 |
|
Add to My Group
|
July 21, 2006 at 14:00:48
TeenScreen - Prescription Drug Pusher In Schools by Evelyn Pringle Page 1 of 7 page(s) |
|
|
According to attorney, John Whitehead, founder and president, of The Rutherford Institute, and author of the award-winning book, "Grasping for the Wind," TeenScreen is driven "by recommendations from President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which has called for mental health screening for all school-aged children, including those in preschool."
"TeenScreen is sweeping across the nation," he warns, "and finding its way into our public schools."
Although these programs are touted as suicide prevention tools, Mr Whitehead notes, "they seem to have more to do with drugging children than saving lives-and they are understandably raising an outcry among parents and child advocacy groups alike."
In setting up TeenScreen in schools, the obvious beneficiary is the pharmaceutical industry, says physician and Congressman, Ron Paul (R-Tx), "eager to sell the psychotropic drugs that undoubtedly will be prescribed to millions of American school children under the new screening program."
The survey is being administered in more schools every day with its cost funded by tax dollars. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, the "state of New York plans to start screening 400,000 children a year, and the federal government is directing tens of millions of dollars to expand screening nationwide."
Parents are most upset because normal teenage feelings, thoughts and behaviors are being transformed into symptoms of mentally illness. Anti-drugging activist and records researcher, Sue Weibert, has been investigating TeenScreen steady for well over a year and managed to obtain a copy of the TeenScreen survey, which in itself was no small feat. The questions asked include the following:
(1) Have you often felt very nervous or uncomfortable when you have been with a group of children or young people - say, like in the lunchroom at school or at a party?
(2) Have you often felt very nervous when you've had to do things in front of people?
(3) Have you often worried alot before you were going to play a sport or game or do some other activity?
(4) Has there been a time when you had less energy then you usually do?
(5) Has there been a time when you felt you couldn't do anything well or that you weren't as good-looking or as smart as other people?
(6) Has there been a time when nothing was fun for you and you just weren't interested in
anything?
When Ms Weibert got the survey, she showed it to her own teenage daughter, without saying anything. Her daughter read the questions over and said: "But doesn't every kid feel that way sometimes?"
Her mother says she assured her that yes, the feelings were quite normal.
In response, this young girl hit on one of the main concerns voiced repeatedly about TeenScreen. "But what about those kids," she said, "that read that and now think there's something wrong with them?"
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
 Contact Author |
Contact Editor |
 View Authors' Articles |
|
|
|
| 2 comments |
|
Zyprexa diabetes link
I took zyprexa starting in 1996 the year the FDA approved it, which was ineffective for my condition and gave me diabetes. Zyprexa is the product name for Olanzapine,it is Lilly's top selling drug.It was approved by the FDA in 1996 ,an 'atypical' antipsychotic a newer class of drugs without the motor side effects of the older Thorazine.Zyprexa has been linked to causing diabetes and pancreatitis. Zyprexa, which is used for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, accounted for 32% of Eli Lilly's $14.6 billion revenue last year. Did you know that Lilly made nearly $3 billion last year on diabetic meds, Actos,Humulin and Byetta? Yes! They sell a drug that can cause diabetes and then turn a profit on the drugs that treat the condition that they may have caused in the first place! I was prescribed Zyprexa from 1996 until 2000. In early 2000 i was shocked to have an A1C test result of 13.9 (normal is 4-6) I have no history of diabetes in my family. All the psychiatrist I've interviewed and the information on line presents zyprexa as a worse offender than the other Atypicals such as seroquel.My doctor has stopped prescribing zyprexa altogether. The PDR classifies zyprexa as 'severe' for causing weight gain and diabetes and seroquel as 'moderate'. Of course the 50 year old Thorazine didn't cause diabetes and is many times cheaper but it could cause tardive dyskinesia. Where Eli Lilly's negligence comes in,is their KNOWING and not informing consumers (black box warning) until the FDA demanded it. Lilly's incentive not to readily disclose is they had billions coming in from state medicaid scripts. ---- Daniel Haszard http://www.zyprexa-victims.com by Danny Haszard (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 61 comments [7 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 at 2:48:03 PM  (0+)
|
|
No Subject Entered
