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http://www.taxtyranny.ca/images/HTML/Truehope/Articles/warnofsuicides.html

 

 

( I GUESS THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR LAUNCHING A FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST THE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT) I WOULD HAVE SENT YOU ALL INFO ON THIS EARLIER BUT THE RCMP

HAD SEIZED MY LAPTOP FOR 24 HOURS. WOW!! YOU KNOW YOUR VITAMINS MUST BE GOOD

WHEN THE RCMP SWAT TEAM RAIDS YOUR VITAMIN COMPANY OFFICE. AMAZING THOUGH... THE

VERY NEXT DAY WE ARE PERMITTED TO BE UP AND RUNNING BUSINESS AS USUAL! WHAT'S

REALLY GOING ON? MORE TO COME.....

 

Truehope backers warn of suicides

Health Canada insists raid was necessary

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David Heyman

Calgary Herald

Thursday, July 17, 2003

CREDIT: Calgary Herald Archive

 

 

 

Tony Stephan, left, and business

partner David Hardy of Truehope.

 

A Health Canada raid on the offices of a company producing a purported

nutritional cure for mental illness has sparked a ferocious war of words between

hard-core believers and skeptics of the product.

Supporters say the supplement Empowerplus -- a mix of 36 vitamins, minerals and

anti-oxidants -- is a miracle cure and some people may take their own lives if

they can't get it.

Detractors, however, say the company has been growing wealthy selling something

no better than a placebo to very vulnerable people.

Ron LaJeunesse, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association's

Alberta division, says he knows many people who have been essentially cured of

mental illness after taking Empowerplus.

" It's going to result in dozens of suicides. I know of two already, " he said.

" If there's no opportunity for people to take it, at best we're going to see

some mental patients going back to hospital. At worst, they'll die. "

Others cheered the Tuesday raid on the Raymond offices of Truehope Nutritional

Support Ltd., saying it's about time the government took some action to stop the

sale of Empowerplus.

Kaj Korvela, the head of the Calgary-based Organization for Bipolar Affective

Disorders, said he doesn't believe the supplement is as effective as its

supporters say. He says he knows of many people who got more ill when they

dropped their prescribed medications in favour of Empowerplus.

" It was too expensive, it made them worse and most of them went back on their

medication, " said Korvela.

A Health Canada spokeswoman said Wednesday the government is standing firm on

its decision to initiate the surprise search, which aimed to collect proof

Truehope and its sister company, Synergy Group of Canada, were marketing and

selling a drug without government permission.

Krista Apse said the companies have yet to meet the most basic requirements when

making health claims about its product -- namely, providing scientific evidence

it's safe and effective.

" We're taking action to protect the health of Canadians, " said Apse, speaking

from Ottawa Wednesday.

Employees of Empowerplus's company Truehope Nutritional Support Ltd. were

stunned Tuesday morning when RCMP officers acting on a search warrant burst into

their office in Raymond, south of Lethbridge, and shut the company down for a

day while they looked for documents.

About 19 hours later, officers carted away nine boxes of material and the

company began operating as normal Wednesday morning.

But the raid stirred up a hornet's nest of fury, and now many of those employees

along with several others are planning to protest Friday outside the Edmonton

office of federal Health Minister Anne McLellan, to express their outrage.

" There's an uprising of resentment with what Health Canada is doing, " said David

Hardy, one of two main owners of Truehope, along with his colleague Stephan. " If they're really interested in health, why are they restricting

access to something that's obviously effective? "

Hardy says several scientific studies have shown Empowerplus is safe and

effective -- including a preliminary project by University of Calgary researcher

Bonnie Kaplan.

" They have ample evidence this is safe and effective. They can't prove

otherwise. "

Apse said Truehope and Synergy have never filed a new drug submission, despite

several requests to do so, and have refused to comply with its orders to stop

selling Empowerplus in the meantime.

Last month, Health Canada issued a health advisory about Empowerplus, warning

Canadians not to take it. It has also been intercepting shipments of it at the

U.S. border but continues to allow people to bring back the product for personal

use, defined as a three-month supply for a single person.

Health Canada has not decided if or when it will file charges under the Food and

Drugs Act.

dheyman

 

© Copyright 2003 Calgary Herald

 

 

 

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