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Commentary: Legislators—How Did the Deciders Decide? Who Shall Serve as Their Experts?

Dr. Meyer is Associate Director of Forensic Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Member, Program in Psychiatry and Law at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA; and Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Address correspondence to: Donald J. Meyer, MD, 124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 440 South, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: donald_meyer{at}hms.harvard.edu

Weisleder presents a retrospective empirical inquiry into the decision tree of state legislators who chose the age at which minors could consent to substance abuse treatment in their respective jurisdictions. Current medical practices and the developmental research into the cognitive capacities of adolescents did not figure prominently. Readers, including current and future political advocates, are provided with an informed window into the political processes of the making of a law that affects the practice of medicine. Weisleder is reminded that politics and science are uncomfortable bedfellows.

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				K. B. Sullivan A Public Policymaker's Response: Weisleder and Meyer on Legislator Decision-Making J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, March 1, 2008; 36(1): 10 - 12. [Full Text] [PDF]