[PASSED] International Drug Education

[Airport Motor Lodge]

Suppose that an attorney in a product-liability case against a drug manufacturer commissions a study on the possible harmful effects of the defendant's drug. This study would be privileged under the work-product doctrine.

But other studies done by other universities/nations/etc. would not be protected, correct? Even if they showed the same sort of results?

Correct.

Also, is there a time limit for this sort of "protection" ? Is it "forever" or only until the conclusion of the lawsuit?

That's a good question. I don't know the answer. I'll try to find an answer in the next few days.

[Sionis Prioratus]

Considering this to be the latest draft...

Council: General Assembly
Category: Education and Creativity
Area of Effect: Education

Okay!

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

Okay! But the Devil's Advocate says, are there possible ramifications in what regards drugs used in legal euthanasia procedures, or legal abortions? These hardly qualify as therapy.

ACKNOWLEDGING that a single drug may cause different benefits and/or side effects in each of the many different species that are native to WA member nations.

We are thankful for the strinking of "each". we would still question the usefulness (of lack thereof) of specifying "sapient species"? Unless Your Excellency also is considering agricultural impacts, veterinary medicine...

DESIRING to more fully understand the potential benefits and harms with regards to using drugs among different species.

Maybe "therapeutical" or "drugs utilized in medical procedures"? We are sure oxygen can be classified as a drug by some species...

CREATES the International Drug Education Agency (IDEA) as a sub-committee of the World Assembly Food and Drug Regulatory Agency (WAFADRA).

Okay!

SPECIFIES that IDEA will collect all drug-related data, including both medication therapy and recreational drug use research to allow for a better understanding of the risks and benefits of all drugs;

A little grammar nazification Okay!

STIPULATES that drug information regarding the method and/or recipe for production and/or creation will not be gathered by IDEA, unless authorized by whomever holds the intellectual property rights for said information. (the intellectual privacy clause)

"Recipe" sounds too... gastronomical. Maybe "procedures"? Not a killer by any means, though.

ALLOWS for IDEA professionals to issue non-binding recommendations regarding suggested changes to currently established medication therapy standards.

Understood that they should not be binding, but maybe a clause/clarification (strongly) recommending their use?

ESTABLISHES the Database Of Clinical Treatments Under Study (DOCTUS) as a drug education branch of the Universal Library Coalition (ULC);

Okay!

1. IDEA will archive all research data within DOCTUS, including research data from studies and trials that have not been published, for whatever reason;

We know there are already laws in force providing for medical privacy, but maybe a clause clarifying international medical privacy standards will be upheld? Nor everybody has read the entire corpus of international law, woe is ours...

2. Said data will be made available to, at minimum, all medical professionals within WA nations; individual nations may provide this information to others within their own borders as they deem appropriate;

"Health" professionals?

3. All research data within DOCTUS will be accompanied by a link to the relevant journal article, if the research has been published.
(a) IDEA will provide appropriate monetary reimbursement to journals that are not currently archived in the ULC so that their research can be accessed through DOCTUS by credentialed individuals.

Is the power to issue credentials clearly defined where? By whom? How?

(b) If a journal and/or individual article is not available through DOCTUS or the ULC, appropriate citations will be listed so that the information in question can be accessed through alternate avenues.

Alternate avenues, such as...?

4. Non-WA nations may apply for access to DOCTUS; a nominal fee may charged by the IDEA for access, as determined on a case-by-case basis

By whom?

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;
1. The newsletters will be written by health care professionals and will detail the most significant discoveries in drug therapy, such as new indications for an already discovered drug, new concerns regarding side effects for an established drug, new recommendations for use in certain populations, etc.

What is quarterly? This may sound insane, but we were recently warned against writing a resolution with "yearly" on reasonable grounds few stellar systems are synchronic with the Terra-Sol year;

(a) Recommendations will be non-binding.

Okay!

(b) Scientists will be encouraged to continue research regarding this published information to ensure that the most effective and appropriate recommendations are in place.

