Mercury (dental) action in CA

[Guest guest]

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Dinner with CHARLIE BROWN...

Opinion by Tim Bolen

Thursday, May 10th, 2001, in San Diego was the day the California Dental Board

got " the word. " And, it wasn't " the word " they wanted to hear. It was

delivered loudly, and clearly.

The message was simple - STOP MERCURY FROM GOING INTO CALIFORNIAN'S MOUTHS - and

do it right now, or face prosecution.

Washington attorney CHARLIE BROWN (no peanuts) headed up the message delivery

squad - and he eloquently described the issue, and the history of the problem.

And as he said once, during his delivery, when being interrupted by the Board

President (for the third or fourth time) " I need to get this on the record. "

ON THE RECORD?...

Yes - exactly - " attorney talk " - which loosely translates into street talk as

" We've had enough of your obfuscation. Act now, or face the consequences. "

BUT CHARLIE WAS JUST THE BAND LEADER...

Charlie's friends showed up - and boy was that impressive. Yow! And NONE of

them had anything friendly to say to the Dental Board.

Speaking loudly was California's famous CPIL (Center for Public Interest Law),

the group that WRITES significant law for California. Right behind them was

North American DAMS (Dental Amalgam Mercury Syndrome) hammering the board with

facts (being recorded) about mercury toxicity.

But then, Dr. Dave Kennedy DDS hit them hardest of all. He inundated them with

the facts; the studies, the peer-reviewed articles, the numbers. Dave

represents the IAOMT (International Academy of Oral & Medical Toxicology).

Right behind him was Tulsa based attorney Jim Love - who hammered them again -

with cold, hard facts.

It went on and on..

A big SHOCK to the Dental Board came from Bower, representing the

California contigent of DAMS, who brought petitions from FIVE major California

environmental groups, including the Sierra Club. The message to the Dental

Board members was simple, forceful, and direct - " Issue the proper warnings

right now or we'll come after you. No ifs, ands or buts. "

The meeting ended, and the Board took a break. They needed it.

BUT, IT WASN'T OVER YET...

Before the " public commentary " began, the Board President read an Attorney

General's Opinion on the mercury issue, that had been delivered only an hour

before. The Dental Board looked like they were IN SHOCK, hearing the AG's

words. The AG BLASTED mercury, and ordered very strong warnings...

After the meeting, in the hallways, quite a few of the Dental Board members

personally approached the speakers for more information. And that was very

good.

Then we went to dinner...

Tim Bolen

JuriMed - Public Relations and Research Group

jurimed@...