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Calls for Federal Investigation into Antidepressants Role in Red Lake Minnesota School Shooting

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

 Ablechild has submitted a written request to the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, as well as the FDA, requesting a full investigation into the latest School Shooting linked to Antidepressant use that took place on the Red Lake Reservation in RED LAKE , Minnesota on March 23, 2005. Jeff Weise was taking Prozac when he unleashed his wrath, first at his grandfather, and then at fellow students and teachers in his school ending with him turning the gun on himself. This latest rampage eerily mirrors the many other adolescent school shootings, which have raged havoc on this great nation, and of which the “common denominator” has been psychiatric drugs linked to violence.

This fact demonstrates that this is not mere coincidence, but an emerging pattern that compromises public safety. The public is becoming educated to this emerging pattern, and with that comes outrage and frustration directed in part at the FDA for failing the public, by continuing to turn a blind eye to the all so obvious link to violence and mania that these drugs are having on our youth, and even more, their deadly link to uncontrolled school terror that has occurred from coast to coast.

Ablechild has previously requested that the FDA provide accountability, where there is none. Accountability is critical now, more than ever, to ensure public safety as a whole.

Ablechild points to the fact that “After 16 years of denial, a series of Eli Lilly (the maker of the drug Prozac) documents that have recently surfaced publicly shows the company’s own review of Prozac in 1988. This review, by Lilly themselves, reveals that even in controlled clinical trials–from which suicidal patients are excluded — 38% of patients taking Prozac compared to 19% of patients on placebo experienced “activation.” Their term “activation” is used to describe violent and or suicidal behavior. The authenticity of the Lilly-Prozac documents has not been disputed.”

See: http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/01/27.php.

The link to violence associated with antidepressants is the writing on the wall for all now to see, a link that for well over a decade has been present, but has been willfully and deliberately ignored by those with vested interests in, and ties to, the multi billion dollar pharmaceutical profiteering occurring within this nation. This profiteering, time and time again, continues to override the health and safety of the public.

This “writing on the wall” is further confirmed by the FDA’s own thorough independent examination of all the clinical trial data of the SSRI antidepressants reported to the FDA, in April 2004, which led to the FDA requiring that all antidepressant drugs, including Prozac, carry explicit warnings, referred to as “blackbox,” that apply to anyone taking these antidepressants. These warnings point to the obvious, which is, that not all these drugs are as “safe” or as “mild,” as drug companies, and those with financial ties to drug companies, would have the public believe them to be.

According to the FDA’s own admission, these drugs are associated with very real risks.

“The emergence of anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility (aggressiveness), impulsivity, akathisia (psychomotor restlessness), hypomania, and mania have been reported in adult and pediatric patients being treated with antidepressants…” See: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/default.htm

Dr. Steven Galson, from the FDA has received our organization’s request for the FDA to launch a full investigation into this urgent matter, immediately. Ablechild strongly urges all to fax Dr. Galson with a request for a formal public statement into this matter. In addition, we urge every individual to request that the FDA conduct a full investigation into the school shootings occurring nationwide, and their link to antidepressant induced violence, mania, and terror. This terror must end, accountability is long overdue.

Dr. Steven Galson
Fax: 301-594-6197
FDA phone number is 301-594-5400

For more information on antidepressants and associated “blackbox” warnings, mental health concerns regarding children and psychiatric drugs go to www.ablechild.org.

Connecticut Education Committee Fails to Take Up Parental Informed Consent Bill. Parental rights are ignored, with no public hearing in sight

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

  Hartford, Connecticut Legislative Education Committee failed to act on a parental informed consent bill that would ensure that parents receive full informed consent prior to any psychiatric testing being done on their children in public schools. This bill HB #5328 was written to safeguard parental rights and would have ensured that each parent be provided with certain regulations and amendments, informing them of their basic right to “opt out” of psychiatric testing for their children through state public schools. Connecticut was a frontrunner in protecting parental rights, by being the first state to pass a law to prohibit schools from recommending psychotropic drugs to parents for their children. This first state law prompted several other states to take similar action in response to a parental outcry, in which reports by parents of schools coercing them to place their children on psychotropic drugs (e.g. Ritalin) to remain in school became all too common. The states’ response and chain reaction, in turn, led to similar Federal legislation, “The Prohibition on Mandatory Medication Amendment,” signed into law by the President December 3, 2004.

