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1996-11-11
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AIDS Daily Summary
Wednesday, October 30, 1996
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
service only. Providing this information does not constitute
endorsement by the CDC, the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any
other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged;
however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information.
Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
******************************************************
"Medical Marijuana Use Winning Support"
"Yet Another Sex Difference Found: Gaining Relief From a
Painkiller"
"Systemix's Independent Directors Reject Sandoz Offer"
"Novatek Asks Bankruptcy Protection"
"BioChem Pharma Shares Returning to Health"
"Boxing: Principals Discuss the Morrison Bout"
"Baring Teeth in the Drug War"
"Needle Exchanges Endorsed by Study That Lacks Key Data"
"Weed the People"
"The 1,000-Year Lawsuit"
******************************************************
"Medical Marijuana Use Winning Support"
New York Times (10/30/96) P. A12; Goldberg, Carey
Although several U.S. political leaders have criticized the
California initiative that would legalize marijuana for medical
uses, polls show that voters in the state favor the policy.
Proposition 215 would require a "doctor's recommendation" for
marijuana use by patients with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, "or any
other illness for which marijuana provides relief." Responding
to a Field poll on Oct. 9, 57 percent of the state's voters said
they would support the measure. Two other polls have revealed
similar results, with opposition never exceeding 36 percent.
Supporters of strict drug policies fear the initiative would lead
to the loosening of marijuana laws. President Clinton's drug
chief, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, called the proposal a "falsely
labeled, cynical initiative" that would tell teen-agers that
`marijuana is medicine.'
"Yet Another Sex Difference Found: Gaining Relief From a
Painkiller"
New York Times (10/30/96) P. C12; Angier, Natalie
Men and women experience pain very differently, suggest
researchers at the University of California in a new study in the
November issue of Nature Medicine. Jon D. Levine and colleagues
say that clinicians should consider gender when prescribing pain
medications. The researchers point to the robust response in
women to a class of opiate drugs, compared to the little benefit
the drugs had for men. The finding is similar to other
unexpected differences between the sexes. For example, women
infected with HIV often progress more quickly to AIDS than men.
Also, depression is diagnosed more often in women, while men tend
to respond better to antidepressants.
"Systemix's Independent Directors Reject Sandoz Offer"
New York Times (10/30/96) P. D4
Systemix, which develops gene therapies for cancer, AIDS, and
genetic diseases, has rejected Sandoz's offer to acquire the rest
of the company for about $67 million. Sandoz, which already owns
73 percent of Systemix, made the unsolicited offer in May,
spurring a 71 percent rise in Systemix shares.
"Novatek Asks Bankruptcy Protection"
Baltimore Sun (10/30/96) P. 1C
Just a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
suspended trading of its stock, Novatek International, the
Columbia, MD-based medical equipment company, has filed for
bankruptcy protection. The SEC said it was evaluating the
company's assets and the accuracy of its claims about contracts
it had signed for the sale of medical diagnostic kits abroad. In
the bankruptcy filing, Novatek said its assets were between $10
million and $99 million, while its liabilities were less than
$50,000.
"BioChem Pharma Shares Returning to Health"
Toronto Globe and Mail (10/29/96) P. B18; Northfield, Stephen
A patent dispute over BioChem Pharma's AIDS drug 3TC has
brought down the company's stocks, but, thanks to a consensus,
BioChem will prevail--combined with strong sales of 3TC--a recovery
is underway. The drug, licensed to marketing partner Glaxo
Wellcome of Britain in exchange for royalties, has surpassed
Glaxo's AZT as the most frequently prescribed AIDS treatment. Last
week, BioChem posted a third-quarter profit of $C7.9 million,
compared to a loss of $C5.2 million in the same period of the
previous year. Expectations for another BioChem product,
lamivudine, a treatment for hepatitis B, is keeping the company's
stock price high.
"Boxing: Principals Discuss the Morrison Bout"
New York Times (10/30/96) P. B16
Anthony Cooks, the heavyweight who will fight the HIV-positive
boxer Tommy Morrison on Sunday in Japan, told the match's
referee, Frank Garza, that he finally told his girlfriend he was
going to fight Morrison. "She just told me to be careful, and
she would pray for me," Cooks said. Garza said he views his
participation in the fight as a chance to further AIDS awareness.
