Free Republic

Here we go again. A horrific mass shooting occurs. Everyone is in shock and grief. Democrats blame guns and Republicans. Pundits urge the public, “If you see something, say something.” And everyone asks, “Why?” As information about the perpetrator emerges, a relative confides to a newspaper that the “troubled youth” who committed the mass murder was on psychiatric medications – you know, those powerful, little understood, mind-altering drugs with fearsome side effects including “suicidal ideation” and even “homicidal ideation.” Yet the predictable response from the press is always the same – not only a total lack of curiosity, but disdain...

I am noticing folks posting their theories now on "the guy". Here is my theory. I guess I am obliged to give obligatory “I don’t know, but here’s my guess” yadda. Ok, I don’t know, but here’s my guess. This guy’s father was a notorious freak on the FBI Most Wanted list and his dad’s face appeared on such FBI postings in Post Offices when I was a teen, in fact I seem to recall his face along with the various other such posting including the Zodiac. This father of the freak was declared a freak, a certified psychopath, by...

On Monday, Merck CEO Ken Frazier, announced he was leaving The American Manufacturing Council. Referring to the horrible events in Charlottesville where a 20-year-old who suffers from schizophrenia and -- according to his high school teacher -- became obsessed with German military history and Nazism, drove through a crowd of protesters killing one and injuring 19, stated: "America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal." What a strange non sequitur. It is obvious that Mr. Frazier's intent was...

<p>The number of retirement-age Americans taking at least three psychiatric drugs more than doubled between 2004 and 2013, even though almost half of them had no mental health diagnosis on record, researchers reported on Monday.</p> <p>The new analysis, based on data from doctors’ office visits, suggests that inappropriate prescribing to older people is more common than previously thought. Office visits are a close, if not exact, estimate of underlying patient numbers. The paper appears in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.</p>

A new punitive general order concerning the use of uncontrolled or un-regulated psychotropic substances by servicemembers has been disseminated by Commander Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC). According to the order, the substances known as Spice and Salvia Divinorum are hereby prohibited to all servicemembers assigned within the MARFORPAC chain of command.

On her popular blog, Arianna Huffington stopped just short of blaming antidepressant medications for Cho Seung-Hui's lethal rampage... ...The analysis found that the risks of these medicines are much lower -- by a factor of two or more -- than the FDA previously thought. It had concluded from a previous study that young people had a 2% risk of having aberrant thoughts if they took antidepressants. The rate is only 0.7%. Further, the study found that these drugs are effective in treating depression and other mental illnesses found in children and teens. The new study, by the way, was undertaken...

The Oddest Couple and Their Hidden Agendas Joan Swirsky Friday, Aug. 13, 2004 The average lifespan for American men is around 74 years, and around 80 for women. So you would think that people like John Kerry and his wife, who have both been on this earth for over 60 years, would have gotten their acts together enough to convey some sense of internal coherence, personae that have at least a smidgen of authenticity. I don’t get either coherence or authenticity from John Kerry or Teresa Heinz Kerry, whether they’re together or apart. What I do get is a hidden...

Dec. 8, 2003 -- Ritalin use in preteen children may lead to depression later in life, studies of rats suggest. It's an open question whether what passes for depression in lab rats has anything to do with depression in humans. But early use of Ritalin and other stimulant drugs seems to permanently alter animals' brains. That raises concerns that the same thing might be happening in children who take these drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The findings come from a research team led by William A. Carlezon Jr., PhD, director of the behavioral genetics laboratory at McLean Hospital...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House voted Wednesday to prohibit schools from making children with behavioral or mental problems take medication in order to attend class. Under the bill, passed 425-1, states receiving federal education money must make sure schools do not coerce parents into medicating their children. "School personnel may have good intentions, but parents should never be required to decide between their child's education and keeping them off potentially harmful drugs," said Rep. Max Burns, R-Ga., who sponsored the legislation. In recent decades, more children have been diagnosed with attention deficit or hyperactivity disorders and prescribed drugs such as...