Quackbusters Inc.: Hot On The Heels Of Medical Hucksters

Pseudomedicine Is A Multibillion Dollar Business In The U.S. On weekends, medical researcher Waflace I. Sampson often leaves his suburban home and drives up the peninsula into San. Francisco. He sees himself as an investigator "his quarry, an epidemic that’s ravaging the City by the Bay." But it’s not the AIDS virus he’s after. Although a hematologist by training, Sampson is hunting tainted medicine, not tainted blood He’s a quackbuster. In recent months, Sampson un

Written byRex Dalton

| 6 min read

Listen with Speechify

0:00

6:00

Pseudomedicine Is A Multibillion Dollar Business In The U.S.

On weekends, medical researcher Waflace I. Sampson often leaves his suburban home and drives up the peninsula into San. Francisco. He sees himself as an investigator "his quarry, an epidemic that’s ravaging the City by the Bay." But it’s not the AIDS virus he’s after. Although a hematologist by training, Sampson is hunting tainted medicine, not tainted blood He’s a quackbuster.

In recent months, Sampson uncovered hucksters selling an unlicensed preparation allegedly containing interleukin2, an experimental drug not widely approved for clinical use against AIDS in the Battle Against Health Fraud United States. Sampson’s report contributed to the firm’s being put out of operation.

He also learned about "and issued a quack-alert concerning" a faith-healer he describes as "the Dallas Cowgirl cheerleader of AIDS patients." It seems this woman convinced AIDS sufferers that they can conquer the fatal disease simply by ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here