Okay!

2. The IDEA Quarterly will be provided to all interested nations free of charge and will be archived within DOCTUS with the appropriate reference citations.

Okay, just the quarterly thing again.

RECOMMENDS that Health Research & Development Division of the WHA accept applications for funding from WA member nations for further research regarding already discovered medication therapies to better understand their safety and efficacy with long-term use;

Oh, the division I created! Very much okay!

1. Applications for funding must include details of how the study would be conducted and what drug(s) would be studied.

Okay!

2. Funded studies must receive the informed consent of all participants in the study.
3. Studies are strongly encouraged to have a control group of some nature.

"Provided international laws on the subject are respected"?

All in all, an excellent enterprise.

Yours truly,

[Sionis Prioratus]

[...] Access to Life Saving Drugs. (which, as I understand it, is aimed mostly a viral/bacterial infections and/or those that most frequently affect poor nations) I'm not trying to expand by adding certain other diseases, but rather expand by allowing any and all disease states to be eligible for funding.

Oh, and this assessment is correct!

[Mousebumples]

Also, is there a time limit for this sort of "protection" ? Is it "forever" or only until the conclusion of the lawsuit?

That's a good question. I don't know the answer. I'll try to find an answer in the next few days.

I'm happy to allow protection of this sort of thing on a short-term basis, but since the point of this proposal is to further information regarding risks and benefits of drug use, I am reluctant to allow drug companies an over-extended period of time on which to "research" and essentially sit on results that reflect poorly on their product.

Again, I understand your position, but - as stated previously - I'm looking (OOC) at past examples of drug companies doing just that and allowing for further harm to come to those patients who were taking their product and who were unaware of the risks associated with that use. (to reiterate: Vioxx, Avandia, Oxycontin, Vytorin/Zetia ... among others, certainly, that I'm forgetting for the moment)

Would allowing for this sort of protection for a set duration be acceptable? (Of course, given the fact that differing nations may reside in differing solar systems, I'm uncertain if there is any pre-set way that a time could be legally stated.)

Thank you very much for your considered responses on this subject.

Yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Mousebumples]

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

Okay! But the Devil's Advocate says, are there possible ramifications in what regards drugs used in legal euthanasia procedures, or legal abortions? These hardly qualify as therapy.

Depends on your definition of therapy. They are medical procedures, so I'd consider them to be "drug therapy." They are drugs being used with specific medical intent. I could change it to "drug use," but I fear that would elicit concerns from those who would think I was (somehow) attempting to legalize ... whatever sorts of drugs that they disapprove of.

Drug action, maybe? I'm not sold on "drug therapy," if you have a different/better idea.

ACKNOWLEDGING that a single drug may cause different benefits and/or side effects in different species.

We would still question the usefulness (of lack thereof) of specifying "sapient species"? Unless Your Excellency also is considering agricultural impacts, veterinary medicine...

I'm okay with veterinary medicinal use. (OOC: As a pharmacist, it's difficult to consult patients on the use of human drugs in their cat/dog/etc. - the best I can do is explain to them what happens in humans.) I'm certainly not opposed to this proposal impacting more than just sapient species - even though that is the primary focus.

DESIRING to more fully understand the potential benefits and harms with regards to using drugs.

Maybe "therapeutical" or "drugs utilized in medical procedures"? We are sure oxygen can be classified as a drug by some species...

I'd have to reread the latest draft myself (sadly, the different drafts are getting a bit jumbled in my head), but I originally neglected to mention "therapeutic use" intentionally, as I was willing to allow nations to submit information regarding recreational drug use to allow for further education of citizenry (re: risks involved with drug use) or even possible legalization (should some recreational drugs demonstrate a benefit in treatment of particular conditions). Also, I agree that oxygen is a drug, and I would not opposed to learning more about how to best use Oxygen during medical procedures or to best treat pulmonary conditions.

STIPULATES that drug information regarding the method and/or recipe for production and/or creation will not be gathered by IDEA, unless authorized by whomever holds the intellectual property rights for said information.

