Oy, more Dauben-style scare tactics. Look, I'll admit I don't know the specifics of this legislation, but I'm willing to bet all it requires children to do is get tested for mental illnesses, which I personally believe has the potential to be very helpful. They will not force drugs down kids' throats; if they were, we would be already be hearing loud and harsh objections from more sane people.
Now, to point out the untruths and leaps of logic in your post and article:
quote:
Isn't that always the case? If it's some sort of disease or whatever, drug them. Drug them all.
While it is true that sometimes psychiatrists and physicians are quick to reach for their prescription pads, there are more children today suffering because they are
not taking medications that could greatly benefit them than there are children like Clare Parsons. I can say from personal experience that anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications can make all the difference in the world for someone who is suffering. While I agree that these medications should not be prescribed too liberally, I strongly support any piece of legislation that will make it easier for people in need of these medications to access them. From there, if they want to take them, it is their choice.
quote:
This, folks, is the last straw. It is now time for parents, guardians and loved ones to begin the mass withdrawal of their children from government-run schools.
Yes, let's have all the kids who can afford it leave public schools out of fear of the men in the white coats. I don't see how this can possibly further seperate the wealthy from the poor.
quote:
Parents have no rights whatsoever in any of these above mentioned situations. Individual rights are being sacrificed thanks to the "wonders of socialism."
As I said, the parents will always have the decision not to put their kids on medications. If the legislation says otherwise, it won't (nor should it) pass. I guarantee it.
quote:
The main problem with all of this is that it makes eeeeeeeveryone the same. Conform or get drugged, it's that simple.
Little do you know, no two kids react quite the same way to a good amphetamine rush.
quote:
Just pull out now before your kid ends up killing him or herself.
I'm so sick of hearing stuff like this. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) have come under fire for making kids more depressed and more likely to commit suicide. In reality, this happens to a very small percentage of users, and it only happens to them when they first go on the medications and their bodies are adjusting to the meds. Often, effective combination-treatment plans can eliminate the risk of new users falling into the suicidal category all-together. For example, if a person's mood took a dip when he/she first went on Prozac, if he/she had a fast-acting prescription like Xanax or Seroquel ready, it could take the edge off the process of the body adjusting to the artificial serotonin. After a couple of weeks, the Prozac-user would be off the other drug and in a better place than when he/she started. And remember, this is the
worst case scenario that affects only a small percentage of users.
quote:
Clare Parsons, a Waxahachie High School student, said the medication doctors have prescribed for her “learning disabilities” gets old after a while.
“Do you know how horrible it is?” she said. “It’s killing me slowly, but it makes [mom] feel better. Some people feel better knowing they’re ‘fixing’ the problem. I get used to the dosage of medication I’m on, so my body becomes immune to that.
“It’s been three years of hell,” she said. “Having to go through being sick to your stomach for two weeks, getting used to the new, higher dosage. My eyes are dilated all the time because of it. I look like I’m high all the time.”
This is simply ridiculous. This girl is clearly on medications that are having a bad reaction to her body. In a situation like this, she and her mother should explore other medications that would not create these same negative side effects. I assure you, stomachaches and dilated pupils are not the norm; they're the medication-induced equivalent of an allergic reaction. If her mother is refusing to let her go off the medications, as you suggest, then that is an example of poor parenting,
not a case against the medications themselves. By that logic, we should outlaw cars, because although they help hundreds of millions of people get where they need to go faster, some people just have no idea how to use them.
And then, as the books were told, Fina replied: "A can of worms, my dear friend? What has this to do with reason?"
Topics 
