On the FDA medical marijuana rant, The New York Times gets it

The New York Times editorial today reports on the continued shameful manipulation of science and scientific agencies by the Bush Administration. The Times notes how the FDA statement of April 20 was developed completely contrary to the usual FDA approach of appointing an independent review panel.

An analogy occurred to me -- stretched, far fetched perhaps:

• The torture of Iraqi detainees fails to get useful intelligence.
  
• The pressure of powerful Members of Congress like Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), and the White House "drug czar" John Walters, on an ostensibly independent agency like the FDA fails to produce useful intelligence about the question of whether marijuana has medical value and a safety profile that merits its use by the public.