ANOTHER SCHOOL SHOOTER ON PRESCRIBED PSYCHOTROPIC One month after the school shooting in Littleton, CO, where the leader of the two dead gunmen was on the mania-inducing drug Luvox, a youth on the mania-inducing drug Ritalin went on a shooting rampage at a high school in Conyers, Georgia. [1] Ritalin, or methylphenidate, is a stimulant that, along with methamphetamine, is classified by the DEA as a Schedule III drug. [2] Ritalin makes "overactive" kids more manageable and obedient. However, in some cases Ritalin can induce mania and "psychotic episodes including hallucinations" that subside upon discontinuation of the drug. [3] Research also shows that Ritalin can cause normal brains to function like schizophrenic brains. As a study published in the journal "Archives of General Psychiatry" (9/88, p.827-32) states [4]: "Methylphenidate induced a pattern of information processing dysfunction similar to that seen in schizophrenic patients... Further, the time course of the observed deficits in both schizophrenic and methyl- phenidate-induced states is strikingly compatible with the temporal mapping pattern of monoaminergic neuronal systems." While doctor-prescribed Ritalin use increased five-fold since 1990 [5], Ritalin is also a popular drug with students as a means to get high. As an article at student.com states [6]: "Some swallow [Ritalin] pills, while others crush tablets into powder and snort the drug like they would cocaine. Students report abuse has become so common -- and students like the drug so much -- that fraternities are stockpiling it with the same vigilance they take to ensure they never run out of beer." Ritalin is also popular on the "Rave scene,"[7] and research shows that its mode of action on the brain is comparable to that of cocaine, [8] which can also trigger violence in some cases. More information on the dangers of Ritalin: http://www.breggin.com/ritalinprnews.html http://www.breggin.com/consensusnihfails.html http://www.syix.com/adsg/linda/ritalin.htm http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan /19990429_xex_doping_our_k.shtml http://home.gci.net/~dougs/ ________________________________________________ [1] Reuters: "Lawyer Confirms Georgia School Shooter On Ritalin." Tuesday May 25 8:56 AM ET. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ts/story. html?s=v/nm/19990525/ts/crime_shooting_130.html [2] DEA drug classifications: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/csa.htm [3] http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r03.html [4] Archives of General Psychiatry: "Methylpheni- date-induced information processing dysfunction in nonschizophrenic patients." 1988 Sep;45(9):827-32. [5] http://www.breggin.com/consensusnihfails.html [6] http://www.student.com/article/ritalin [7] http://www.pcb.co.za/users/ravesafe/ritalin.htm [8] (journal) Synapse: "Comparable changes in synaptic dopamine induced by methylphenidate and by cocaine in the baboon brain." January 1999;31(1):59-66. http://igm.nlm.nih.gov ------------------------------------------------------------ GODDARD'S JOURNAL: http://www.erols.com/igoddard/journal.htm ____________________________________________________________
