The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports in this article entitled Supplement maker defends product in court that the trial in Health Canada v. Truehope Nutritional Support Ltd. has begun in Alberta provincial court in Calgary. Truehope makes EMPowerplus, a supplement promoted as an alternative treatment for bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.

EMPowerplus has been the subject of significant controversy over the past several years. The trial stems from a search warrant executed by Health Canada at Truehope back in 2003, as described in this press release at Health Canada's website. For Health Canada's complete discussion of the EMPowerplus controversy, including its actions against EMPowerplus, click here.

Apart from Health Canada's concern with the safety and efficacy of the EMPowerplus supplement, the Citizens for Responsible Care and Research (CIRCARE), an organization concerned with clinical trials on human subjects, has taken issue with the manner in which clinical trials of EMPowerplus have been conducted, both in the US and also in Canada.

CIRCARE maintains an extensive archive of EMPowerplus documents on the web here. They have also created an index to these documents here.