For more than a decade, Dr Breggin has documented in books and scientific reports how SSRIs can lead to out-of-control behavior and violence. "From agitation and hostility to impulsivity and mania," he warns, "antidepressant-induced behaviors is identical to that of PCP, methamphetamine and cocaine-drugs known to cause aggression and violence."
"One clinical trial showed a rate of 6 percent manic reactions for depressed children on Prozac," Dr Breggin reports, while "none developed mania on a sugar pill."
The TeenScreen people claim the program is not funded by any drug company money. However, they don't mention the fact that Ms Flynn's salary was paid by Big Pharma for 16 years while she was the director of the most notorious front group supported by drug company money of all time, the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).
Drug companies funnel millions of dollars every year to front groups like NAMI, and they in turn, utilize their membership to carry out the drug promotion campaigns and also provide a shield so that no Big Pharma money can be traced directly to the programs.
A clear example of how this funneling process works is the way TeenScreen uses NAMI's national convention each year to recruit members from all over the country to promote TeenScreen in their individual communities. Ms Weibert was able to obtain videos of the NAMI conventions that show the TeenScreen squad in full recruitment mode.
Under a law enacted in 1998 called the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, an evaluation of mental or psychological problems on a student cannot be administered without prior written consent from a parent.
To get around this law, when the TeenScreen team began implementing the program in schools, it promoted the use of what is known as passive consent which requires parents to return a signed form only if they do not want their child tested. Most parents say they never realized that their children could be subjected to something so serious as mental health screening without their signed consent, much less know that they must formally instruct a school in writing to not screen their children.
For instance, the consent form that was sent home to parents in Middleton, Ohio was worded as follows:
Dear Parent or Legal Guardian,
A new program developed by Columbia University called TeenScreen is being initiated at Vail Middle School for seventh grade students. The program screens students for potential mental health concerns. TeenScreen is a computerized interview and all information will be kept confidential.
Students will be able to participate in TeenScreen starting on Feb.13th. Participation in the program is strictly voluntary. A professional will be on hand to speak with the students in private if there is a positive screen. As always, if there are any concerns about your child, you will be notified.
Please complete the form below and return it to your child's Homebase teacher if you do not want your child to participate in TeenScreen.
At one NAMI convention, a member of the audience said that in the state of Oregon, consent forms were being returned to the schools with a large "NO" scribbled across the form. So noting that it was difficult to get parents to allow their children to be screened, NAMI members were asked to help convince kids to take the survey and then get them to talk their parents into signing the consent form.
During her speech, Leslie McGuire, the second in command at TeenScreen, explained that while only about 54% of parents would consent to the screening, if children themselves were asked, nearly 98% would agree to be screened.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
