A common variation in a gene for an immune system protein increases a child’s risk of developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by 30 per cent, say Israeli researchers.

ADHD affects between four and 10 per cent of school age children and is characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The causes are unknown. But stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, which boost levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, have been shown to reduce symptoms in many patients.  Continue reading →

A recent study reveals that the drug being prescribed to tens of millions of school-age children for a scientifically unproved mental disorder is more potent than cocaine.

Thirty years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that Ritalin was pharmacologically similar to cocaine in the pattern of abuse it fostered and cited it as a Schedule II drug – the most addictive in medical use. The Department of Justice also cited Ritalin as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warned that “Ritalin substitutes for cocaine and d-amphetamine in a number of behavioral paradigms.” Continue reading →

NORFOLK – Legislators and school officials responded with calls for action Thursday after hearing that Hampton Roads cities have some of the highest rates in the nation for use of Ritalin, a drug for attention deficit disorders.

“It’s scary, in my opinion, because I don’t know why,” Del.-elect Winsome Sears said at a legislative forum at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. “The fact that we’re not the only one in the country is not comforting. I want to know why so many children here are on Ritalin.”  Continue reading →

She had no idea she had a popular party drug on hand.

To her, the vial of prescription pills she’d once been given to treat attention deficit disorder were just leftovers, until a friend from New York called to ask if she’d mail out a few–just for fun.

The woman, a 29-year-old San Diego resident, didn’t do it. But she and her friends were intrigued. Continue reading →

May? I would suggest that with all the postings, which we have shared in this category, that there would be no doubt. Ritalin seems to alter the chemical makeup of anyone taking this poison. (Ed.)

The stimulant Ritalin, a drug used to help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, may cause long-term changes in the brain, researchers reported yesterday. Continue reading →

…and now they have a new weekly dose of prozac, which can be taken. We’ve also heard that the patent runs out for the stuff soon and another company says they are going to produce the stuff and sell it for half as much. Oh goody! Now the government can prescribe twice as much! May Heaven help US! (Ed.)

The late comic Groucho Marx, after throwing a coin into a fountain, was told he could make a wish.

“I wish I hadn’t seen that movie last night,” was Groucho’s wish. I’m one who understands an apparently wasted wish like that.

I wish I hadn’t learned that lesson in Newfoundland. Continue reading →

One egregious and less-than-publicized side of the drug war is its interference with doctors and their ailing patients, especially those suffering from chronic pain.

WND’s “Babe in the Bunker,” Barbara Simpson, wrote recently about a lawsuit aimed at one Dr. Wing Chin, an internist sued by the family of cancer patient William Bergman for not adequately treating his pain. Bergman is now dead, but the family scored a purse of $1.5 million in general damages. Continue reading →

Every day some 6 million children – some as young as 2 or 3 – are now given Ritalin and other stimulants at the urging of school officials and psychiatrists. The reason: They are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a recently discovered mental “disease” whose symptoms include short attention span, impulsive behavior, and difficulty sitting still.

Many more boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD. In some schools – including two school districts near Virginia Beach, Virginia – as many as 20 percent of the boys are now given Ritalin daily.

The strongest advocates of drugging children are the Department of Education, educational bureaucrats and psychiatrists. The U.S. consumes over 90 percent of Ritalin produced in the world. What bureaucrats don’t tell parents, however, is that Ritalin has effects similar to amphetamines and is listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency as a Schedule II controlled substance. Continue reading →

According to Who?

The student accused of wounding five people with a shotgun at Granite Hills High School had been seeing a psychiatrist before the shooting and had been prescribed two antidepressant medications, his attorney said yesterday.

Jason Hoffman, 18, had been diagnosed as clinically depressed and had been prescribed Celexa and Effexor, both of which treat the illness, Deputy Public Defender William Trainor said. Continue reading →

While a hotly debated topic, the use of mind-altering and stimulant drugs to treat children for behavioral problems remains unresolved. Ritalin is at the forefront as the drug of choice for treating children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and its use is increasing at an alarming rate. It is especially disturbing considering the fact that, to date, there have been no studies conducted regarding the long-term effects of Ritalin. In fact, concerns regarding over-medication have prompted lawsuits alleging collusion between drug companies and the psychiatric community. While the debates and lawsuits rage on, more prescriptions are written, and more children are at risk for potential misdiagnosis. Continue reading →

The answer: Government-approved drug addicts

I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt. – Martin Luther [1483-1546]

It is now becoming a routine news story when a young person walks into his school, killing and wounding classmates and teachers. Each time the question is asked “How could this happen?” but no one is actually listening to the answer or doing anything about it.

There is a strong likelihood the answer is seven million government-mandated and government-approved drug addicts who walk into schools located in officially declared “drug free zones.” They are the children of America who have been diagnosed by teachers and counselors as victims of Attention Deficit or hyperactivity disorders and required, often against their parent’s objections, to take mind-altering drugs such as Ritalin and Prozac. Continue reading →

Are parents being pressured to medicate their kids?

Public school administrators, long the enthusiastic adherents of a “Just Say No!” policy on drug use, appear to have a new motto for the parents of certain tiny soldiers in the war on drugs: “Medicate or Else!” It is a new and troubling twist in the psychiatric drugs saga, in which public schools have begun to issue ultimatums to parents of hard-to-handle kids, saying they will not allow students to attend conventional classes unless they are medicated.

IN THE MOST extreme cases, parents unwilling to give their kids drugs are being reported by their schools to local offices of Child Protective Services, the implication being that by withholding drugs, the parents are guilty of neglect. Continue reading →