1996_10 The Daily Collegian October 1996

              8
THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Wednesday, October 9,1996
Back Page
Drug: Depro-Provera shots required after second conviction
Continued from page 1.
dergo injections of the drug Depo-
Provera, victim rights groups cel¬
ebrated a surprise victory.
The "Hormonal Suppression"
bill, sponsored by Assemblyman
Bill Hoge, (R-Pasadena) and writ¬
ten by McMillen. requires paroled,
twice-convicted child molesters to
undergo injections of Depo-
Provera, a chemical that reduces the
body's production of testosterone
and curbs offenders' sex drive.
For first-time offenders, treat¬
ment is an option, to accompany
any legal punishment prescribed by
the court. For repeat offenders, in¬
jections are mandatory. Convicted
sex offenders would be required to
begin treatment one week before
their release from custody, and each
week thereafter. Not checking in
would be a parole violation, but it
is unclear how authorities will en¬
sure parolees get a weekly injection..
But while plans for treatment go
forward, the California medical
community says it doesn't know if
the mandatory procedure will even
work!
A medical expert at University
of California, Davis Medical Cen¬
ter says Depo-Provera does reduce
testosterone levels and sex drive,
but the question of whether the pro¬
cedure will curb deviant sexual be¬
havior remains unanswered.
"We do chemical castration all
the time for prostate cancer treat¬
ment but not for behavioral prob¬
lems," said UCD urologist Dr.
Michael Gould. "Depo-Provera
suppresses testosterone and should
decrease sexual capacity, interest
and energy levels. Whether it af¬
fects the sexual deviancy of a child
molester. I don't know. No one
knows. As for libido and sexual
dysfunction, testosterone is only
one element that affects that."
Dr. Marc Graff, president of the
Southern California Psychiatric
Society, a group that opposes
chemical castration, said that al¬
though Depo-Provera will reduce
hormone levels and decrease the
sexual appetite, it won't address
everything.
"If the offender is psychotic or
retarded or has an organic brain dis¬
order, this will do nothing," Graff
said. "Decreasing your hormone
levels will not make you not psy¬
chotic. There's no room for any
medical input. We, too, are against
sin and evil and for victim's rights,
but this bill is aone-size-fits-all and
it's poorly written."
And in Michigan, the State Su¬
preme Court upheld an appellate
court finding that use of Depo-
Provera as a condition of probation
was unlawful and invalid due to the
experimental nature of the treat¬
ment and practical problems in¬
volve access to treatment, side ef¬
fects, and informed consent.
The Assembly Public Safety
Committee and the Senate Crimi¬
nal Procedures Committee based
their recommendations for the
Depo-Provera treatment on studies
in six European countries, and on a
voluntary program at Johns
Hopkins University sexual disor¬
ders clinic in Maryland, according
to committee files.
"This is a public safety issue,"
said Chris Lauer, HogeV chief con¬
sultant. Lauer said victim's rights
have been a primary focus for Hoge
and after reviewing the reports on
the effectiveness of Depo-Provera,
he decided to sponsor the bill.
And although critics maintain
that there's no scientific evidence
to prove Depo-Provera is effective,
McMillen counters that there's no
proof that it isn't.
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"It's a testing ground." she said,
pointing out that there are no de¬
finitive studies on either side of the
argument. "It is a benign treatment
with no long-lasting side effects."
But Graff disagrees with the pre¬
dicted effectiveness.
"This is punishment, not treat¬
ment," he said.
Label
Continued from page 1.
Governor Wilson vetoed Sena¬
tor Thompson's previous version of
this measure which did not impose
the 5.7 percent labeling require¬
ment. (Sierra Nevada brewery's
"Pale Bock" won best of show, at
the California State Fair's BEER
contest, but current state law pro¬
hibits it from being sold as "beer"
due to Us 6.7 percent alcohol con¬
tent. For this reason it had to be
labeled a "malt liquor," which the
brewers consider misleading to cus¬
tomers.)
Beer distributors say
microbrews are taking store shelves
by storm. The varieties range from
light American lager to dry stout.
The spectrum of microbrews spans
pale ale, amber ale, brown ale.
bock, porter, dark lager, cream
stout, barley wine - as well as brews
with flavors of fruit, chilies and
spices^
Alcohol levels range from 2.3
percent, by weight, for "light"
beers, to as much as 13 per\ent for
barley wine. Anheuser-Busch Com¬
panies, Inc., Miller Brewing Com¬
pany, Coors Brewing Company and
many other commercial brewers
say California's laws are being out¬
dated.
"It's a classic case where our
laws clearly haven't kept pace with
our new industries," Thompson
said. "This is a very simple effort
to allow beer to be called beer and
to permit consumers the conve¬
nience to enjoy their favorite (
microbrew at their ncighborhocxr
cafe, club, or pizza parlor."
The opposition to the measure
focused on concerns that beer
drinkers will be inclined to buy beer
solely because it states on the label
that it has a high alcohol content.
Other beer related legislation
during the 1995-96 session in¬
cluded :
Assemblyman Bruce
McPherson (R-Santa Cruz)
authored Assembly Bill 1166,
which imposed guidelines for beer
tasting events which was signed by
the governor;
Assemblyman Dominic Cortese
(D-San Jose) authored AB 2811.
which would have allowed any re¬
tail customer to exchange discon¬
tinued or seasonal brands of beer
with the distributor under specific
conditions. The bill did not make it
out of the Senate. \