Tuesday, January 03, 2006

A rare substantive post

Pressure from Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group apparently succeeded in getting Cylert (generically known as pemoline) banned. While this drug does pose some risk of liver toxicity, it can be the only effective treatment for some sufferers of ADHD and narcolepsy. One of the people adversely affected by the drug's withdrawal from the market is Tor book editor and blogger Teresa Nielsen Hayden:
Xopher [A commenter with ADHD] and I and god knows how many other people with narcolepsy, ADHD, and other tricksy neurochemical impairments are looking at THE END OF OUR FUNCTIONAL WORKING LIVES.
When I worked in DC several years ago, I had to sneak into Public Citizen events because my boss, a critic, was banned. The group may have done some good work at one time, but all too often they hurt more than they help.
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