This informed consent bill comes on the heels of many disturbing occurrences, which have brought the issue of labeling and “medicating” children national attention. Just last year the FDA launched two sets of hearings into the safety and efficacy of antidepressants in children. In response to these hearings a massive Federal Congressional hearing was convened on this same matter, as well as, to review the FDA’s lack of accountability and financial conflicts of interest. More recent events show Health Canada suspending its marketing of Adderall XR, a psychotropic drug and stimulant used in the “treatment” of ADHD, due to related deaths.

In the wake of so much turmoil and grave concerns, an informed consent bill, looks like a safety net where there is none. The bottom line is that parents cannot make educated decisions without being provided with all the facts. Today, schools continue to profile children for mental disorders like ADHD by using subjective checklists, rating scales, or assessments, not even endorsed or approved by local, state or federal government. Parents are not being told this. These same subjective psychiatric assessments for ADHD were removed from the state of Neuvo Leon in Mexico last year by the Secretary of Education herself, due to their subjective and unscientific nature.

The culmination of events questioning the safety and efficacy of behavior modifying drugs on children, and the subjective assessments used in psychiatric diagnoses, should not be discounted. Everyone needs to be asking why the state’s education committee blatantly has turned a blind eye to parental rights, and has disregarded widespread concerns without providing for a hearing on this matter.

More pointedly, we should be asking why America , or her states, is not ensuring parental rights and protecting children’s health and safety.

For more information on ADHD, informed consent, and mental health within education please visit our site at www.ablechild.org.

Connecticut—Mental Health Reform

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Another Connecticut mother comes forth after the state passed it’s landmark legislation to stop schools from forcing parents to place their children on mind-altering drugs. “This should reveal a frightening reality to all of us by clearly demonstrating the urgent need for the Federal Government to step in and pass The Child Medication Safety Act of 2003 ”, says Sheila Matthews, National Vice President of the grassroots organization AbleChild.org. The federal act would override state laws that are many times being ignored by schools nationwide.

Patricia Scapeccia, a Connecticut mother who endured years of coercion by her son’s school stated to AbleChild: “Parents are still getting pressured even threatened after Connecticut’s law passed. It is very disturbing that parents are receiving such biased information about the diagnoses and are not being told about the deadly side effects of the drugs that are forced upon our children by schools. The threats to take our children away from us if we do not opt for drug “treatment” by schools places us in a position of not being able to refuse and further puts our children in harms way. In the past, I, like so many others have been afraid to speak out, but I feel strongly now that I must to prevent this from happening to other parents.”

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Patricia Scapeccia, Connecticut Mother, Sheila Matthews, National Vice President, AbleChild.org, and Noelle Talevi, Connecticut Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights. For more information go to www.ablechild.org or call the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights 1-800-869-2247.
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Citizen Commission on Human Rights Exhibit at Hartford Capitol “Psychiatry Exposed” Sheila Matthews, National Vice President of Ablechild.org, host of section on Children Fatally Drugged gets support from Retired Connecticut Housing Manager, Benjamin W. Little

FDA Update on Review of Antidepressants Used as Tool for Drug Companies to Seek Pediatric Approval for Antidepressant Use in Children

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

 AbleChild.org Requests that the FDA Withdraw Antidepressant Drug Applications that Seek Drug Approval at Upcoming Advisory Review Committee Meeting on September 13th and 14th, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland.

According to the FDA’s Talk Paper on the safety review of antidepressants dated August 20th, there are findings among drug trials that suggest an increase risk of suicide in children, but interpretation of these findings represents a “substantial challenge”. Despite these findings, and the fact that the UK last year banned the use of 8 of these antidepressants for use in children, the FDA has attached to their Talk Paper, applications from drug companies, which seek to approve these same drugs for children. (See link attachment on FDA Talk Paper http://www.fda.gov/cder/pediatric/Summaryreview.htm).

