title: Commentary: legislators how did the deciders decide? Who shall serve as their experts?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Forensic Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. donald_meyer@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002651:Child Advocacy; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033242:Minors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013219:State Government; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States