Monday, October 23, 2006

An Editorial Re Teenscreen From Indiana

The Indiana legislature passed a draconian (severe) law requiring screening of all children from birth to 22 years of age for mental health. Now that this has occurred many legislators are on the warpath. It appears that many of them didn't really read the small print and now see the law as an attack on children. The developments are going to be interesting. Is it any coincidence this law was passed in the home state of Eli Lilly, one of the largest Big Pharma drug companies in the world, and the maker of Prozac?

Here is the content of an editorial in the Fort Wayne Daily News:

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Our View

Yet another study warns of risks of behavior drugs

The first long-term government study on Ritalin and its effect on preschoolers shows that preschoolers are more likely than older children to develop side effects.

The soaring number of preschoolers with severe behaviors being given psychiatric drugs prompted the research.

The study in the November edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry said the benefits of low-dose treatment for preschoolers outweigh the risks.

However, about 40 percent of the preschoolers developed side effects such as irritability, weight loss, insomnia and slowed growth.

We believe there needs to be more research to see if there are links between pollutants, diet and troubled home environments and the surge in childhood depression and behavior problems.

Our children deserve to grow up - if at all possible - without the possible side-effects of short-term and long-term psychiatric drug use. A “drugged up” generation is more likely to end up in a lifelong cycle of prescription drug taking.

We need more information about why attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seems to be spiraling and how best to meet children's physical and emotional needs.

That about spells it out, doesn't it?