Monday, February 9, 2015

America and the World is Still Not Talking About Psychotropic Drugs and Violence

About two years ago The Orlando Sentinel, along with WOFL-TV, held a forum to look at the Sandy Hook Massacre.
The attendees were government representatives and law enforcement. The Sheriff indicated at this particular forum that the majority of crimes his deputies prosecuted involve handguns and that the problem is due to criminals and the mentally ill’s access to these guns. The connection between mental illness and guns was barely addressed at this public forum in Orlando and it is rarely addressed across America. This is puzzling as the Sandy Hook mass murderer was clearly mentally ill and on psychotropic drugs. The same with the Colombine killers and a multitude of similar campus shootings. It seems to be evident that today’s jails in America are the largest mental health facilities.
Talking heads on television and politicians across American always talk about gun ownership as being the problem. What is never addressed is the clear connection between psychotropic drugs and gun violence. The issue of mental illness is addressed if a killer has a history of mental illness. The fact that this killer has seen a psychiatrist or has been on psychotropic drugs or some anti-depressants is never raised. Why isn’t the psychiatrist or doctor who prescribed the drugs not slammed? Why arn't pharmaceutical firms on trial? There is a clear connection that psych drugs are the catalyst for violence, guns or other weapons. That is the discussion we should be talking about.
If jails have become the largest mental health facilities in America then why are jails and prisons such a revolving door. Why arn’t the violators cured? Anyone who has lived over two decades can see that convicts commit crimes and remain criminals in prison and if they are released they continue to commit crimes out of prison and then they end up doing more time. If prisons are full of mental health professionals then why do ex-cons still commit crimes? Should we not be looking at the “mental health professionals”? Doesn't anyone see their programs and their science doesn’t work?
Why continue to fund them at the state and county and Federal levels? Psych drugs are not the answer they are the cause!

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