Pound Pup Legacy

School in my new New Jersey town resumes in less than two weeks.  This year, I will have two attending elementary, one attending middle, and one starting high school.

As hub-man was taking the kids back-to-school shopping this week, (he's the keeper of all the money), I was reading an article about schools, kids and drugs.  It sure made me ask the old rhetorical question:  who in this country IS safe these days?

A two-year investigation by the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council found that more than 50 percent of Florida's foster children (including infants and toddlers) were being given mind altering drugs.  Forty-four percent of them had not been seen by a pediatrician, and of those who had, five percent had no diagnosis.  Another 12 percent had a diagnosis of "other," which included hearing impaired, bed-wetting and the dubious, subjective diagnosis of "adjustment disorder."

The Medicating of America
The drugs given the children were designed to treat schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder.  In young growing bodies these drugs can cause heart problems, growth suppression, psychosis, and decreased blood flow to the brain.  A common side effect is tics or shakes.  For more on this horror, read the chapter on Tardive Dyskinesia in my book, All Your Health Questions Answered Naturally.
 
It is estimated that today more than six percent of American children are taking some kind of psychiatric medication.  Not surprisingly, among teenagers this number is even higher.
    
A 2006 Brandeis University study found that over a seven-year period (1991-2004), psychotropic drug prescriptions for teens increased by 250 percent.  The study revealed that in 2001 one in every ten office visits by teenage boys led to a prescription for a psychotropic drug, and a diagnosis of ADHD was given one third of the time.  Also, up to 26 percent of the time when these medications were prescribed, no mental health diagnosis was made.
 
A new phenomena -- school shootings -- may be related to this increased use of psychotropic drugs as many shooters were on psychotropic drugs at the time.
 
According to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a psychiatric watchdog group, eight out of 13 school shootings, such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, were committed by teens on psychiatric drugs.  Mothers on these drugs have killed their children or even cut off the arms of their baby while taking these drugs.
 
Kip Kinkel, a 15-year-old youth who killed his parents and then killed two and wounded 22 of his fellow students at Thurston High School in Oregon, was taking Prozac.
 
Eric Harris, one of the shooters at Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado, was under the influence of Luvox (fluvoxamine), an antidepressant medication.  The potential side effects of Luvox are listed in the manufacturer's warning: "Frequent" adverse effects include "manic reaction" and psychotic reaction."  Symptoms of mania include delusions of grandeur, intense irritability, and rages and delusional thoughts.
 
Fifteen-year-old Shawn Cooper of Notus, Idaho fired a shotgun at students and school staff.  According to his stepfather, he had been taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).
 
Thirteen-year-old Chris Fetters of Iowa killed her favorite aunt.  She was taking Prozac.
 
In 2001, Christopher Pittman killed his grandparents while taking Zoloft, an antidepressant similar to Prozac.
 
Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D., author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora?, has been studying the violent, dark side of SSRIs such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft drugs for over ten years.  When she examined 32 murder/suicides involving women and their children, she found that in 24 of 32 cases an SSRI drug was involved.
 
A report issued by the Drug Enforcement Agency warned that Ritalin, commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, "shares many of the pharmacological effects of . . . cocaine."  Some experts believe Ritalin can cause psychotic reactions resulting in suicide and violent behavior toward others.
 
A particularly sharp rise among children being prescribed psychotropic drugs has been noted after 1999, when the federal government began allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise their drugs directly to consumers.  Between 1996 and 2000, pharmaceutical companies increased their spending on television advertising six fold, to $1.5 billion.
 
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in 2005 that while teen use of cigarettes and illegal drugs are down, the abuse of prescription sedatives or painkillers is up significantly.
http://www.thenhf.com/health_freedom_news_56.htm

Considering how many kids can be blindly following "doctor's orders", I wonder how many parents are aware of the black box warning found on their children's prescription pill box?

For those who need a reminder, this is what the FDA's Black Box looks like to "ensure prescription pill safety":

Suicidality in Children and Adolescents

Antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of [Drug Name] or any other antidepressant in a child or adolescent must balance this risk with the clinical need. Patients who are started on therapy should be observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior. Families and caregivers should be advised of the need for close observation and communication with the prescriber. [Drug Name] is not approved for use in pediatric patients except for patients with [Any approved pediatric claims here]. (See Warnings and Precautions: Pediatric Use)

Pooled analyses of short-term (4 to 16 weeks) placebo-controlled trials of nine antidepressant drugs (SSRIs and others) in children and adolescents with MDD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or other psychiatric disorders (a total of 24 trials involving over 4400 patients) have revealed a greater risk of adverse events representing suicidal thinking or behavior (suicidality) during the first few months of treatment in those receiving antidepressants. The average risk of such events on drug was 4%, twice the placebo risk of 2%. No suicides occurred in these trials.

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/SSRIlabelChange.htm