"Recipe" sounds too... gastronomical. Maybe "procedures"? Not a killer by any means, though.

Not sure if I like procedures any better. I'll have to think on this one ...

ALLOWS for IDEA professionals to issue non-binding recommendations regarding suggested changes to currently established medication therapy standards.

Understood that they should not be binding, but maybe a clause/clarification (strongly) recommending their use?

Depending on final character count, I'm definitely in favor. Just ... not sure that I'll have space.

1. IDEA will archive all research data within DOCTUS, including research data from studies and trials that have not been published, for whatever reason;

We know there are already laws in force providing for medical privacy, but maybe a clause clarifying international medical privacy standards will be upheld? Nor everybody has read the entire corpus of international law, woe is ours...

Again, character count is a concern, so I don't know that I'll work on stipulating duplication of previous WA legislation in this case.

2. Said data will be made available to, at minimum, all medical professionals within WA nations; individual nations may provide this information to others within their own borders as they deem appropriate;

"Health" professionals?

What's the difference between "medical" and "health" in your eyes? What benefit does "health" have over "medical" - minus being 1 character less?

3. All research data within DOCTUS will be accompanied by a link to the relevant journal article, if the research has been published.
(a) IDEA will provide appropriate monetary reimbursement to journals that are not currently archived in the ULC so that their research can be accessed through DOCTUS by credentialed individuals.

Is the power to issue credentials clearly defined where? By whom? How?

See the above clause (#2) - "Said data will be made available to, at minimum, all medical professionals within WA nations; individual nations may provide this information to others ... " etc. I could work "credential" into the above clause if that's not clear enough.

(b) If a journal and/or individual article is not available through DOCTUS or the ULC, appropriate citations will be listed so that the information in question can be accessed through alternate avenues.

Alternate avenues, such as...?

Contacting the publisher and/or researcher, etc. This clause is largely in place to allow for the use of ULC, while still providing a method of use for DOCTUS in the event that ULC should be repealed in the future. It's how I managed to dance around the "House of Cards" rule - despite multiple ULC references.

4. Non-WA nations may apply for access to DOCTUS; a nominal fee may charged by the IDEA for access, as determined on a case-by-case basis

By whom?

WAFADRA, in general, I was thinking - or perhaps IDEA itself. And I'm thinking I'll simplify that clause and state that "a nominal fee may be charged by the IDEA for access" and strike out the rest to gain a few characters ... Do you think further clarification is still necessary?

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;
1. The newsletters will be written by health care professionals and will detail the most significant discoveries in drug therapy, such as new indications for an already discovered drug, new concerns regarding side effects for an established drug, new recommendations for use in certain populations, etc.

What is quarterly? This may sound insane, but we were recently warned against writing a resolution with "yearly" on reasonable grounds few stellar systems are synchronic with the Terra-Sol year;

OOC: I've read (modly ruling) that "November" (or other month mentions) are legal as the WA translators would make it understandable to nations who do not use "our" Earth Year. I could stipulate January, April, July, and October (or whatever) ... but character count. I want to make it clear that the newsletters would be published with some regular frequency, so I went with quarterly. Again, I would think that might also be translatable as well ... ??

2. Funded studies must receive the informed consent of all participants in the study.
3. Studies are strongly encouraged to have a control group of some nature.

"Provided international laws on the subject are respected"?

Is there a specific international law that you are concerned about? I got the okay on duplication/potential contradiction with UCTA. Is there something else that I'm missing, O Memorizer of All WA Law ?

Many thanks, as always, for your thoughtful critiques and comments.

Yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Mousebumples]

(Hopefully) Final bump for consideration before submission - likely on Monday.

I'm heading out of town for the weekend, but if there are future comments or concerns, I'd appreciate it if you would leave such messages on my desk during my absence.

