A Brief Compendium of Sample FDA Raids:
Are Only Drug Company Options Allowed
in The New Russia?

Lest one forget the long list of abuses, here follows a brief review of recent FDA actions and policies. Many of these cases are documented in greater detail elsewhere. [fre1] [asu] [arm]

• Dr Burzynski of Houston, Texas, has been harassed by the FDA for over a decade because of his pioneering and controversial use of a preparation he calls "antineoplastons" in the treatment of otherwise untreatable brain tumors. [fbu1]

In 1991 five experts from the National Cancer Institute visited Burzynski's clinic, reviewed the records of seven of Burzynski's patients with "incurable" brain tumors. In their report, they verified anti-cancer activity in all seven cases, as well as five complete remissions. In spite of the NCI's recommendation for further study and clinical trials, harassment of Burzynski and his patients and seizure of his clinical records and files continued.

"In 1983, FDA filed civil suit in federal court to stop Dr. Burzynski from manufacturing or treating patients with antineoplastons. In a motion dated May 2, 1983 and signed by Robert Spiller, the FDA's Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement, the FDA warned Federal Judge Gabrielle McDonald that the FDA would not take "no" for an answer." In spite of this threat, Judge McDonald specifically declined to prevent Dr. Burzynski from treating patients in Texas, because she recognized that Burzynski's intrastate operations were not proper areas of jurisdiction for the FDA. From the details of the FDA's legal strategy, it is clear that the FDA had been frustrated in its attempts to prove that Burzynski engaged in unauthorized interstate shipment of his experimental medicine, as this is the only means by which it could obtain jurisdiction to prosecute him. Multiple grand jury hearings failed to yield any indictments of Burzynski.

In an interview in January 1982, Dr. Richard J. Crout of the FDA, revealed the FDA's motive for targetting Dr. Burzynski for destruction: "I never have and never will approve a new drug to an individual, but only to a large pharmaceutical firm with unlimited finances," declared Dr. Crout. The next year, the FDA began its vendetta against Burzynski, an individual with limited finances. [fbu2]

• 1950's, Maine: Wilhelm Reich, M.D., in one of the most infamous cases of FDA thuggery, was railroaded through the courts for his unorthodox views on medicine, politics, and society in general. His books and research journals were incinerated. Dr. Reich died in prison and his coworker, Dr. Michael Silvert, committed suicide after being released from prison. The FDA harassed many associated with Reich, and carried out invasions of these individuals' homes without warrant or court order. Such actions were typical of the raids generally conducted during the McCarthy period. [are] [fre1] Reich himself was well aware of the mechanisms behind such abuses of power, as evidenced by his book, The Mass Psychology of Fascism [rei].

• 1950's, U.S.: Harry Hoxsey's herbal formulas for the treatment of cancer were targetted for obliteration by the FDA, after Hoxsey refused to sell his formula to Morris Fishbein, president of the AMA. The formulas were used in dozens of clinics across the USA during the 1950s. [aho]

• Dr. Royal Rife's methods for microscopically viewing viral activity within living cells may have yielded a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, yet before it could be thoroughly investigated, the AMA threatened and harassed physicians who dared explore the new methods. Some of these physicians died mysteriously. Rife died an embittered man in 1971. [ari]

Since Rife's death, many alternative health businesses have jumped on the bandwagon to promote Rife's suppressed techniques. However, many of them may be selling bogus imitations, discrediting Rife's work more effectively than any FDA harassment could possibly accomplish.

