> drand@spinner.osf.org (Douglas Rand) writes:

   >In article <1470194@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com> kingsley@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com (Kingsley Morse) writes:

   >   Dr. Wright sued the FDA last year after they removed his entire stock of
   >   uncontaminated L-tryptophan in July 1991. He has some uncontaminated stock 
   >   that had been assayed by a prestigious medical institution. His suit against 
   >   the FDA regarding the L-tryptophan was coming up in July 1992, and the FDA 
   >   raided his office in May. The timing was remarkably coincidental.

   >   The FDA entered all five of the clinic's doors simultaneously but only found
   >   it necessary to break down the front door. The FDA brought along a locksmith 
   >   who picked the locks on the back four doors, but they didn't have him pick the
   >   lock on the front door. They broke the front door and came running in with guns
   >   and flak jackets as a show of force and intimidation. If they weren't into
   >   intimidation in this raid, they could have picked all five locks, but they
   >   didn't.

   >   The FDA even confiscated $50 worth of postage stamps. Wright said "I thought
   >   postage stamps were legal - they do have little pictures of the American
   >   flag."

   >Aparently Dr. Wright was into more than just L-tryptophan.  An article
   >I read (I appologize that I cannot remember the source) debunked the
   >above rendition of the facts.  The facts included that the armed
   >men where US marshalls (not the FDA) and the Dr. Wright had some amounts
   >of illicit drugs.  The raid had nothing to do with L-tryptophan.

   >It would be nice if accurate reports where given,  rather then reports
   >only meant to inflame righteous indignation.  The "War on Drugs" seems
   >rife with plenty of material to upset those who believe in the US 
   >Constitution,  without resort to hyperbole.

   I'm afraid you can't "debunk" a report by a vague recollection from an 
   unnamed source.  Please clarify with concrete information, if this is to be 
   a meaningful contribution, what "illegal drugs" were sought and whether or 
   not they were found.  Also, it's been reported in virtually every story 
   covering this case that the armed parties were not FDA agents, but I recall 
   they were local or state police, not U.S. marshalls (I'm questioning, not 
   "debunking", since I don't have a cite for this).

Truthfully,  I don't care to go find the citation.  I'm as concerned
with fourth amendment rights as the next person (who cares about 
them) but Kingsley seems to like to drop this kind of post in this
newsgroup.  As I recall,  it was federal marshalls.  But you 
could,  of course,  be correct that it was local law enforcement.

The point is,  there is a large group fearmongering using examples
that don't hold up to examination.  That I can't recall whether I
read it in the Boston Globe,  the Wall St. Journal (I think that
was it BTW) or the NY Times is just not relevant.

--
Douglas S. Rand <drand@osf.org>		OSF/Motif Dev.
Snail:         11 Cambridge Center,  Cambridge,  MA  02142
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