The fact is that these drugs have never been approved for use in children. These drugs were being prescribed in what is termed an “off-label loophole”, whereby a doctor could prescribe any of these drugs for a child at his own discretion.

With these facts, and the link to suicide in children, the America public should be alarmed that the FDA is allowing these drug applications to be considered during this safety review process.

“As part of its commitment to keep the American public fully informed about the status of its review of data concerning the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients, the FDA is issuing this update to provide healthcare providers and patients with the most current information on this topic.”

How is this statement fulfilling the FDA’s commitment to fully inform the public, when in fact, they are simultaneously submitting new applications from various drugs companies that would approve the use of these same drugs for children? There was a total of 203 press alerts across the wires yesterday on the FDA’s Safety Update on Antidepressants, all of which excluded the “fine print” located at the bottom of the FDA’s Talk Paper that links new applications to the safety review process. Is this the FDA’s commitment to fully inform the American public?

“The FDA will assure that the labels of the antidepressants used in pediatric patients reflect the most recent information obtained from these same studies and analyses”.

Let’s get to the plan at hand. Is it the intent of the FDA to approve these suicide-linked drugs for use in children, and then slap warning labels on the package after approval?

The September FDA Advisory Committee Meeting that is conducting this review should be acting in accordance with U.S. Code Title 42: Section 289a-1: Part H – General Provisions regarding review and approval of proposal for research under Section (b) Ethical Review of Research. This Advisory Committee has an obligation to the protection of human research and under section (2) the peer review and in the case of any proposal for the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research; the Secretary may not approve or fund any proposal that is subject to technical and scientific peer review.

Based on these procedural safeguards and guidelines, these antidepressant drug applications that seek drug approval for use in children should be withdrawn immediately from the September FDA Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda.

As a public health agency, the FDA must protect public health, not manage risks associated with depression that goes untreated, especially when that “treatment” itself is inducing suicide ideation that results in death.

It appears the pending strategy seems to be, approve the drugs for use in children, and then warn of risks. This is unacceptable.

PBS FRONTLINE Markets Misleading Information to Public Schools on Columbine School Shootings

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles, MedWatch, Violence.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

In a Frontline PBS documentary style marketing pitch that aired on May 13, PBS simply misleads viewers by attempting to justify the profiling of boys through checklists to predict violent behavior. PBS has failed to mention the fact that Littleton, Colorado had in place a psychological education program, which first came to Littleton in 1991 under the name “outcome-based education”. This million dollar psychological based program was in place prior to the school shootings and failed to prevent the very violence that occurred. PBS is marketing this misleading information for a fee to school officials.

Let us not forgot that Eric Harris enrolled in a psychological school based program called, “Conflict Resolutions” and was on a drug called Luvox. In a Special Report, Perscription Drugs May Trigger Killings, human rights award-winning reporter, Kelly Patricia O’Meara wrote, “The physician’s desk reference (PDR) records that, during controlled clinical trials of Luvox, manic reactions developed in 4 percent of children. Mania is defined as “a form of psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur…and overproduction of ideas”. Court records show that the prescription for Harris had been filled 10 times between April 1998 and March 1999, and that three-and-a-half months before the shooting the dose had been increased- a common thread many experts say they are finding prior to adverse reactions to psychotropic drugs. The autopsy on Harris revealed a “therapeutic level” of Luvox in his system.”

O’Meara’s Special Report stated, “Other school shooters on antidepressants at the time of their attacks include 15 year old Kip Kinkel who, while on Prozac, killed his parents and then proceeded to school where he opened fire on classmates, killing two and wounding 22 others; 14-year old Elizabeth Bush, on “antidepressants” when she wounded one student at Bishop Neumann High School in Williamsport, PA; and 18 year-old Jason Hoffman, on Effexor and Celexa when he wounded one teacher and three students at Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, CA.”

