Contents

Freedom Exposé

Medicalizing Addiction

The treatment of addiction with pharmaceutical drugs contributes to a new wave of human misery, as told in our cover story. In illustration of the dangers, here, Logan Keck of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, holds her daughter, born February 1, 2017. Keck, initially addicted to heroin, was on methadone for two years when she learned she was pregnant. Keck’s baby was born addicted to the drug and had to be treated with morphine to help her through withdrawal.

Investigation

Medicalizing Addiction

Scientology News

A Landmark Reborn

Culture

Writers of the Future

Humanitarian Aid

Haiti the Years After

Contents

Editorial

Addicted to Addiction

In the throes of the nation’s most widespread and deadly drug epidemic in history, some cannot abstain from the opportunity for profit.

At a Glance

News Briefs

City sues maker of OxyContin; warming trend toward religion in America; seeking refuge in Uganda; human rights crisis in Myanmar; education, health and more …

Cover Story

Medicalizing Addiction

The push to brand substance abuse as a brain disease—and medicalize treatment with pharmaceuticals—is fraught with opportunism and conflicts of interest at the expense of human need.

Saving Lives

Narconon drug rehabilitation program stands for hope, help and new life in disparate communities plagued with addiction across the globe.

Media & Ethics

Drowning in a Sea of Misdirection

Here at Freedom, we don’t do politics. There are sources aplenty for everyone to get their own political fixes.

Scientology News

A Landmark Reborn

A place of enlightenment and spiritual knowledge lives on in Auckland, New Zealand, as the new home of the National Church of Scientology.

Scientology News

Valley of Dreams

In Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, a new Church of Scientology—the religion’s largest local church in North America—builds on visions of transforming America’s quintessential suburb.

Culture

Writers of the Future

The rising stars of the science fiction and fantasy genre from around the globe gather in Los Angeles for the 33rd annual celebration of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest.

Culture

A Ghost of a Chance

In a contest dominated by otherworldly fiction, truck dispatcher Jake Marley takes home the Golden Pen Award with a supernatural ghost story.

Profile

A Talk with Mike Resnick

Freedom interviews Mike Resnick, acclaimed author and Writers of the Future judge who “pays it forward” through the only contest of its kind in the world.

Into the Field

Haiti the Years After

Volunteer Ministers trained in the wake of two of the island nation’s worst disasters now serve as a permanent force for response and help in times of need.

Venezuelan Police Officer Saves Lives

Cutting crime on Venezuela’s Margarita Island.

Fundamentals in Pakistan

Human rights education in Pakistan.

Protecting Freedoms

Protecting freedoms in Kazakhstan.

Dateline: 1996

Fostering Vital Discussion

In 1996, Freedom asked the U.S. presidential candidates to present their views on what can be done about the drug problem, to foster vital discussion.

L. Ron Hubbard essay

Clear Body, Clear Mind

This article, excerpted from L. Ron Hubbard’s book Clear Body, Clear Mind, announced the release of a revolutionary breakthrough in the battle against the physical and spiritual effects of drugs and other toxins.

Basic Principle

What is Communication?

How does one talk so that another person listens and understands? How does one listen? How does one know if he has been heard and understood?