seroquel

Dirty Detox


One product the Salvation Army pushes in its drug rehab is Seroquel.

In exchange, Astra Zeneca gives the local Salvation Army huge amounts of free Seroquel and other prizes.



Naltrexone on the other hand, an addiction medicine, was never mentioned to clients. I was specifically forbidden from letting clients have a brochure printed by a Salvation Army office in another state about Naltrexone.

  • The Salvation Army's Detox unit was literally covered with Seroquel advertisements. A person could not stand in Detox without seeing some kind of ad for "Seroquel". Detox had a Seroquel clock, a Seroquel circular rack, Seroquel clipboards, pens, notepads etc.
  • Our love for Seroquel (which is not even an addiction med) was entirely the result of "incentives" given to Salvation Army Clitheroe by Astra Zeneca (the pharmaceutical company that markets Seroquel).
  • The Salvation Army Human Resources director tried to defend Clitheroe's policy, suggesting there was a staff psychiatrist who decided which drugs were appropriate. Click here (audio file). (There was no staff psychiatrist, just a physician's assistant who came in a few hours a week. See here)
  • Was several thousand dollars a month worth of Seroquel (and a boatload of trinkets) really that necessary to Salvation Army finances?



Medline info on Seroquel (click here)
vs
Medline info on Naltrexone (click here)

 
Why would Salvation Army Clitheroe discourage Naltrexone?

Many people who work in addictions feel that people who are addicted have a moral flaw that causes their addiction. A common (but seldom spoken) sentiment is that addictions are an opportunity to force a person (i.e., an addict) into a "moral" lifestyle.

If you just gave a pill to an addict or alcoholic you would have no opportunity to "teach proper living" or "save their soul".

Another important factor is that promoting Naltrexone would reduce the percentage of clients at Salvation Army Clitheroe who are insured. Although the Salvation Army gets millions of dollars in grants for Clitheroe, they supplement that by charging insured clients for treatment. If Naltrexone were encouraged, most of the people who would use it would be those who have insurance. The result would be an increase in the number of uninsured people in conventional rehab.