Establishment "Educators" Push Drugs On Disruptive, Fussy
Children!/Reading, Writing and Ritalin!
For a variety of reason, including boredom, schoolchildren sometimes
don't pay attention the way the teacher would prefer. In times past,
the answer has been a suggestion from the teacher to "pay attention," or
perhaps a slap on the wrist with the ever-present ruler. That was then.
This is now. Today's answer to fussy children. DRUG THEM!! It is a
well-established fact that often the most fussy children are often the
most intelligent. They get bored in a class geared to the less
intelligent. But we can't have some children singled out as being more
intelligent. So, in a Machiavellian move to prevent excellence from
being rewarded and encouraged, the government along with the blessing of
the Medical Establishment -have decided that fussy children have a
mental problem.
But not to worry, they have an answer--it's drugs. Dope those kids
to the point that they'll sit there in class like good little zombies,
never educationally outdistancing their lesser endowed classmates! But
first the parents must be convinced that their children aren't fussy;
they're fruit cakes. "Don't worry, parents," says the psychiatrist,
"We can fix that." And if you don't believe them, the pharmaceutical
companies have jumped on the bandwagon.
A concerned parent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was visiting her
local bank where she found a stack of pamphlets available for customers
as a "public service." The name of this pamphlet is "Reading, Writing
and RITALIN." Ritalin is a stimulant used to ""stabilize" fussy
children First, "fussy children" isn't scientific enough. No good
parent is going to agree to have his child drugged (in good conscious)
because he or she is "fussy." So the American Psychiatric Association
has come up with a new "spin-drome," that's called "Attention Deficit
Disorder" or ADD, and its associate "disease" Attention Deficit Disorder
with Hyperactivity or ADHA. Parents are told that their children are
"sick." But again, don't worry, there's a solution: You guessed it,
drugs!
Here's what the "helpful community service" pamphlet says:
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) affects approximately 2 million
school-age children. No one knows for certain what causes ADD.
Evidence suggests, however, that a chemical imbalance or deficiencies in
certain neurotransmitters may be the root of the problem. To identify
ADD a clinical judgment and an objective assessment is needed. ADD is a
learning disability, and in approximately 25 percent of the cases other
impairments exist, therefore a psycoeducational assessment is needed
including the evaluation of: reasoning skills, use of language,
perception, attention, memory, visual motor functioning, academic
achievement and social skills to establish a pattern. Again, don't
worry. It isn't your child's fault he or she is fussy. It's a chemical
imbalance or a problem with neurotransmitters in the brains. That's a
relief. Get out the DRUGS! The situation has progressed to the point
that a teacher reports a "fussy" student to higher authority and the
parents are informed that the child should (must) get tested for ADD.
If you disagree that drugging your fussy child is wrong, even after
a member in good standing of the APA decides it's the right course of
action, prepare for a visit from the child welfare juggernaut. And what
is this Ritalin that "everyone" says is so good for your fussy child?
Dennis Clarke of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights paints a very
grim picture of Ritalin. According to Clarke, in 1989, Ritalin was "the
number one street drug in Canada." He identified it as a "speed-type"
drug. "Your talking about a chemical that is manufactured by
CIBA-GEIGY, one of the biggest drug company in the world, which has a
vested interest to encourage doctors to give ritalin to hyperactive
children."
Continuing, Mr. Clarke says, "This drug, when given to a child who
has not yet entered puberty, has what is called a paradoxical effect.
It has a reverse effect to what it would have on you or I as adults.
Whenever you give speed to a child, it has the effect of being a downer.
Let's take an example: Quaalude, a heavy psychiatric downer, was taken
off the market by Congress in 1984. If that drug whas given to a child
it would act as a very potent type of speed. The child would become
wildly hyperactive, the pulse would increase and the child would be in
serious trouble. Now, on the other hand, when you give speed to a child
who has not yet entered puberty, for reasons we don't fully understand,
it apparently overwhelms the child's central nervous system, cutting the
motors, making it difficult for the child to move and to communicate.
CIBA-GEIGY warns that this drug can cause epilepsy in children as well
as adults. It can cause epileptic seizures where there is no history
of it."
Here's what the APA says about the drug: "Poor administration or
incorrect dosage of Ritalin can lead to some of the following side
effects: 'Zombie-like' behavior, growth suppression, behavior or thought
disorder, seizures, headaches, blurred vision, scalp hair loss,
Tourette's syndrome-including tics, barking like a dog and babbling
profanities (sounds like Republicans!) It can also result in drug
dependence and an inclination for criminality." That what the APA says
about the drug they want to give to your child because he or she is
"fussy" in school or loses things like pencils or homework assignments.
Did you ever lose a homework assignment? Do you think you were "sick"
and in need of a mind-numbing drug to "fix" things" As usual a major
pharmaceutical company is making profits of misery and destroyed lives
of others. The Wall Street Journal would probably delight in
encouraging investors to make a (pun intended) killing in the misery and
suffering of children!
1996 Updates - Ritalin Causes Cancer!
Government scientists have uncovered a sign that the widely used
children's drug Ritalin may cause cancer in mice. But in their infinite
wisdom, the FDA decided that it's no big deal and this medicine should
be prescribed to children anyway.
"We felt physicians and parents should know this and have a right
to know this (that ritalin causes cancer)," gushes Dr. Murray Lumpkin,
the Food and Drug Administration's deputy drug director. Thank you, Mr.
Lumpkin. When will you decide that the public has a "have a right to
know" that Ritalin causes cancer in humans. In twenty years or fifty
years, or ever?
Ritalin is widely prescribed to treat the spindrome called Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, a neurological condition that
affects 2.5 million children. It is more common in boys than girls and
sometimes persists to adulthood.
Ritalin is the brand name of the brain stimulant methylphenidate.
About 6 millions prescriptions for the generic and brand name versions
were filled in 1993, the latest data available.
Mice were fed doses of methylphenidate for two years. Four of the
male mice who got the highest doses developed cancerous liver tumors,
called hepatoblastomas, when statistically no more than one of the
extremely rare tumors should have formed, the study found. The
laboratory mice also had somewhat elevated levels of a non-cancerous
liver tumor called hepatocellular adenoma.
The drug manufacturer, Ciba Geigy Corp. mailed letters in January,
1996 to 100,000 doctors who prescribe methylphenidate. Needless to say,
Ciba Geigy downplayed the cancer risk to protect their bottom line. A
scientist was quoted off the record as stating, "Ciba Geigys history of
distributing hazardous medicine is terrible. They would do anything
and have done anything to protect their profits, including promoting
well-known toxic drugs to adults and children." Again, Established
Medicine have shown that ethics takes a poor back seat to profits."