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articles on freedom of choice
On May 6, [1992] agents of the FDA accompanied by gun-toting King County cops, broke down the door of the Kent, WA clinic of Jonathan Wright, MD. They seized vitamins, other non-toxic nutrients and patient records.
Since the search order was sealed, it is still not known exactly what they were doing there. But Wright is well-known for using a variety of innovative treatments, including an injectable preservative-free vitamin B complex from Germany. Wright had earlier brought himself to the FDA's attention when he sued the agency for return of L-tryptophan, an amino acid they had previously banned.
Although the FDA is still not able to carry guns, they did inform local police to be ready for danger from the vitamin researcher. This is the reason they gave for drawing their guns, kicking down the door and ordering the staff at gunpoint to raise their hands. Police spokesperson Rob Barnette explained that ofŪcers need to be prepared for the worst.
Wright hardly Ūts the bill of a Wild West desperado. A graduate of Harvard and the University of Michigan Medical School, Wright was nutrition editor of Prevention magazine for over a decade. He has written several popular books, spoken at innumerable meetings, and is well-known for his research.
The raid triggered an incredible outpouring of indignation in the PaciŪc Northwest and among health-conscious people around the world. Yet it took the New York Times three whole months to Ūnd the raid "Ūt to print." Finally, a front-page article in the Sunday Times (8/9/92) presented the case as part of the FDA's concerted drive against the use of high dose nutrients in medicine. "Freedom of choice" was actually mentioned in Lena Williams's story.
Readers learned of the extent of FDA's hostility towards non-toxic medicine. Yet bizarrely, (such being the power of FDA head David Kessler) the following week Williams had to retract her story in another front page story. This article fed readers FDA's line that it is not out to crush the alternative health movement--while it is doing just that.