- © 2008 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
In his review of the pharmacologic mechanisms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (crystal meth),1 Stephen Kish made no mention of the fact that the so-called research in one of the articles he cited2 was conducted at a military hospital in a military dictatorship. Kish also failed to mention that the article contained no indication of ethics approval. The neurosurgical intervention described in this study was performed first on rats and then on people who apparently gave their consent freely.
I believe that members of the medical community should not refer to such articles, except to condemn the wanton disregard for research ethics and human rights. We are, first and foremost, physicians caring for patients, not social architects or subcontractors for repressive regimes.
Footnotes
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Competing interests: None declared.