Pharmaceutical companies are before anything else a corporation. A corporation is there to make a profit, to increase its annual revenues and please its shareholders. However, to improve the company’s efficiency and prosperity, additional medication and medical supplies have to be sold. Several different types of advertisements are aired on national and international television stations boasting the “miraculous” properties of medications. It’s a fact: pills don’t cure anything; the most they can do is attenuate the symptoms. The same goes for other types of medications. The body’s immune system and defence mechanism is the one actually battling against the disease.
So why do we take pills again? It’s quite simple. Doctors prescribe them, pharmacists deliver the merchandise, the customers purchase the product, and the pharmaceutical companies make a profit. It’s a running industry that has been prospering for decades now. Nevertheless, is the population’s best interest still their first priority?
Ritalin, a popular medication prescribed for kids diagnosed with ADHD, is an extremely addictive drug belonging to the amphetamine family. So what exactly is ADHD? (4)Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behaviour and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD. ADHD itself reflects many of the normal behaviours of children: their joy of life, their curiosity for the world around them and their continuous excitement for new activities. The majority of children diagnosed with ADHD are prescribed drugs to treat this so called disease, and will “calm” the child, hence enabling him/her to concentrate on the tasks asked of him/her. Yet, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to drug today’s youth, the numbers rising up to 17 million children worldwide, for a “disease” which could be “treated” with other healthy methods. The drugs don’t cure anything; they are only a temporary solution that may ultimately cause long-term damage.
(4)When a child's schoolwork and behaviour improve soon after starting medication, the child, parents, and teachers tend to applaud the drug for causing the sudden changes. Unfortunately, when people see such immediate improvement, they often think medication is all that's needed. But medications don't cure ADHD; they only control the symptoms on the day they are taken.
How is it that a society constantly claiming to “wage war on drugs” lets such a drug get prescribed? Has the government overlooked the dangerous effects, or is it simply denying the scientific evidence? The simple fact that this drug is highly addictive, dangerous and sometimes fatal, should be worrisome. (5)In the U.S. alone, approximately 4 million children are currently on the psychiatric drug Ritalin, a drug which the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) places in the same category (a schedule II drug) as opium, morphine and cocaine. Imagine the dangerous consequences Ritalin could have on a developing child’s body and brain. Parents having their child’s best interests at heart should immediately obtain additional information on the topic, and seriously consider another alternative for the treatment of ADHD. Drugs are not a solution.
Yet psychiatrists have this unconditional power to prescribe “off-label” drugs (drugs for which no scientific study of the drug has been conducted and whether or not it is safe or beneficial). These drugs pose a serious threat, particularly since they haven’t been completely tested for dangerous side effects or possible long-term effects. However, psychiatrists still have the right to prescribe them, which is downright unacceptable.
Numerous diagnosed mental illnesses are getting treated by other types of highly addictive and “off-label” drugs. The lives of millions of individuals are threatened due to the carelessness of the drug being administered. Does anyone have the right to take this type of risk with a life, especially if this individual is affected by a mental illness? Well, psychiatrists do so everyday without any opposition. They are supported by the government and unsurprisingly enough, by the pharmaceutical industry.
Nevertheless, those toxic psychiatric drugs have particularly deadly side effects, and not only for the person using them. All around us, we see increased violence and assaults. Simply by looking at the daily news broadcast, we sit stunned by the violent acts and cruel sardonic murders, which recently occurred. We blame it on the abundance of guns and weapons, the color of skin, the age of the victim, or whatnot, but in many cases, we are far from the truth.
Many culprits of senseless acts of violence have reported using a mind-altering drug (a psychiatric drug in many cases), before committing their crime. These drugs change their perceptions of reality, and push them to commit random acts of violence, many being fatal. (6)On May 25, 1997 18-year-old Jeremy Strohmeyer raped and murdered a 7-year-old African American girl in Las Vegas, Nevada. Strohmeyer had been diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Dexedrine, a Ritalin-like drug, immediately prior to the killing. On October 1, 1997, in Pearl Mississippi, 16-year-old Luke Woodham stabbed his mother, 50-year-old Mary Woodham, to death and then went to his high school where he shot nine people, killing two teenage girls and wounding seven others. Published reports say he was on Prozac. Similar acts of violence are reported worldwide, and many report that the perpetrator had taken some type psychiatric drugs prior to the crime committed.