• 1990: Max Gerson's dietary treatments for degenerative diseases were criminalized by the FDA just as he was publishing scientific evidence and clinical reports on their effectiveness in boosting immune system function. [age]

• 1987, Florida: The Life Extension Foundation was raided by armed FDA agents, who seized nutritional supplement supplies, files, and personal belongings. Lawsuits against the FDA are still pending. [ajw]

• 1990, Oregon: FDA agents raided Highland Laboratories and removed everything except office furniture. No employees were informed of the legal grounds for the raid and were threatened with violence if any of them attempted to enter their workplace. The FDA never charged anyone with a violation, but no property has ever been returned. [ajw]

• 1990, California: The FDA raided and ransacked the pet food store of Sissy Harrington-McGill. FDA agents stated that her pet store literature claiming that vitamins would keep pets healthy was a violation of the Health Claims Law, which was never passed by Congress. Ms. Harrongton-McGill served 114 days in prison, after being tried and convicted by a judge without a jury trial, in spite of her request for a jury trial. Lawsuits have been filed against the FDA. [ajw]

• 1990, Nevada: The Century Clinic, which administered chelation therapy, homeopathy, and nutritional supplements, was raided twice by FDA and Postal Service inspectors. First, the premises were ransacked and almost all supplies and equipment removed. After no charges were filed against the clinic by the FDA, Century Clinic sued the FDA for return of the seized property. The FDA retaliated with a second raid more extensive than the first, extending to the private homes of the businesses owners and employees. Again, no charges were filed by the FDA. [ajw]

• 1991, Tijuana, Mexico: Jimmy Keller, who administered natural healing methods in cases of cancer after healing himself of metastasized cancer unresponsive to conventional therapy, was kidnapped from his office in a Mexican hospital by bounty hunters employed by the U.S. Justice Department. On arrival in the U.S., he was arrested for wire fraud: making interstate telephone calls to attract people to his clinic in Mexico. He was convicted to two years in prison. [ajw]

• 1991, California: FDA agents raided NutriCology, a nutrition supplement company operated by Stephen Levine, Ph.D., a molecular geneticist from the UC Berkeley. Levine spent $500,000 to defend against three different FDA injunctions, all of which were thrown out of court. [ajw]

• 1992, Washington state: FDA agents raided and terrorized the medical clinic of Jonathan Wright, M.D. The FDA initiated the raid after a recent batch of contaminated B-vitamins was discovered in another state, yet Wright's clinic had no connection to the company making the contaminated vitamins and dis not use their products. In spite of this, the FDA agents removed most of the clinic's contents, meanwhile terrorizing patients and treating them like criminals. As of 1993, no clinic property has been returned, yet no charges against the clinic or any of its employees have been filed by the FDA. [ajw] [awr]

• 1992, California: David Halpern, several of his family members, and the presidents of three European vitamin companies are charged with 198 counts of conspiracy and smuggling for importing banned nutritional supplements that are freely available in Britain and Germany. The indictments carry a potential prison term of 990 years. [ajw]

• 1992, Texas: The FDA induced the Texas Department of Health and Texas Department of Food and Drug to raid over a dozen major health food stores. Over 250 products were seized from the shelves, including vitamin C, zinc, herbs, aloe vera, and flaxseed oil. Following a massive public outcry, FDA threatened health food store owners, "Don't talk to the press, or we'll come down on you twice as hard.". No charges were ever filed by the FDA, and no products were ever returned. [ajw]

• 1993, USA: Dozens of natural healing clinics, health food stores and natural product manufacturers throughout the U.S. were assaulted by combined forces from the FDA, DEA, IRS, Customs, and US Postal Service in commando-style SWAT raids. Stocks of vitamins and herbs were confiscated as well as bank accounts, automobiles, and computers. Especially of interest as a target of the raids were mailing lists of customers and clients. The Postal Service assisted in the actions by blocking all mail to some of the businesses, effectively preventing them from continuing any business and from conducting effective legal defense. [fre1]

The above list is by no means exhaustive, but is merely a sampling.

*****

Dr, Schaller does not support nor oppose any of the details of these raids, and for the FDA perspective you are invited to examine their tax-supported Web Site. Dr. Schaller does feel, however, that the FDA has very limited knowledge of real clinical medicine, and that they are too tied to cutting and prescriptions pills. A physician healing very complex illness should be allowed, in a free society, to let their patient make the treatment decision. He feels the FDA has become totalitarian, and offers nothing in the way of effective treatment for tens of millions. And they basically could care less about those who fall through the medical cracks.

Dr Schaller neither supports nor opposes any treatment in these raided facilities.