Rampant drug industry deception on Prop 78 exposed by LA Times, CA Nurses Assoc. & prominent CA Congresswoman ...Pharmaceutical industry donated heavily to groups who then supported its Prop 78; Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald (D, CA) and the California Nurses Association issue blistering statements denouncing drug industry deception

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's revelation about the deceptive practices used by the pharmaceutical industry comes on the heels of criticism by California Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) who yesterday called for a full retraction of the drug-industry-funded Black Woman's Political Guide, which was sent to African American households throughout Los Angeles and implied her support for Prop 78 with the unauthorized use of her photograph and address, when in fact she vehemently opposes the drug-industry-backed initiative.

Additionally, the California Nurses Association (CNA) sharply condemned the drug companies use of bedside nurses in Prop 78's ads to imply that California nurses support prop 78, when in fact the CNA, the largest statewide organization of nurses, strongly opposes it.

According to today's Los Angeles Times article by reporter Dan Morain, "The nation's drug makers have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to political leaders and civil rights groups that have endorsed the industry's initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot. The measure, Proposition 78, would avert state caps on the price of prescription drugs.

Those embracing it while taking the industry's money include the conservative Traditional Values Coalition, an emergency-room physician in Los Angeles, the California arm of the NAACP and the Mexican American Political Assn. The drug industry's campaign also has given $100,000 to Voter Education and Registration Action, a campaign committee that has distributed mailers supporting the drug industry's position."

Proposition 79: Cheaper Drugs More Californians Can Count On, supported by Health Access California, Consumers Union, California Association of Retired Americans (AARP), Congress of California Seniors, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the League of Women Voters, and over one hundred other endorsing organizations, will provide affordable prescription drugs for 8-10 million Californians, using the purchasing power of the state to leverage enforceable discounts from prescription drug companies. A competing measure, the pharmaceutical industry-backed Proposition 78, relies on manufacturers to volunteer discounts, and has no enforcement mechanism. For more information on Proposition 79, visit www.voteyesonprop79.org .