Like most citizens of this great country, the United States of America, I am very concerned about the violent killings we have witnessed over the last few years. Everyone is wringing their hands, trying to figure out what is the cause of this bizarre behavior. Many believe guns are the cause. Many believe violent movies are the cause. Others believe letting our children play violent video games is the root of the problem.
I believe we can all agree, guns in the hands of unstable individuals is a problem. We can also agree that violent movies do not stabalize our young people and certainly violent video games do not teach our young people about peace and unity. But as we try to solve the problem of violence in our society let’s not ignore the elephant in the room.
I’m referring to the most profitable industry in the world. This industry’s top ten Fortune 500 companies earn more yearly profits than the remaining 490 Fortune 500 companies combined. These companies spend millions wining and dining our nation’s doctors and congressmen and spend millions more in advertising through television, newspapers and magazines. By now you probably know the elephant in the room is named “Big Pharma“.
You have heard the advertisements. Commercials tell you to ask your doctor if an advertised drug is right for you. However, you are instructed to let your doctor know immediately if you have thoughts of suiside or agression especially in children, adolescents, and young adults. And the drug may cause death or liver failure, ect. Additionally, the drugs for ADHD, depression and insomnia have warnings they may cause worsening drepression, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, mania, and akathisia. Imagine people who are depressed being prescribed drugs that clearly state on the bottle that the drug could make them worse and more likely to commit suicide. That’s insane!
Between 2004 and 2011, the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting System for drug side effects logged 12,755 reports of psychiatric medications relating to violence. Among them were 359 homicides, 7,250 incidences of aggression, and 2,795 episodes of mania. There were also 9,310 suicides. Actually the damage is far greater because fewer than 10 percent of adverse reactions are reported. So, multiply these numbers by 10 to get a truer picture of the horrors of these medications. Certainly “Big Pharma” is aware of these devastating side effects, but they make untold millions of dollars from these drugs. So it is not likely they will voluntarily stop their production or be involved in looking for effective alternatives.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights recently published a list of 14 school shootings linked with psychiatric drugs. The 14 school shootings and 10 murder and murder-suicides listed left a total of 102 dead and 131 wounded. All were committed by individuals who have been positively identified as having been taking or withdrawing from antidepressants or other psychiatric drugs. These figures include Aurora and Columbine, Colorado. These medications are strongly suspected in many other school shootings including Newtown, but we’ll never know for sure.
Under the guise of protection of privacy, the medical records of the individuals who commit these unspeakable acts of violence are often sealed – as if anyone who kills innocent people needs or deserves such privacy. Dr. Julliam Whitaker writes an excellent newsletter which details the case against psychiatric drugs in his February, 2013 newsletter.
So, the elephant in the room is the prescription drugs being prescribed for those who can least afford the side affects. Why has this information not been part of the public discussion? It should be front and center. We cannot get a handle on the violence affecting our society without including this “Big Pharma” drug problem in the equation.
For now, Earlynn’s just sayin’: “As we pursue solutions to our nation’s problems with violence, remember, the truth will set us free only if we are wise enough to recognize it when we see it. We’ve got to start talking about the elephant in the room.”
http://earlynnsjustsayin.org/daily-inspirational-thought-6/
