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PUSHING DEATH:
The European Union,
Pharmaceutical Companies & Methadone |
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Methadone, 6-dimethylamino-4,4-diphenyl-3-heptanone, is a synthetic opioid that is used as a hydrochloride to "manage" heroin addiction. It has uses and effects similar to those of morphine. Methadone generates billions in revenue worldwide, despite the fact that for decades independent studies have demonstrated that is more harmful than heroin. Methadone has been used to treat heroin addicts for nearly 50 years, yet we have surprisingly incomplete knowledge about possible harmful effects from prolonged use despite continuing evidence of its dangers. It does not reduce abuse, cross addiction nor provide any cure at the root of addiction. Women I have ministered to on the street, like Claudia, are left trapped in dependence, first by addiction, then the system designed to cure them. |
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As a part of the European Union's Harm Prevention Program, the huge lobby of pharmaceutical companies continues to lead the way as they demand methadone maintenance for registered heroin users. It may be that hidden behind their so-called concerned safety for society is their focus on billions in profits, at the expense of the lives and freedom for the addicts and families who love them. |
Methadone Maintenance is inherently flawed because it is built on the slavery of addicted men and women. It is financially lucrative for pharmaceutical companies, but merely prolongs the nightmare of dependence without offering freedom or a future. The official government position is that methadone insures that heroin addicts will not abuse other drugs. The testimony of Teen Challenge students and those we work with on the streets is that methadone did not curb other drug use. Methadone users routinely abuse Valium to heighten or lengthen the methadone "high."
Methadone, once seen a a bridge to freedom from addiction, is now the decision of choose as methadone treatment and transitioned to methadone maintenance. Bringing the claims of the gospel and power of the Holy Spirit to this cutting-edge issue all we are seeing God transorm lives and communities through to the power of Jesus Christ.
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In direcot conflict with the freedom people find at TC, EU policies are pushing a doctrine that leads to a a lifetime of methadone dependence, billions in revenue for huge pharmaceuticals and a steady stream of "lobby money" for politicians. It is a scandal.
In one country we visited, Teen Challenge graduates, drug free for over 15 months, have been denied housing unless they went back on methadone. The government says there is no cure for heroin addiction and they refuse the obvious evidence of the lives that Jesus has changed here in Teen Challenge.
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