From the July 1999 Idaho Observer:

Indiana judge poisons citizens for profit

FORT WAYNE, IN -- On August 10, 1984, Circuit Court Judge Thomas L. Ryan, Psychologist Dr. Robert Hutner, Dr. Nina King-Smith of the Lincoln National Corporation, Psychologist Dr. Ronald J. and Paul J. Arnold (whose address is room 103 of the Allen County Courthouse, listed themselves as the Board of directors of the “non-profit” Alcohol Abuse Deterrent Program, Inc. (AADP). The identity of these people are found in articles of incorporation filed with the Indiana Secretary of State.

In this document it was stated that; “The corporation generally, is organized to operate exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes..., more specifically, to coordinate with local courts in the development of alternatives to imprisonment for those persons pleading/found guilty of substance abuse related offenses...”

The real purpose and practice of this organization is to force people to take disulfiram, a highly toxic substance, commonly known as antabuse, and pay a weekly fee for the privilege. Many of these people have not been convicted of a crime.

If people refuse to take the poisonous substance and pay the fee, they are immediately taken to jail.

According to AADP employee Terry Yeager there are approximately 1,000 Hoosiers in the program at any given time at a weekly fee of $25 -- a weekly gross income for the AADP of $25,000 or $1.3 million annually.

There are additional corollary services provided by AADP which boost its annual earnings. Each person in the program must subject himself to an average 12 urinalysis drug screenings at $50 each. This mandated service means another $600,000 in annual gross income for AADP per 1,000 “patients.”

A $70 per occurrence blood test fee per person quarterly equals $280,000 per annum.

The irony is that the mandated blood test administered by AADP and paid for by the “patient” screens for disulfiram-induced hepatic liver failure, presumably to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit.

The $125 orientation fee that is collected from approximately one third of the “patients” each year calculates to only $41,250. However, it all adds up to a total estimated annual gross income of $2,221,250 for the AADP in 1999.

This is not an insignificant amount of money especially considering that the AADP's expenses are funded by the state legislature under a bill sponsored by Sen. Thomas Wyss (R-Ft. Wayne).

$2.2 million annual income becomes even more interesting when we realize that in the 10 years of it's existence the AADP has filed only four of the “Indiana Annual Report of Nonprofit Corporation” forms that are required by state law. AADP filed in '94, '95, '96 and '97.

If you ask an employee of the AADP just who it is that owns the company, the standard response is “a group of private citizens under contract to the circuit court.”

They will tell you nothing more, likely out of fear. “This is understandable since the chairman of the board is the 'Honorable' Judge Ryan. The same judge that not only sentences every available warm body that passes through his courtroom to three years in his poison palace, but has even instructed the local bondsmen, who are not officers of his court, to inform people that they 'are required to report to the AADP' as a condition of their bail,” commented a program participant who added that, “None of us are ever warned ahead of time as to the truth and the dangers of the real truth about the disufiram that we are forced to take.”

The deathly toxic nature of Disulfiram

Disulfiram consists of sulfur molecules, carbon bonded to nitrogen, holmium and tritium. Holmium is a rare earth heavy metal that is naturally radioactive. Tritium, also known as hydrogen-3, is the heaviest isotope of hydrogen and is considerably more radioactive than holmium with a half-life of 12.35 years. According to documented findings of laboratory studies, it may be these two elements that cause cancer in disulfiram-using rats.

According to the study, the rats received a diet containing 5/100 of one percent disulfiram -- far less than the human equivalent of taking 500 milligrams of raw disulfiram three times per week.

The rats were also exposed to 20 ppm ethylene dibromide, a common chemical used as a fumigant for soil, grain and fruit, in the production of dyes and pharmaceuticals, and as a solvent for resins, gums and waxes. It is also present in the air we breath at an approximate level of .08 ppm.

In this study, 92 of 98 rats died of cancer. People who are being forced to take disulfiram are not dying of cancer at the same rate as these rats, but, according to the 1998 Physician's Desk Reference, “the relevance of this finding (cancer in rats) to humans is not known at this time.”

Disulfiram, impotence and other side effects

It is possibly the nitrogen or the sulfur that leads to the greatly diminished sex drives of people taking disulfiram.

The other side effects of disulfiram are well known and vary in severity from person to person. They include head, neck and chest flushing, throbbing headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, weakness, dizziness, confusion and anxiety, heart palpitations and dysrrythmias.

People do not have to consume any alcohol to experience these symptoms, but if they do consume alcohol these symptoms are immediate and extremely severe, sometimes to the point of death. This can occur from even accidental consumption of alcohol in foods such as salad dressings, sauces or desserts, or from the use of cosmetics, lotions, shampoos or other similar products.

