clear out drugs, stating that "No matter how much a patient were made to sweat, it could not significantly increase his clearing of most drugs." After reviewing materials published by Narconon, University of Oklahoma biochemistry professor Bruce Roe described the program as "a scam" based on "half-truths and pseudo-science." In a 1988 report, Dr. Ronald E. Gots, a toxicology expert from Bethesda, Maryland, called the regimen "quackery", and noted that "no recognized body of toxicologists, no department of occupational medicine, nor any governmental agencies endorse or recommend such treatment." In 1991, the Board of Mental Health in Oklahoma refused to certify the program for use in a Narconon facility on the grounds of potential danger from its high vitamin and mineral doses. A report on Narconon for the Department of Health in California described the mega-doses of vitamins as "hazardous" and "in some cases lethal". Prof. Michael Ryan, a pharmacologist at University College Dublin, testified in a 2003 court case that the program is scientifically unverified and medically unsafe. Those who market the program insist that it has been proven safe and effective. The marketing materials present testimonials for the Rundown's effectiveness. Some doctors who have observed the treatment have been impressed by the testimonials but asked for evidence that improvements are caused by the program itself rather than suggestion, delusion or the placebo effect. In 2007, psychopharmacology expert John Brick said of his visit to a Manhattan clinic, "Whether it's from some mysterious combination of vitamins or just good diet and exercise, I can't say. But the bottom line is that it helped the patients I talked to." He emphasized the importance of independently verifying the validity of the program, conceding that no causal relationship between the results and the program had been demonstrated. In a 1999 French court case, five staff members of the Church of Scientology were convicted of fraud for selling the program and other Scientology procedures. In Russia, the program has been banned by officials as a threat to public health. Adoption by public bodies The City Council of Shreveport, Louisiana approved 20 firefighters to take the program via HealthMed in the late 1980s. The city's insurers commissioned an evaluation from toxicologist Ronald E. Gots, who dismissed the program as "quackery", saying it "served no rational medical function." As a consequence, Shreveport ended its support. In 1994, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets covered costs