Thanks!
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey island

[Unibot]

Eduard materialized, now in his rebellious 'leather-clad' years, as he smacked a door open to crash the party. Waving and flailing his arms in the air, the Unibotian, stinking of gin, scotch and champagne stumbled across the floor to the Mousebumples delegation.

He sang, "I said I'm gonna make somebody love me.. gonna make somebody love me..", off key, mind you.

Smiling uncontrollably, he put his arm around Liz for support, with his flask in his left hand, and a tub of rocky road in his right hand, while humming, "You're lucky, lucky, you're so lucky.. .well do ya, do ya...".

Eduard squinted at the proposal in Liz's hand, "Oh yeah... that one, I remember that one."

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

"Err.. is that some sort of alternative spelling of efficiency? Just wondering..?" Eduard asked.

"As for the rest of the proposal, I'm not really worried about it.. everyone is fully aware that taking the psychoactive medication necessary to be an employee and citizen of Unibot can potentially put them at risk for hemorrhaging, pain and difficulty swallowing, high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease, liver deterioration, hepatitis, irreversible liver damage, jaundice, stomach ulcers, pancreas inflammation, seizures, kidney failure, erectile dysfunction and infertility, menstrual difficulties, decreased fertility. earlier menopause, middle-age acne, malnutrition, arthritis, cancer in the liver, pancreas, rectum, breast, mouth, larynx, oesophagus, hyperopia, myopia, blindness and death. But I mean.. people don't seem to care.. I mean, they need the job, and life seems better .. or at-least, shinier when you're taking the Unipill^TM." Eduard mumbled.

After an extensive period of silence, Eduard burped, "Excuse me, Liz.. I'm feeling, mildly *hic* nauseous."

Eduard pulled his arms off Liz and drunkenly left to find a wastebasket, a toilet or Dr. Castro.

[Neutonica]

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

"Err.. is that some sort of alternative spelling of efficiency? Just wondering..?" Eduard asked.
[/i]

Yes. Efficacy is a real word.

[Mousebumples]

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

"Err.. is that some sort of alternative spelling of efficiency? Just wondering..?" Eduard asked.

Yes. Efficacy is a real word.

To further clarify: Efficacy refers to how effective a medication is. With regards to the proposal, if research in the nation of Mousebumples indicated that Drugtonic worked better than Medtonic for, uh, relaxation in 95% of individuals, wouldn't you rather take Drugtonic? Further, if a study in Neutonica indicated that Badtonic was only effective in 15% of individuals, when compared with placebo, would Eduard even consider trying Badtonic at all?

Different nations study different drugs for different reasons. (funding, availability, being the nation of origin/creation for a given drug, etc.) In the current WA system, this information isn't necessarily shared internationally - depending on if said studies are published and/or if the publication is archived in the ULC. This proposal would ensure that such studies are shared - or at least groundbreaking information from such comparative studies is spread among all WA nations and their healthcare professionals.

On a bookkeeping note, I'll be doing a final review of this proposal tomorrow (OOC: no work tomorrow, yay!), so if there are any further critiques or concerns, please share them at this time.

Thankfully yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Unibot]

To further clarify: Efficacy refers to how effective a medication is. With regards to the proposal, if research in the nation of Mousebumples indicated that Drugtonic worked better than Medtonic for, uh, relaxation in 95% of individuals, wouldn't you rather take Drugtonic? Further, if a study in Neutonica indicated that Badtonic was only effective in 15% of individuals, when compared with placebo, would Eduard even consider trying Badtonic at all?

Eduard stumbled back into the lobby, brushing his teeth with paste and gin. He leaped into Ambassador Hall's lap, and crooned,

"It depends on if Badtonic would inadvertently cause 'longer' or indefinite erections, yeah know, side effects I can live with?.. For example, I'm currently taking Protosemxica, an acne prevention medication, to decrease my chest hair.. and err.. Dopopodozaic, to increase my ..err.. capacity for sexual activities, even though Dopopodozaic was designed to treat male baldness.. which I thankfully do not have ...all because I take Tribronopripotontoese which keeps my hair thick, but doesn't help me sleep at night at all.. so I generally use a handful of pills and some rum to accomplish that... and Montopropornozoriac to cure the hangover quickly, which seems to increase the amount of chest hair I have. Too bad I started using Protosemxica for the side effects to get rid of the chest hair, and now I've developed acne from it."

