It's the latest
thing. Psychiatrists are now giving children in poor neighborhoods
Adderall, a dangerous stimulant, by making false diagnoses of ADHD,
or no diagnoses at all. Their aim? To "promote social justice," to
improve academic performance in school.
The rationale is,
the drugged kids will now be able to compete with children from
wealthier families who attend better schools.
Leading the way is
Dr.
Michael
Anderson, a
pediatrician in the Atlanta area. Incredibly, Anderson told the New
York Times his diagnoses of ADHD are "made up," "an excuse" to hand
out the drugs.
"We've decided
as a society that it's too expensive to modify the kid's
environment. So we have to modify the kid," Anderson said.
A researcher at
Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Ramesh Raghavan, goes
even further with this chilling comment:
"We are
effectively forcing local community psychiatrists to use the
only tool at their disposal [to 'level the playing field' in
low-income neighborhoods], which is psychotropic medicine."
So pressure is
being brought to bear on psychiatrists to launch a heinous behavior
modification program, using drugs, against children in inner cities.
It's important to
realize that all psychotropic stimulants, like Adderal and Ritalin,
can cause aggressive behavior, violent behavior.
What we're seeing
here is a direct parallel to the old CIA program, exposed by the
late journalist, Gary Webb, who detailed the importing of crack
cocaine (another kind of stimulant) into South Central Los Angeles,
which went a long way toward destroying that community.
Deploying the ADHD
drugs creates symptoms which may then be treated with compounds like
Risperdal, a powerful anti-psychotic, which can cause motor brain
damage.
All this, in
service of "social justice" for the poor.
And what about the
claim that ADHD drugs can enhance school performance? The following
pronouncement makes a number of things clear.
The 1994 Textbook
of Psychiatry, published by the American Psychiatric Press, contains
this review (Popper and Steingard):
"Stimulants
[given for ADHD] do not produce lasting improvements in
aggressivity, conduct disorder, criminality, education
achievement, job functioning, marital relationships, or
long-term adjustment."
So the whole basis
for this "social justice" program in low-income communities - that
the ADHD drugs will improve school performance of kids and "level
the playing field," so they can compete academically with children
from wealthier families - this whole program is based on a lie to
begin with.
Meddling with the
brains of children via these chemicals constitutes criminal assault,
and it's time it was recognized for what it is.
In 1986, The
International Journal of the Addictions published a most important
literature review by Richard Scarnati.
It was called "An
Outline of Hazardous Side Effects of Ritalin (Methylphenidate)".
Adderall and other
ADHD medications are all in the same basic class; they are
stimulants, amphetamine-type substances. Scarnati listed a large
number of adverse affects of Ritalin and cited published journal
articles which reported each of these symptoms.
For every one of
the following (selected and quoted verbatim) Ritalin effects, there
is at least one confirming source in the medical literature:
-
Paranoid
delusions
-
Paranoid
psychosis
-
Hypomanic
and manic symptoms, amphetamine-like psychosis
-
Activation
of psychotic symptoms
-
Toxic
psychosis
-
Visual
hallucinations
-
Auditory
hallucinations
-
Can surpass
LSD in producing bizarre experiences
-
Effects
pathological thought processes
-
Extreme
withdrawal
-
Terrified
affect
-
Started
screaming
-
Aggressiveness
-
Insomnia
-
Since
Ritalin is considered an amphetamine-type drug, expect
amphetamine-like effects
-
Psychic
dependence
-
High-abuse
potential DEA Schedule II Drug
-
Decreased
REM sleep
-
When used
with antidepressants one may see dangerous reactions
including hypertension, seizures and hypothermia
-
Convulsions
-
Brain
damage may be seen with amphetamine abuse.
In what sense are
the ADHD drugs "social justice?"
The reality is,
they are chemical warfare. Licensed predators are preying on the
poor.
