Examiner.com – May 22, 2014
By Harold Mandel
It is hard to understand why drugs which have been found to consistently cause far more harm than good are still being prescribed daily by psychiatrists. This problem becomes even more critical when considering children due to the extremely sensitive nature of their developing brains. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) says a report of 10,000 toddlers on ADHD drugs is just the tip of the iceberg reported PR Web on May 21, 2014.
The CCHR claims a new report which has been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 10,000 toddlers being prescribed ADHD drugs is simply the tip of the iceberg in regard to kids being prescribed psychiatric drugs in the U.S. According to data which has been provided by IMS Health, the world’s leading health information and analytics company, hundreds of thousands of kids are being prescribed psychiatric drugs which are far more powerful than just ADHD drugs. Most alarming of all has been the finding that more than 274,000 0-1 year olds are being prescribed psychiatric drugs.
It becomes of even greater concern to note that a diagnosis which is needed in order to have the psychiatric drugs prescribed is totally subjective in nature. There is not even one medical test in existence which can support or validate even one psychiatric diagnosis. An activist psychiatrist, Allen Frances, a former DSM-IV Task Force Chairman, has said “There is no definition of mental disorder. It’s bull…. I mean you just can’t define it.” As with the other psychiatric diagnoses there is no independent, valid test for ADHD. In fact there is actually no data to indicate ADHD and the other psychiatric diagnoses are actually due to a brain malfunction.
The psychiatric drugs used to treat ADHD are referred to as “kiddie cocaine”. Ritalin (methylphenidate) Adderall (amphetamine) and Concerta, are all listed by the federal government as Schedule II drugs, which is the most addictive. Furthermore, ADHD drugs also have serious side effects including agitation, aggressive or hostile behavior, mania, seizures, hallucinations, and even sudden death. As for the antipsychotics, antianxiety drugs and antidepressants, the FDA and international drug regulatory agencies have noted serious side effects which include, but are not limited to, mania, psychosis, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and even sudden death.
John F. Kennedy once stated,”Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” And yet the crippling and killing of our children is taking place daily in the name of so-called mental health care by our nation’s own psychiatrists. It is noteworthy that the FDA continues to highlight the extremely hazardous side effects of the psychiatric drugs. However, some hard questions must be raised about why the FDA cleared these drugs for clinical use in the first place and why they are still being used.
Watch CCHR’s video: The Drugging of Our Children—0 to 5 Year Olds
The CCHR is continuing to stand in the forefront of initiatives to expose mental health care human rights abuses.
The CCHR has been fighting hard to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health. These rights include among others a consideration of full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks which are associated with psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives and the right to refuse any treatment which is considered harmful.
The late Dr. Thomas Szasz, a world famous psychiatrist who grew disgusted with abuses inherent in his own discipline co-founded the CCHR in 1969 with the Church of Scientology. It’s time to join the CCHR in the struggle to protect the human rights of people who are under siege from psychiatry.