Posted on 09/18/2005 8:43:09 PM PDT by Love_For_Freedom
The number of children being prescribed drugs for so-called behavioural disorders has soared to a record high, causing alarm that children are being unnecessarily "drugged into submission".
Prescriptions of Methylphenidate - most commonly sold as Ritalin - rose to 359,100 last year, a rise of 344,400 since 1995. Figures from the Prescriptions Pricing Authority reveal that there has been a 180-fold increase in prescriptions since 1991 when only 2,000 were issued in England.
The growing use of Ritalin - an amphetamine-based stimulant which improves concentration and is nicknamed the "chemical cosh" because of its calming effects - has alarmed critics. It is almost entirely prescribed to children under 16 in this country. Controversially, it has been estimated that one in 20 children suffers behavioural disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, for which Ritalin is prescribed.
But critics of the drug say that doctors give it to children who are merely displaying normal emotional changes experienced during childhood. Campaigners believe that the increasing use of Ritalin follows the trend in America where it has been prescribed to children as young as 15 months.
Last night, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organisation that campaigns against psychiatric violations of human rights, condemned the increasing prescription of drugs for children. "Too many psychiatrists are being irresponsible in prescribing mood-altering drugs which are pharmacologically similar to cocaine, and then claiming they have 'cured' children of their 'condition'," said a spokesman.
"Some children may be a little boisterous but psychiatry's fixation on labelling such difficulties and prescribing medication is nothing more than pseudo science. Children are being drugged into submission."
Prescription instead of parenting.
Too late for millions of brain damaged American boys. Condemned solely for being a male adolecent.
Soon we will hang all those so-called doctors who prescribed that poison. Lobotomy by prescription brought ot you by your neighborhood psychiatrist/psychologist - the modern version of Witch-Doctors!
Bingo! It's sickening, isn't it?
I've read that the military does not want recruits who have been on Ritalin.
Is this true? If so, it would explain the push by the NEA for more drugs in school kiddies.
Drugs = Big money... I get the feeling that a lot of parents have lost control of their home. The kids eat sugary foods all day, sit and play with game-boys and watch TV for hours on end and then act up because of this chemical imbalance and lack of exercise. Just put them on the farm, feed them wholesome foods and have them do chores. That would cure a lot of this ADHD.
Is is just MY experience, but are most of the boys who are prescribed Ritalin from Fatherless homes?
Looks like some parents are raising a bunch of future Frenchman.
I believe it has more to do with the homes lacking discipline.. Which surely would include one-parent kids.
Who knows what effect all these drugs kids are being pumped with is going to have on their development as adults. You can't mess with body chemistry like that and not expect problems. I'm not talking about ordinary OTC stuff for colds and the like but this is different. All for the want of a docile, complacent class. Reminds me of Brave New World.
When I was growing up, they didn't have Ritalin. My father actually cured our "attention deficit" with a leather belt. He was always able to get our attention. Although he's been gone for a long time, I still love him for it.
Your link goes to a chat site, not to the Telegraph.
Why?
And the real alarm is that about 85% of the children who are prescribed this drug are boys. Wow, are we surprised at that reality? There has been a war against boys in the public education for the last 40 years.
You've got it exactly. Now you can add psychoactive drugs to the list along with trash for food, mind numbing video games, psychologically damaging television shows, and total lack of physical activity. You have to wonder how the food, drug, and entertainment industry people can sleep at night knowing their profits come from the engineered destruction of an entire generation of children.
YOu have to be free of any prescribed drugs like this one for a whole year before you can go into the military.
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