Posted on 04/27/2007 3:49:41 PM PDT by neverdem
THE SENSELESS murder of almost three dozen students at Virginia Tech is a profound tragedy. Yet, already some pundits are jumping on that bandwagon which often emerges in the wake of a human tragedy in modern America -- responsibility avoidance. Yes, the blame-shifting has already begun. Barely had Seung-Hui Cho completed his carnage by taking his own wretched life, than those seeking to divert focus from the tortured mind of a mentally deranged young man were declaring that responsibility for the carnage lay not with the individual who perpetrated it, but rather with the system that gave him the tools by which he chose to carry out his deeds.
In fact, responsibility diversion is seen not only in efforts by gun-control advocates to find more fault with the instrumentality of a crime than with the perpetrator. Prosecutors across the country, from California to New York, are dealing with a burgeoning number of cases in which a phalanx of trial lawyers, "victims" and talk show hosts are attempting to excuse criminal and other bizarre behavior, based on theories that certain prescription sleep-aid drugs caused their behavior and should therefore excuse their actions. This trend threatens to usher in a new era of responsibility evasion, with ramifications beyond the cases themselves.
While the methods employed by trial lawyers through which this latest defense theory is raised are many, the primary vehicle of choice appears to be the popular sleep medication, Ambien; largely, no doubt, as a result of the market share enjoyed by this drug. More than a dozen prescription medications fall into the same class of sleep disorder drugs as Ambien, and together they account for some 44 million prescriptions written last year.
Although products in this category of sleep-disorder drugs have been on the market for years, it is the...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
First Patches Kennedy, and now Seung-Hui Cho. Damn pharmaceutical companies.
I must admit that my brief experience with Ambien was a negative one. I don’t remember if I raped any black strippers at all.
It says right on the bottle: Side effects include “raping strippers, mass murder, driving up the steps of the U.S. Capitol...”
Ambien is a hypnotic agent which carries many risks and side-effects. This is something which only you and your physician can decide if it the need for it outweighs the risks. Personally, I opt for a nice bath and a Benadryl 50mg in my very rare moments of insomnia.
The other newer hypnotic sleep drugs, Sonata and Lunesta, theoretically carry the same weird-behavior-while-sleeping risk as Ambien, but in practice have rarely if ever been shown to have this effect. It’s something about Ambien in particular. I don’t know why doctors aren’t just switching people to the others.
[::ominously::]... or DID you -- ?!?
[Cue SCREAMS][Heavy ORGAN MUSIC]
;)
I tried it once. The warnings on the bottle made it sound like I’d fall fast asleep as soon as I took it. Took it at nine at night and finally dozed off after midnight. Tossed it after that.
I use Ambien two to three times a week, but I basically split the pill into three parts and take a third. I recognize you can certainly get addicted to those things, and I think psychological addiction is more likely than physical addiction. It is the only thing that really helps me sleep through the night, and I admit that if I could take it every night, I probably would.
I have always had fairly vivid and involved dreams, so when I take Ambien, I get a night of nearly black sleep with no dreams that I remember. I actually like the dreams, so I hold off on the Ambien.
Just affects different people different ways, I guess.
LOL!
I have taken Ambien and the only side effect I have noticed is that I sometimes make posts to Free Republic that I don’t remember making.
If I get ZOTTED in my sleep, could I use the “Ambien defense” with the Admin mods?
My company is one of those which launched our generic Zolpidem on Monday.
We actually talked about the lawsuit potential in a meeting today.
If so, Ambien and an SSRI would certainly cause some crazy hallucinations and other problems.....
((Prolonged (as short as 60 days)usage of Ambien can cause waking hallucincations.....I have witnessed them several times with our patients.))
How can you stand that long flight to Johannesburg? Oh, I just took an Ambien just before takeoff. Shudder.
It's a good med with real side effects--I know it's done a lot of folks a lot of good. But there's a reason that it is a controlled (or, rather, semi-controlled) substance.
Is that going to be your excuse for that impassioned, 20,000+ word "I Want to Bear Sanjaya's Mutant Love Child" polemic, the other night...? ;)
Been using Ambien for years (one or two nights a week), no side affects.
Tried Lunesta once my wife found me up roaming all around the house (I dont remember a thing), that ended that experiment.
Rozerem didnt do a thing for me, so Im back with Ambien. Usually takes about an hour for it to kick in. Glad there is now a generic version available might make it a little cheaper.
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