Dee Woods: Connection between Rx drugs and mass murder?

By Dee Woods

It's something rarely discussed, yet it's out there for all of us to discover. What is the real reason behind shootings at workplaces and schools?

It's easier to make this a political issue than it is to address what may be the shocking truth that prescription pharmaceuticals may be a contributing factor in many of these incidents.

I recently saw the math regarding drugs and reports of violence associated with those drugs. Admitting the possibility that prescription drugs, illicit drugs or even violent movies might play a role doesn't help people's political agendas - so there are few such reports.

Thanks to Dr. Julian Whitaker, the figures are right there. In his February newsletter, Whitaker points to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Adverse Events Reporting System's figures. Between 2004 and 2011, there were 12,755 reports of psychiatric medications related to violence. The statistics show there were 359 homicides, 2,795 episodes of mania and 7,250 incidences of aggression; and let's not forget the 9,310 suicides.

If you think those figures are large, get this tidbit- the FDA acknowledges that fewer than 10 percent of adverse reactions are actually reported to the FDA. So, multiply those figures by 10! This is a list of incidents related only to prescription drugs.

Whitaker writes about a "litany of murder and mayhem" as he relates individual cases where it is certain that both children and adults were on pharmaceuticals at the time they committed murders. He lists case after case compiled by The Citizens Commission on Human Rights that clearly shows the nexus between psychotropic prescription drugs and violence. Even in the case of Columbine there was prescription drug usage by at least one of the young mass murderers.

Science Daily began the warning in 2008, exposing the fact that "American children are about three times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than children in Europe." Science Daily also reported that "a team of researchers from the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands investigated prescription levels in the three countries. Antidepressant and stimulant use was three or more times greater in the U.S. than in the Netherlands and Germany, while antipsychotic prevalence was 1.5 to 2.2 times greater."

One thing certain: drugs that may help adults can do just the opposite when used by children, teenagers and young adults.

Dr. Joseph Mercola writes: "So widely accepted is the practice of drugging our children that state-mandated, forced medication has become a growing trend. In one case, without the presence of a single doctor, a court decided to put a 6-year-old child with mild autism on five powerful antipsychotic drugs, even though none of the drugs had been approved by the FDA for use in children, and despite the mother's adamant wishes not to do so.

"Believe it or not, your child can actually be 'diagnosed' with mental health 'maladies' such as mathematics disorder, caffeine disorder, malingering, telephone scatialogia, and disorder of written expression. And if they can be diagnosed, you can bet that they can also be given a drug to 'fix' the problem."

This is not to say that some children don't absolutely require medication, but why are youths in the United States three times more likely to be prescribed medications than children in Europe?

There are many variables involved in violent crime, but prescription drug use appears to play a role. Attempting to turn this mental health issue into a gun issue for political gain is unconscionable. Don't look to the politicians or BigPharma, research on your own.