B.K. Eakman, Executive director of the National Education Consortium and author of “Cloning of the American Mind: Eradicating Morality Through Education”, writes in an Washington Times Op-Ed piece on Monday, April 26, 1999 following the Columbine shootings. “Last week the cumulative effect of therapeutic/socialization-style education hit critical mass. Parents in Littleton, Colo., got a good jolt of the “mental hygiene” approach to schooling, up close and personal. Drug education, refusal skills, self-esteem, and relationships became the centerpieces of the curriculum, pushing academics to the back burner.”

Rewriting history and leaving critical information out so that the public cannot make informed decisions regarding the funding and potential classification and profiling of children within the public education system, is criminal. For Frontline to market this junk science to public schools is an outrage.

While we applaud Kevin Dwyer, the President of the National Association of School Psychologists for criticizing the number of checklists and expressing concerns regarding profiling, labeling, and stigmatization of children, we would like to point out that he failed to address the involvement the National Association of School Psychologists had in the role at Columbine. His association, The National Association of School Psychologists, also opposes, “The Child Medication Safety Act”, an anti-coercion bill to protect against forced drugging of children.

Our organization calls on the United States Government to prevent misleading and dangerous information from entering our public schools. This is a public health issue on the National level. For more information on the crisis regarding behavioral modification drugs visit www.ablechild.org.

Senator Dodd Steps into FDA Investigation and leaves The “Child Medication Safety Bill” Behind

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

 Today, Senator Dodd finally takes a position on the SSRI Antidepressant Crisis in America, but it is not in the support of children as we would have hoped, but rather in the corner of the Special Interest lobbyist group the “Psychiatric Industry”.

“Senator Dodd has been made aware of the 17 families from his State that have come forward to tell of coercion to place their young children on SSRI, antidepressants and behavioral drugs within the public schools”, says Sheila Matthews, National Vice President of www.ablechild.org. “He also is well aware of the two board members of www.ablechild.org who have lost their children from the marketed psychiatric labels and dangerous drug treatment being foisted upon parents. Senator Dodd has failed to act on a bill that would protect parent and children’s rights. Instead, he writes to the FDA during an ongoing investigation to lobby for more drug research on children even with knowledge that these dangerous drugs have been directly linked to suicide in children. “Just what parents don’t want, dangerous drugs tested on our children.” Ms. Matthews added.

Senator Dodd’s office seemed unaware of the already $25 million dollars spent each year on drug research for “adhd” and other behavioral labels through the NIMH. His response seems to be the same; he is against coercion, but is not willing to sign an anti-coercion bill to protect children. He calls for more hearings, when the hearings have already taken place.

The fact is “children are dying” and parents want action on the Child Medication Safety Bill, not more drug research at the expense of our children. Parents are becoming more and more educated on the fraud of attention deficit disorder and the dangerous drugs tied to the label. Senator Dodd is clearly out of touch with parents from his home State of Connecticut as well as those from the rest of the Country.

Is 8 Year-Old Boy Victim of ADHD Fraud?

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

Connecticut-Channel 12 News Report of 2/11/04 out of Stratford, Connecticut entitled “Allegations of physical abuse at Stratford Elementary School” reported that Stratford Police were called to Nichols Elementary School on charges of abuse by school personnel. The mother of the 8 year-old boy, Marsh Davis, told the Stratford police that her son was physically abused by the school administrators. Channel 12 News reported that the boy was said to be suffering from the controversial label “adhd”.

Our organization, www.ablechild.org contacted the parties involved in this news report: Connecticut Channel 12, The Board of Education of Nichols Elementary, and the Stratford Police Department to request that Marsha Davis, the legal guardian of this child be given proper informed consent regarding the subjective label of “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”. This must be done to ensure that her and her child’s basic rights of “informed consent” and the “right to refuse” at the time of the diagnosis was properly followed. We simply asked to provide Ms. Davis with our organization’s name. The Stratford Police Department told us to contact the board of education. Channel 12 and the Board of Education have been contacted by our organization and have not yet responded.

