Why not Drug control?

There is quite a bit of conversation concerning the mass school shooting in Connecticut.  The pro/con gun people are in heated debate.  The legislators, school officials and psychiatrists are calling for more attention to mental health issues.  No one is talking about drug issues.

I am not talking about street/recreational drugs.  I am talking about psychotropic drugs.  Drugs prescribed for our children by our doctors.  These drugs could be prescribed for anxiety disorders, panic disorders, depression, and ADD/ADHD.   No one is talking about these drugs.

Fact: Despite 22 international drug regulatory warnings on psychiatric drugs citing effects of mania, hostility, violence and even homicidal ideation, and dozens of high-profile shootings/killings tied to psychiatric drug use, there has yet to be a federal investigation on the link between psychiatric drugs and acts of senseless violence.
Fact: At least fourteen recent school shootings were committed by those taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs resulting in 109 wounded and 58 killed (in other school shootings, information about their drug use was never made public—neither confirming or refuting if they were under the influence of prescribed drugs.)
Fact: Between 2004 and 2011, there have been over 11,000 reports to the U.S. FDA’s MedWatch system of psychiatric drug side effects related to violence.  These include 300 cases of homicide, nearly 3,000 cases of mania and over 7,000 cases of aggression.  Note:  By the FDA’s own admission, only 1-10% of side effects are ever reported to the FDA, so the actual number of side effects occurring are most certainly higher.

To see the complete article, click or copy this link into your browser:  http://www.cchrint.org/2012/07/24/the-huffington-post-drug-companies-drive-the-psychiatric-drugging-of-children/

Until next time,

Dr. Polly

http://www.cchrint.org/tag/shooting/