Cooks said he is fighting Morrison because he needs the money.
"Baring Teeth in the Drug War"
New York Times (10/30/96) P. A21; Shenk, Joshua Wolf
In a column in the New York Times, Joshua Wolf Shenk, a writer
for the Economist, lists the differences between current
drug-fighting proposals offered by President Clinton and those
offered by Ronald Reagan as President in 1986. Clinton's
proposals are much more severe, Shenk says, because the drug
problem is more serious. He notes that alternatives to the
`get-tough' strategies have not been tried. Furthermore, he
points out that 67 percent of this year's anti-drug funding is
supporting interdiction and law enforcement, while spending on
drug treatment has increased only slightly during Clinton's
administration. Shenk asserts, moreover, that there has been
virtually no support for needle exchange programs, methadone
programs for heroin users, and for those that offer counseling to
users at a high risk of contracting HIV and other diseases.
"Needle Exchanges Endorsed by Study That Lacks Key Data"
Washington Times (10/28/96) P. A3; Trotta, Liz
Although a new study has concluded that New York City's needle
exchange program significantly reduced the rate of AIDS among
drug users, critics note that a large number of drug users
withdrew from the four-year program and are not accounted for in
the final report. The study, led by Don Des Jarlais of Beth
Israel Medical Center and published in the Lancet, found that the
annual HIV rate among program participants was 1.6 percent, while
the rate among non-participants was three times higher. There is
no mention of how many people were "lost to follow-up," or
withdrew from the study. The report noted that the study was not
randomized, "so a causal link between participation in syringe
exchange and lower HIV incidence cannot be inferred from our
findings." Jack Hartigan, a lawyer and activist who opposed the
program, said "the fact is the author originally enrolled
thousands of participants in their needles-exchange evaluation
and 95 percent of those people eventually disappeared." The New
York needle-exchange program receives $1.5 million in state aid,
$800,000 in federal aid, and up to $1 million from the American
Foundation for AIDS Research.
"Weed the People"
People (10/21/96) Vol. 46, No. 17, P. 75; Rist, Curtis; Harrison,
Laird
Dennis Peron, who founded San Francisco's Cannabis Buyers'
Club and is leading the effort to legalize the medical use of
marijuana in California, said he came to appreciate the drug's
medical value when his lover, Jonathon West, was sick with AIDS.
Marijuana improved West's appetite and reduced his pain, he said.
Peron, who is also HIV-positive, then took up the cause of
medical legalization in memory of West, who died in 1990.
According to Harvard Medical School's Dr. Lester Grinspoon,
marijuana is "a wonder drug." Eric Voth, of Kansas City's
International Drug Strategy Institute, however, claims the drug's
toxicity outweighs its benefits. A ballot initiative for medical
legalization will be decided by California voters in November. A
recent poll found that residents favored Proposition 215 two to
one. Peron opened the Cannabis Buyers' Club in 1991 after voters
approved his proposal. City officials overlooked the selling of
the drug, but in August state officials raided the facility and
confiscated 150 pounds of marijuana and $60,000 cash. A
restraining order was issued to keep the club closed.
"The 1,000-Year Lawsuit"
Forbes (10/21/96) Vol. 158, No. 10, P. 166; Adams, Susan
Harold Nix, a lawyer representing 3,328 people in a lawsuit
who claim they were infected with "chemical AIDS" while working in
a Texas steel plant, says the suit is a means for him to help the
poor. Nix says the condition, which has never been recognized by
the medical community, was caused by a large toxic cloud that
`hovered ominously' over the Lone Star Steel plant in Morris
County for 40 years. Nix filed the lawsuit in 1987, naming 538
defendants, including the company that supplied the hand soap
used in the plant's bathrooms. Routine medical exams of Nix's
clients found that, while 40 percent had medical problems, no
evidence has been presented to link the problems to work at the
plant. However, Nix's law firm has earned $27 million in legal
fees from the Lone Star cases, and has been hired for similar
suits. About 200 of the defendants have already settled for a
total of $70 million over the still-unproved charges. In May
1995, Texas' Supreme Court criticized the handling of the case by
the local judge and demanded that the plaintiffs answer questions
about their alleged illnesses. Since that time, no additional
defendants have reported plans to offer settlements, and 1,800
plaintiffs may be dropped from the suit for failing to give basic
information.