Marsha Davis must have access to the latest legislative actions on the local, state, and federal level regarding the over-identification of children, the right to refuse, and the one directly in question here, “informed consent”. Information must be provided to the parent on the controversial nature of the label “adhd”. This is of the utmost importance so that the legal guardian making decisions on that child’s behalf can make an informed decision to ensure the safety and well-being of the child.

The bottom line, we all need to find out what this mother “was told” about “adhd” and by whom. All parents deserve accurate information on the labels that are marketed to our children.

Will the FDA Follow Guidelines For Safety Review of Antidepressant Use In Children?

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Patricia Weathers 845-677-8115
President www.ablechild.org

Sheila Matthews 203-966-8419
National Vice President www.ablechild.org

The FDA’s hearings on February 2, 2004, regarding the safety review process of today’s mass marketed antidepressants otherwise known as SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) has led us to question what guidelines are being followed by the administration that would ensure due process in obtaining a determination that will affect our children’s overall health and well being.

February 2, 2004 marks the day that parents and children implored the FDA to listen to their stories of personal tragedies regarding antidepressants and view them as a wake up call, one that would require immediate action. Sadly, parents need a hitter, but the administration appears to be lingering on the sidelines stating that it would not be making a decision anytime soon.

Parents might have to wait a dangerously long period-of-time for the administration to give a final answer, which possibly could occur sometime in late summer. Until then, the FDA has advised doctors to use great caution if they prescribe any antidepressants to anyone under age 18. This is unacceptable.

The FDA must be held accountable for following guidelines regulating the safety review process that governors what they can and cannot do and their ability to move forward in an unbiased manner in addressing the emerging issues related to drug development, testing and safety. The FDA needs to adhere to the United State Code – Title 42, Section 289a-1: Part H – General Provisions regulating any and all actions that need to be taken regarding safety review of drug research.

Is the administration on the same page with us regarding the guidelines that govern the review process?

Parents look to specific written rules that govern the FDA’s safety review process that relates to drug research outlined within US Code 42, Section 289A-1, Part H: General Provisions. As with free elections, the public must be able to rely on some type of written rules to ensure the process is open and reliable.

Under US Code 42, parameters are in place regarding how the FDA can act. One such area is the FDA’s choice of a review panel. The composition of this panel or “the ethics board for review” should consist of specific review panel members. The public should be aware that there should be in place at least one attorney, a minimum of one ethicist, at least one practicing physician, one theologian, and no less than 1/3 and no more than 1/2 of scientists with substantial interest in biomedical or behavioral research. The translation of this should be quite clear: The FDA cannot arbitrarily choose just anybody for this review panel.

Within the general guidelines, there are also time sensitive dates, such as- an ethics board termination schedule, that must be highlighted in lieu of the FDA’s announcement that they will not be able to give an outcome any time soon. Parents are concerned that the FDA is bypassing time sensitive dates and the structural make-up of the review board in hopes of protecting special interest groups. The safety reviews are governed by due process and parents expect the administration to hold our children’s basic safety above special interest group agendas.

The FDA should be held accountable for informing the public as to how they will proceed under the federal guidelines clearly set-up to govern their actions. At the very least, they should inform the public as to which type of review will take place according to these provisions.

The FDA stated in its recent memorandum:

“The FDA relies on the knowledge, judgment, experience, and wisdom of scientists and practitioners like you to help determine how to move forward and address newly emerging issues related to drug development. We thank you for your time and effort, and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you on Feb 2nd.”

This closing statement, we believe, clearly demonstrates the administration falling several feet short of meeting the expectations outlined within the US Code. We question the FDA’s actions and ask it to supply the answers to show that it is operating within the guidelines that regulate the safety review process. After all, the public is entitled to know if the FDA is following this basic safety review process outlined within the U.S. Code.

It is very clear to us what the FDA needs to do and the parameters that regulate how they need to do it. In the same token, is it clear to the FDA?