Neurological toxicity increases the longer a person is forced to consume disulfiram. Long-term use of disulfiram has causing problems with vision, coordination and movement. Persons may become catatonic and lethargic, requiring more and more sleep to function. Even at a greatly reduced level. They may develop Parkinson's-like symptoms that can cause comas and seizures. They typically develop skin lesions and a metallic aftertaste in their mouth, often their breath smells like rotten eggs without ever consuming a drop of alcohol or developing cancer. People die from taking disulfiram.

It is against the canons of ethical conduct and civil rights laws to force people to swallow radioactive substances that may cause death, cancer, cause severe physical discomfort and render them impotent.

Disulfiram is legally administered as a drug in the U.S. but it is recommended in the PDR as a last resort only to be given to chronic, long-term alcoholics who are close to death from alcohol poisoning -- and then only with their consent.

Disulfiram's most common uses in this country are as a fungicide, herbicide and a pesticide. It is also a vital component in the manufacture of rubber.

Disulfiram is marketed under some 80 different trade names, the bulk of which are agricultural products that are sprayed on farmers' fields.

The AADP would have you believe that all the DUI criminals forced to make the Orwellian choice of poison or jail are hard core crazed drunks intent upon murdering innocent citizens with their automobiles. In truth, anyone who receives a second DUI is charged as a felon, everyone who is charged with a felony DUI in Allen County goes before Judge Ryan and is forced to take disulfiram prior to being convicted of any crime. There are no known exceptions to this rule. Under the current laws it is amazingly easy to be charged with and be convicted of a DUI in Allen County. A blood alcohol level of .081 or at the officer's discretion .06, is enough to be considered legally drunk.

Most people are legally drunk after one or two drinks. A bad taillight, lack of a seatbelt or whim of the officer serves as a probable cause to stop and question people for DUI and a myriad of other offenses -- real or imagined.

In addition, the unconstitutional use of roadblocks is on the increase and the plan to randomly pull over groups of five to six vehicles at a time has narrowly avoided implementation at the legislative level -- for now.

Once charged with DUI, most people plead guilty for lack of time or money to fight the charges or simply out of fear of their own legal system. This results in a DUI conviction rate of nearly 100 percent. It's obvious that the profit motive has become a driving force in this blatant use of police power.

“Citizens have become prey. Of course, in a republic we have no one to blame but ourselves for allowing excessive laws to be passed. We have been sold an extremely lucrative bill of goods through the clever manipulation of our own fears,” said the unnamed AADP “participant.”

In January, 1999, a bill was slipped through the state legislature with little fanfare and zero press. This bill calls for a mandatory 40 months of forced disulfiram for any minor charged with an alcohol or drug offense. No conviction is necessary -- “treatment” is to begin immediately after arrest.

One beer at a party is to be considered enough to warrant this poisoning, no distinctions are to be made and no exceptions are planned. No matter what we may think individually about the realities of teen alcohol and drug use, to allow this plan to be implemented would be a heinous crime against youth. Undoubtedly, a misinformation campaign designed to play upon the common fears of all parents will be used to sell this plan to the public, even though it is set to go into effect whether the public approves or not.

The AADP in Fort Wayne is not the only group forcing disulfiram upon citizens in Indiana. According to AADP Executive Director Arnold in an article published in the Journal Gazette January 30, 1995, “Arnold told lawmakers last week the program's initial success is 'excellent' and compares favorably with the 85 percent success rate in Vandenburgh County, where the program began.

Lake County also has a program. It is interesting to note that Indiana Code, Chapter 14, “Court Established Alcohol and Drug Services Program,” the parent program of the Ft. Wayne AADP in Vandenburgh County, is listed as exempt. Under “Notes of decision it reads:

“1. Exempt Services -- The alcohol and drug abuse diagnosis, referral, and treatment service now operating under the administration of the superior court of Vandenburgh County is covered by the provisions of subsec. (e) added to this section by acts 1981, P.L. 176, Section I, and is therefore, absolved from the requirements of establishing an alcohol and drug service fund and from the requirements of depositing the requisite percentage of all client fees with the state for expenditure by the division of addiction services.” (1981 Op.Attp.Gen. No.27)

Presumably the Ft. Wayne AADP is also exempt and is able to keep 100 percent of the fees that it collects.

The questions for Judge Ryan and his gang are several and begin with the obvious one: Where has all the money gone? The lack of the required annual financial reports, the special exemption and the fact that the program's costs are funded by the state legislature does not paint a pretty picture.

Forcing presumably innocent people to take disulfiram in clear violation of their constitutional rights and the articles of incorporation of the AADP, coupled with the fact that bail bondsmen are referring them off the street, does not improve the picture.

Judge, what are you thinking? Do you think that no one will notice? You have had a 10-year run. Is it acceptable to poison people for fun and profit just because you have the power to do so? Do you feign ignorance or merely close your eyes to the true nature of disulfiram? People in your program have developed severe medical complications. Perhaps no one has died, yet? Do you really intend to add minor children to your list of victims?