Eduard popped another pill and offered a black one (marked "XXXXXX -- Not Safe for Human Intake") to Ambassador Hall, "Its good.. you won't feel anything below your waist for about a week, and after about ten minutes you'll swear you can hear the sound of Orange. Orange is a very loud color, yeh know. The first time I tried one of these, I woke up thirty years later, married to a princess who I didn't know, only to find out that she was a cereal box ... although I'm a time traveler, so I have an excuse for the extended period of forgotten time.. at least."

On a bookkeeping note, I'll be doing a final review of this proposal tomorrow (OOC: no work tomorrow, yay!), so if there are any further critiques or concerns, please share them at this time.

Eduard clapped his hand closed, and hid the pill away.. in his mouth, "Never-mind Liz, you're gonna need your sanity and your depth perception for tommorrow. How'll about we postpone this for another day? And we can make it a date. For ... let's saaay.. when you get this 'beast' passed!?"

[Mousebumples]

Here's the latest draft, sans editing notes. I'll be editing this into the OP shortly - with all those fun and fancy strikeouts and such.

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

ACKNOWLEDGING that a drug may cause varying benefits and side effects in different species.

DESIRING to more fully understand the inherent benefits and harms with regards to taking drugs.

CREATES the International Drug Education Agency (IDEA) as a sub-committee of the World Assembly Food and Drug Regulatory Agency (WAFADRA).

SPECIFIES that IDEA will collect drug-related research data regarding medical and recreational drug use.

STIPULATES that drug information regarding drug procurement and/or creation will not be gathered by IDEA, unless granted by the holder of the intellectual property rights for said information.

ALLOWS for IDEA professionals to issue non-binding recommendations regarding suggested changes to currently established medication therapy standards.

ESTABLISHES the Database Of Clinical Treatments Under Study (DOCTUS) as a drug education branch of the Universal Library Coalition (ULC);
1. IDEA will archive all research data within DOCTUS;
(a) Data from completed but unpublished studies will be included in the archive.
(b) No identifying patient information will be included in the archive.
2. Said data will be made available to, at minimum, all medical professionals within WA nations; individual nations may provide this information to others within their own borders as they deem appropriate.
3. All research data within DOCTUS will be accompanied by a link to the relevant journal article(s), if the research has been published;
(a) IDEA will provide appropriate monetary reimbursement to journals that are not currently archived in the ULC so that their research can be accessed through DOCTUS by credentialed individuals.
(b) If a journal and/or individual article is not available through DOCTUS or the ULC, appropriate citations will be listed.
4. Non-WA nations may apply for access to DOCTUS; a nominal fee may charged by the IDEA for access.

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;
1. The newsletters will be written by health care professionals and will detail the most significant discoveries in drug therapy, such as new indications for an already discovered drug, new concerns regarding side effects for an established drug, new recommendations for use in certain populations, etc.
(a) Recommendations will be non-binding.
(b) Scientists will be encouraged to pursue further research regarding published information to ensure that the most effective and appropriate recommendations are in place.
2. The IDEA Quarterly will be provided to all interested nations free of charge and will be archived within DOCTUS with the appropriate reference citations.

RECOMMENDS that Health Research & Development Division of the WHA accept applications for funding from WA member nations for further research regarding already discovered medication therapies to better understand their safety and efficacy with long-term use;
1. Applications for funding must include details of how the study would be conducted and what drug(s) would be studied.
2. Funded studies must receive the informed consent of all participants in the study.
3. Studies are strongly encouraged to have a control group of some nature.

I do have some character space to work with (a few hundred characters, anyhow), if there's something that absolutely must be included.

Critiques and comments are, as always, welcome.

Yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Unibot]

OOC: I'm sure you've checked for this, but this doesn't duplicate or contradict GA#82 right?

[Mousebumples]

OOC: I'm sure you've checked for this, but this doesn't duplicate or contradict GA#82 right?

Prior Mod Ruling, thanks to Euroslavia.

(And it was specifically worded so as to protect the same rights asserted in GA#82, in the event that it should ever be repealed.)

When I formally submit this, I'll probably make an official "post/notation" of mod rulings/etc., just for convenience's sake.

Another legal concern that has been expressed is regarding the proposal not causing nations to 'do' anything that might explain the increase in their individual education budgets. In my mind, the primary educational gain within WA nations (that would explain and, I believe, justify the increased education spending) regards the spreading of drug-related information among health care professionals, at minimum, within each nation. As stated within the proposal:

(a) IDEA will provide appropriate monetary reimbursement to journals that are not currently archived in the ULC so that their research can be accessed through DOCTUS by credentialed individuals.

Nations credential their health care professionals (and others, as they deem appropriate) so that they can access further drug information to better educate themselves regarding efficacy, side effects, standard doses/uses/etc. (This will hopefully result in better health care within each WA nation, but that's not directly legislated upon within this proposal - and more the end goal.)

That, however, may not be adequate to claim the "education" cost to each nation. There are similar clauses within the proposal that imply action by WA nations (or by individuals within WA nations that would justify funding from the nation as a whole); however, they are similar to the above clause. If that is insufficient, I doubt they would convince you instead.

I am confident, though, that the following clause does correlate with increased education funding within individual WA nations:

RECOMMENDS that Health Research & Development Division of the WHA accept applications for funding from WA member nations for further research regarding already discovered medication therapies to better understand their safety and efficacy with long-term use;

Funding grants from WHA HR&DD would be funded by WA member nations. As this money is specifically aimed at aiding further research so as to allow for more knowledge (i.e. "education") on medication therapies, it should qualify to make this proposal legal in terms of being more than just a committee.

[Mousebumples]

The "legality" post has been edited into the post above this one. I already had legality recaps started, so it seemed easier to just add in the other information.

Otherwise, this proposal has been submitted for delegate consideration. If you'd care to support the proposal, it can be found here.

Many thanks to all delegates who consider supporting this proposal.

Yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Mousebumples]

Just by reading the title alone, you have my support, esteemed delegate. I agree that drug education is a necessity, and not every nation is undertaking such an important task. If we can legislate to that effect, then many citizens of the world will lead happier and safer lives.

I very much appreciate your support, High Commissioner Quafflington!

And, clearly, I agree with the premise of your statement, given the proposal that I submitted for the consideration of this assembly. Further, however, even if an individual nation were conducting appropriate, quality drug research within their own borders, they may not be sharing that information on an international (or even regional) level. More research and information is always a good thing, to allow for medical professionals to make the best decisions possible when it comes to treating individual patients.

Respectfully yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Mousebumples]

I officially extend an invitation to you. This invitation invites you to set up an embassy in our nation
The paperwork can be found here:
viewtopic.php?ns=1&f=23&t=58138&p=2487749#p2487749

OOC: While I appreciate the offer, I honestly don't have the time to set up embassies (or diplomatic missions) to RP at this time. As such, I will be unable to accept your invitation at this time. Again, thanks!

---

Despite a lack of a TG campaign, the proposal had fifty (!!!) delegate approvals. Wow! Many thanks to all of you who took the time to consider (and approve!) the proposal. I'll be resubmitting in a few days - likely Sunday or Monday. (OOC: after the bulk of my 4th of July plans are completed) For my records - in case my open window is somehow corrupted, here's the list of the approving delegates:
Marflo, Grays Harbor, Puppetum, Slayers And Witches, Charlotte Ryberg, Punggol, Manticore Reborn, Buffett and Colbert, Nullarni, Ammador, Wilkshire, Revolutionist Britain, Serrland, Nation of Quebec, Krioval, Franceros, Simkonis, NewTexas, Sionis Prioratus, Gaiah, The LoUnited Nations, The Blue Chocobo, The Derrak Quadrant, New Dexteria, Halatio, Infiniteland, Greater Rhodes, Zeppy, Acclamator, Kioyoto, Roadie The God, Greatia Brittania, Mufasastan, Birnadia, Vescia, Trumpetville, Ananke II, King Kulla, TerraPublica, New Bern99, Verukt, Azzarius, Veritanja, Ashmore, Nova Hispannica, Southern Bellz, MDRunie, Small Green Plants, Wolfhawk