Knowing this is disconcerting, since a perfectly ordinary neighbour, friend and/or family member who suddenly gets diagnosed with some type of mental illness, may ultimately pose a threat to our lives. (6)According to national news reports in January 1999, ten days after Ryan Ehlis, a college student in Bismark, North Dakota, began taking Adderall to control his attention deficit disorder and to help him with his college studies, he slipped into a psychotic fog and killed his infant daughter. He said God told him to do it. The courts found him innocent after testimony by a psychiatrist and by the manufacturer of the drug that the "psychotic state" was a very rare side effect of Adderall use. Even the psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies recognize that the drugs they so freely prescribe to millions may give suicidal, criminal and homicidal tendencies.
Dangerous psychiatric drugs administered include:
-Anafanil
-Asendin
-Celexa
-Desyrel
-Effexor
-Elavil
-Haldol
-Lithium
-Luvox
-Nardil
-Parnate
-Paxil
-Prozac
-Remeron
-Ritalin
-Serzone
-Tofranil
-Trazodone
-Wellbutrin
-Zoloft
After years, months, or days under medication, the user may develop a drug addiction. But the individual isn’t to blame, for he has simply trusted the psychiatrist to adequately analyze his needs, and would thereafter develop an adequate treatment for him. So, this medical professional has somewhat faltered in his task to aid this individual, for he now is oppressed with a drug addiction, which will undoubtedly require additional treatment.
It is shameful to abuse of someone’s faith and complete trust, and so easily help damage the lives of so many. That’s where education and life experience comes into play. Very few are adequately informed on prescription drugs, their effects, and how they can significantly decrease your lifespan. You can make a difference by refusing to consult psychiatrists, spreading the knowledge you have acquired on psychiatric drugs, and helping those afflicted with a drug addiction.
Narconon is a drug rehabilitation and treatment center with a unique approach. Its 100% natural biophysical drug addiction program doesn’t use any drug substitutes. Narconon’s unique program has been proven by scientists worldwide to be effective. Contrarily to other drug rehabilitation centers, Narconon is a non-profit organization working towards a drug-free society. Drugs don’t cure drugs. Drugs don’t cure a disease. Drugs are only a risky and temporary solution to a problem.
References:
(1)Dr. Mark Barber, “The Myth of Attention Deficit Disorder,” Freedom Magazine, Vol. 29, Issue 1, Internet website, http://www.sntp.net/ritalin/ritalin_myth.html (accessed 27th March, 2006).
(2)“Psychiatry and the Creation of Senseless Violence,” Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Internet website, http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/9409/7749 (accessed 27th March, 2006).
(3)Lawrence Stevens, J.D., “Psychiatric Drugs: Cure or Quackery?” Internet website,
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/drugs.htm (accessed April 1st, 2006).
(4)“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” National Institute of Mental Health, Internet website, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm, Updated 17/02/2006, (accessed March 28th, 2006).
(5)Lora Mengucci, “The Creation of Senseless Violence, Psychiatric Drugs, and Kids Who Kill,” Internet website, http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/Educate/psychiatric_drugs
_kids_who_kill.htm, Updated 14/10/1999 (accessed April 2nd, 2006).
(6)“Violence and Psychiatric Drugs,” National Alliance against Mandated Mental Health Screening & Psychiatric Drugging of Children, Internet website, http://www.ritalindeath.com/Violence-Drugs.htm, (accessed April 1st, 2006).
(7)John Breeding, Ph.D., “10 Reasons to Be Concerned about Psychiatry in Our Schools,” Internet website, http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol36i1/page12.htm, (accessed March 27th, 2006).
