Alternative med acquittal cheered

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2006/07/29/1708897-sun.html

By BILL LAYE, CALGARY SUN
Two southern Alberta men charged with violating federal health regulations say their acquittal in provincial court yesterday bodes well for alternative medicine in Canada.
And while Judge Gerald Meagher stopped short of calling Health Canada's prosecution of their case high-handed, Synergy Group Canada principals Tony Stephan and David Hardy said they will be looking at having the federal agency investigated.
The pair had been charged in 2004 with selling their Truehope nutritional supplement -- billed as a treatment for depression and bipolar disorder -- without a federal Drug Identification Number (DIN) a year earlier.
But in handing down his decision to a packed courtroom, Meagher said he accepted defence arguments they made every effort they could in meeting that requirement during a time when the rules regarding alternative treatments were being rewritten.
During the three-week trial, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Charles Popper testified injuries and suicides were a distinct possibility for those who could no longer receive the treatment, the judge noted.
"The evidence presented by the defence was clear and compelling," Meagher said. "The defendants obviously felt compelled to disobey the DIN requirements."
The Crown's case was further undermined by the fact the men were finally granted executive clearance to legally sell their product in March 2004 -- shortly after Pierre Pettigrew became health minister -- and that order still stands, Meagher said.
The pair, based in Raymond, about 250 km southeast of Calgary, said they're hoping the verdict will help open the door for more research into other non-traditional medical treatments across the country -- and they want Health Canada investigated by the RCMP.