I will be pairing a TG campaign (along with a "reminder and please re-approve" TG message to the above delegates) with resubmission. Again, if there are any further critiques or suggested improvements, now would be the time to voice them.

Yours,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Charlotte Ryberg]

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;

IMO I think it would be more respected in published as a "journal" as most medical institutions do. Other than that I see no problems, except for the fact that it is nearly summer and some ambassadors are heading out into the sun soon so that's why we should try and get this resolution passed soon so others don't miss out on the vote.

Yours etc,

[Mousebumples]

I thought that this would legislate to make drug education compulsory, not legislate to make the whole process of education about drugs so vague that any nation can interpret this law as they wish. If that were true, then not many nations would provide drug education because they could claim that under this law the IDEA could only issue recommendations and not legally binding rulings.

I would suggest that you change the terms of this clause to remove the vagueness of the recommendations the IDEA could issue. With legislation, things have to be in black and white, not vague.

Even though the nation who posted this question has been deleted for rule breaking issues, I figure I should address the concerns all the same.

This proposal provides new avenues to spread drug information to allow for better education and understanding of health care professionals (and laypersons, as deemed appropriate by individual national governments).

The "non-binding recommendations" that will be offered by IDEA professionals are non-binding for a number of reasons. Those reasons include, off the top of my head:

• Due to cultural practices and/or religious beliefs, some treatments may not be appropriate/acceptable
• The cost of the recommended treatment may be too expensive for a given nation to import
• The recommendation is based on studies done in species that are not present in the nation in question
• Medical professionals can and should use their own professional judgment when making clinical decisions and should not be dictated to by a third party that is not as familiar with the patient population in a given nation

The recommendations offered by the IDEA is not the most important aspect of the proposal, in my opinion. I feel that the spread of research data via the ULC and the increased funding of drug research are more essential to spreading drug education on an international level than quarterly newsletters.

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;

IMO I think it would be more respected in published as a "journal" as most medical institutions do. Other than that I see no problems, except for the fact that it is nearly summer and some ambassadors are heading out into the sun soon so that's why we should try and get this resolution passed soon so others don't miss out on the vote.

OOC: In my experience, it varies depending on the medical institution. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) are very popular journals that I've encountered in my RL health care practice. They contain any number of peer-reviewed journal articles - which isn't what the aim is for the IDEA Quarterly. As stated in the proposal, the IDEA quarterly will contain information regarding new discoveries in health care/treatment. It will contain reference citations since the journal articles will not be present in the newsletters. It is meant more as a summary of major events/discoveries versus a journal complete with multiple in-depth articles. As such, I did not feel that it was appropriate to designate the publication as a "Journal." Further, Journals tend to be published on a monthly basis, if not bimonthly or weekly.

I've stricken the separate clause stating that IDEA recommendations will be non-binding, merely as it is repetitive in my mind. It will be resubmitted shortly, and I will post the final proposal text below, along with a link for delegate approval.

Many thanks,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Mousebumples]

UNDERSTANDING that safety and efficacy are important standards with regards to drug therapy.

ACKNOWLEDGING that a drug may cause varying benefits and side effects in different species.

DESIRING to more fully understand the inherent benefits and harms with regards to taking drugs.

CREATES the International Drug Education Agency (IDEA) as a sub-committee of the World Assembly Food and Drug Regulatory Agency (WAFADRA).