It is sad that there is NO grassroots movement to get these drugs recalled. Even though Zyprexa's makers claimed zyprexa was superior, and was PROVEN wrong -- and assessed with a 690 million dollar to those who gained weight, got diabetes or pancreatitis, Eli Lilly continues on its merry HUGE profits way. Some states have passed laws that doctors must show a specific reason for the new atypical antipsychotics to be prescibed - yet the government continues to allow zyprexa to be on the market. There is no proof that the drug makes any difference to achieving health -- or even alleviating symptoms. The toll continues to mount with "side effects" -- and even death -- resulting from taking these so-called medications. While those prescibed these drugs can use the courts to get minimal satisfaction in financial terms, a movement to recall the drugs requires political ACTION. It must be done with a campaign to alert the FDA and the heads of health committees of each state or province. My son has been prescribed zyprexa .. and I am an ACTIVIST against these drugs. I have brought it to the attention of medical schools and a provincial hospital facility. This was no easy task. But at least some of the medical professionals and hospital adminstrators are on alert now. However, the professionals continue in the main to close ranks and protect each other. In the case of Ontario's largest mental hospital, I had to threaten to sue them if they did not see me before the doctor would even meet with me!! Later a consultant was brought in who agreed with me in toto. The doctor was just plain wrong. No questions were asked about my son's family medical history regarding diabetes. No blood sugara level test was administered before dosage was begun. The hospital couldn't even be bothered to read the magazines about the zyprexa lawsuit. (The case is still pending here in Canada.) Meanwhile, those who have been victimized by taking zyprexa languish in pain without seeing their payout in the US!! The onset of diabetes and pancreatitis is swift and not many signs show up right away as the pancreas is falling apart. And this leads to death ... I have fought long and hard to keep my son off perscription drugs. He went through special ed as the ONLY child not on ridilin and other ADD drugs in his classes. These drugs are a set up for lifelong addiction as they get used to having the feeling of "rushing". Now I am told to stay quiet while zyprexa eats away at his body. Not bloody likely. This prescribing of very dangerous drugs affects the families, too!! The anxiety and the price one pays to fight back sometimes seem hardly worth the effort it takes. Drug professionals in addiction centres do not have the education to fight these prescription drug dependencies and addictions. Plus most addiction centres are for PROFIT. Their boards of directors are driven by the need for PROFIT. So don't count on them for ADVOCACY for those damaged by ridiculous labels or whose bodies give out. Since the government and corporations are refusing to deal with this severe societal problem, we are all going to have to do our job to fight the trend to "somatize" everyone. What is particularly abhorrant is the need to give these drugs to youth who cannot advocate for themselves. I post Evelyn's articles and everything I can find related to this issue on my blog. It's become a "mission" for me. I called up every lawyer involved in the zyprexa lawsuit I could find .. and got told by them all .. they cannot get this drug (and others like it) recalled. WE MUST DO THAT. Please, if you have five minutes write a letter to someone involved in this issue .. like the FDA or your state's health authority. Let them know, we are onto this sick, sick overdispensing racket and that it's time for these drugs to be RECALLED. If the drug companies (and there are precious few of those) don't make the billions per year off these drugs, they might actually do the research to find compounds that don't damage the human body!! They might invest in real therapy for damaged children. In a six month hospital stay for paranoid schizophrenia, my son saw his psychiatrist a grand total of none for therapy -- his only visits with his psychiatrist were directly related to re-prescribing. They had him on 3 antipsychotics in 9 weeks!!Yet it was costing the Province over $1,000 a day for his bed. He left with no discharge plan, no real psychiatric testing (he also has post traumatic stress disorder) and no help with his drug problem. What are the taxpayers getting for their money for these treatments? Nothing at all. The NYT's continues to post articles about diabetes among mentally ill populations, but says nothing about the direct connection to antipsychotics -- or that the medications to treat it are made by the same drug companies. They give no hint on how to fight back. They instead demonize the victims of a huge conspiracy, as if they were to blame for their poor health care and their feelings of being defeated. It is a welcome relief to see the TRUTH printed here and in the other venues that publish Evelyn's fine work. by ladybroadoak (39 articles, 20 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 394 comments) on Sunday, Jul 23, 2006 at 6:35:52 PM (0+)
|
Want to post your own comment on this Article? 
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||
Must Read (0) 
Well Said (0) 
News (0) 
Touching (0) 
Funny (0) 
Supported (0) 
Interesting (0) 
Inspiring (0) 
Valuable (0)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tell a Friend:
|
Copyright © 2002-2009, OpEdNews |
