The current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine features a research letter describing a "study" of "partisan" drug information web sites and the accuracy of the information they contain. "Partisan", to the authors, apparently means only those favoring drug reform. Government and other drug-war sites apparently were considered 'objective'. Apart from the obvious bias of the 'study', the information they present is often inaccurate, taken out of context, or highly debatable at best.

Contact the Journal -- Speak Out!

It is important that a prestigious and influential journal such as NEJM is made to realize that such politically charged reviews are not science and have no place within it's pages. Please let the journal know how you feel.

To write an electronic letter to the editor of the NEJM to express your concerns, you can e-mail letters@nejm.com, or fax them at 617-739-9864 and 617-734-4457.

You can also write an actual letter, addressed to:

• Its text, not including references, must not exceed 250 words if it is in reference to a recent Journal article, or 400 words in all other cases (please provide a word count).
• It must have no more than five references and one figure or table.
• It must not be signed by any more than three authors.
• Letters referring to a recent Journal article must be received within four weeks of its publication.
• Please include your full address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address.

Related Links

You can download an Adobe Acrobat PDF of the actual article in question here.

An equally biased article on the Journal story can be found here.

The New England Journal of Medicine's Web Site.

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