ABSTRACT
During the 1970s supporters of the purported cancer treatment Laetrile have battled in the courts, state legislatures and mass media. A major social movement had developed around the use of Laetrile, and it has even become an element of popular culture. A 1977 Harris Poll revealed that two-thirds of all Americans favored the enactment of pro-Laetrile legislation in their state. At the core of the Laetrile movement are a few small organizations devoted to the promotion of Laetrile. The group has grown to include about 8,000 members and promotes many alternative treatments for cancer along with Laetrile in its publication the Cancer News Journal. The opposition to Laetrile has come from a prestigious coalition composed of federal agencies, the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, state agencies and medical societies, and medical researchers. Advocates of Laetrile frequently call for a rejection of medical expertise and a deprofessionalization of medical care.