SPECIFIES that IDEA will collect drug-related research data regarding medical and recreational drug use.

STIPULATES that drug information regarding drug procurement and/or creation will not be gathered by IDEA, unless granted by the holder of the intellectual property rights for said information.

ESTABLISHES the Database Of Clinical Treatments Under Study (DOCTUS) as a drug education branch of the Universal Library Coalition (ULC);
1. IDEA will archive all research data within DOCTUS;
(a) Data from completed but unpublished studies will be included in the archive.
(b) No identifying patient information will be included in the archive.
2. Said data will be made available to, at minimum, all medical professionals within WA nations; individual nations may provide this information to others within their own borders as they deem appropriate.
3. All research data within DOCTUS will be accompanied by a link to the relevant journal article(s), if the research has been published;
(a) IDEA will provide appropriate monetary reimbursement to journals that are not currently archived in the ULC so that their research can be accessed through DOCTUS by credentialed individuals.
(b) If a journal and/or individual article is not available through DOCTUS or the ULC, appropriate citations will be listed.
4. Non-WA nations may apply for access to DOCTUS; a nominal fee may charged by the IDEA for access.

DETAILS that IDEA medical professionals will publish quarterly IDEA newsletters;
1. The newsletters will be written by health care professionals and will detail the most significant discoveries in drug therapy, such as new indications for an already discovered drug, new concerns regarding side effects for an established drug, new recommendations for use in certain populations, etc.
(a) Any recommendations issued by IDEA professionals regarding changes to currently established medication therapy standards will be non-binding.
(b) Scientists will be encouraged to pursue further research regarding published information to ensure that the most effective and appropriate recommendations are in place.
2. The IDEA Quarterly will be provided to all interested nations free of charge and will be archived within DOCTUS with the appropriate reference citations.

RECOMMENDS that Health Research & Development Division of the WHA accept applications for funding from WA member nations for further research regarding already discovered medication therapies to better understand their safety and efficacy with long-term use;
1. Applications for funding must include details of how the study would be conducted and what drug(s) would be studied.
2. Funded studies must receive the informed consent of all participants in the study.
3. Studies are strongly encouraged to have a control group of some nature.

The proposal can be found here, should you care to view it in the proposal queue.

Many thanks for your kind consideration,
Ambassador Lizzy Hall
Leader of the Doctoral Monkey Feet of Mousebumples
WA Delegate for Monkey Island

[Charlotte Ryberg]

OOC: In my experience, it varies depending on the medical institution. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) are very popular journals that I've encountered in my RL health care practice. They contain any number of peer-reviewed journal articles - which isn't what the aim is for the IDEA Quarterly. As stated in the proposal, the IDEA quarterly will contain information regarding new discoveries in health care/treatment. It will contain reference citations since the journal articles will not be present in the newsletters. It is meant more as a summary of major events/discoveries versus a journal complete with multiple in-depth articles. As such, I did not feel that it was appropriate to designate the publication as a "Journal." Further, Journals tend to be published on a monthly basis, if not bimonthly or weekly.

That's okay, but we though it would be a bit more professional. Nevertheless we have approved the proposal.

[Mousebumples]

That's okay, but we though it would be a bit more professional. Nevertheless we have approved the proposal.

Thank you very much for your consideration - and thanks, as always, for your support.

[The Palentine]

At Vote Bump!

[Krioval]

Excellent. I am glad to see that this has qualified for a floor vote, and I look forward to this resolution's swift passage.

Aleksei-kan Volkov
Imperial Chiefdom of Krioval

[The Palentine]

The Palentine votes enthusiastically for this resolution.
Excelsior,
Sen. Horatio Sulla

[Charlotte Ryberg]

We have found absolutely nothing wrong that can be realistically resolved. Acknowledging the justification for a newsletter instead of a journal, Ms. Harper is pleased to vote in favour. It would also be interesting to see if the IDEA newsletter would be the subject of a non-canon roleplay in future, considering the current enthusiasm for the ICC.