Children and Parents To Go Before the FDA

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Contact Information:
Patricia Weathers: 845-677-8115
Sheila Matthews: 203-966-8419

Victims of the massed marketed antidepressant industry will go before the FDA on February 2, 2003 to place on the record their own personal tragedies of violent behaviors, induced suicide, and deaths associated with the use of antidepressants in children. These parents and children will attempt to get the FDA to recognize the very real dangers that can occur when using many of today’s SSRI’s, also known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. The overall hope of these victims is that the FDA will step up to the plate, in much the same way as the UK recently did, by delivering a no nonsense blow to the pharmaceutical industry, altogether banning all but one SSRI for use in children. At the very least, parents hope that the FDA will take some constructive action to protect children in the U.S. Sadly these hopes are being questioned, in lieu of the FDA’s recent choice of a panel review committee with some members clearly tied into the pharmaceutical industry itself.

Just weeks before these hearings, a new study appeared in the printed media. The psychiatric industry uses statistics in its latest attempt to debunk the link between antidepressants and suicide. Even the New York Times has questioned the release and validity of such a study and questions the timing of its release.

The end result is, that no matter how you twist and turn the numbers, one thing that cannot be explained away is the violent behaviors, and in some cases even deaths associated with the use of antidepressants. Parents are in for a bumpy ride, clearly up against the billion dollar psychiatric and drug industries choke hold on an overwhelmingly unsuspecting American public. The question is; will the FDA ask the psychiatric industry to support its latest claims with actual evidence, or will it play the numbers game as well? Parents will fight for answers not just numbers. They ask for accountability in hopes that the profits on Wall Street do not override the safety of our future investment, our American Children. Our organization www.ablechild.org proudly supports the parents that go before the FDA and take a stand for children. For more information, please visit www.ablechild.org

When the State Takes Your Child

Written by Sheila Matthews on . Posted in Articles.

Contact Information:

Patricia Weathers
President
(845) 677-8115

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
(203) 966-8419

The Asplund’s nightmare began when Chucky was eleven and the school diagnosed their son as emotionally disturbed and ADHD. The State took custody of Chucky when the Asplund family refused to administer behavioral drugs to their son. Chucky Asplund spent March 16, 2000 to August 24, 2001 in State Custody. As Ward of the State, the State of Connecticut administered four drugs: Welbutrin, Haldol, Ativan, Risperidal; drugs not FDA approved for use in children.

The Asplund have requested that Representative Hetherington on the Program Review Committee in the State of Connecticut investigate the current policies regarding children mandated into State care, as well as what the Asplund’s believe is their participation in clinical drug trials without proper informed consent. Overall, the Asplund are seeking accountability and a full investigation by the State into the amount of children on behavioral drugs with little or no oversight.

“I believe my son, Chucky, was used in a clinical drug trial for Welbutrin. The doctor told me they needed children for the drug trial. I never wanted him on any of the drugs. I never gave my informed consent. My child was trapped in the system and we had no say,” said Lynn Asplund.

The result was that the State of Connecticut released Chucky from the Department of Family Services in March of last year. Lynn Asplund asserts that she will stand firm and fight this outrage; one that she believes violated her and her child’s civil rights.

“I plan on fighting back now that my son is home! We have a right to know if he was used in a clinical drug trial. We have to protect our children from this kind of abuse. Our hope is that Chucky’s ordeal will prevent children that are mandated into State care from being used as human guinea pigs in clinical drug trials or from being forced into taking drugs against their parent’s wishes,” Lynn Asplund said.

The Asplund’s fight to regain custody of their son took them in front of the State Legislature to pass the first State law of its kind to prohibit schools from recommending behavioral drugs for children and the removal of a child from their home based solely on the fact that the parents refuse to administer these behavioral drugs. Currently six other States have follow Connecticut ’s example and passed similar laws. Another 13 have some form of legislation pending or resolutions in place. This clearly demonstrates that the problem is nationwide.

This crisis and outcry from parents has prompted the Federal government to take action by introducing this year “The Child Medication Safety Act”. This act is an anti-coercion bill stating that schools cannot coerce parents to “medicate” their children as a requisite for attending school. This bill passed the House of Representatives 425 to 1 and is currently pending in a Senate committee. The overall goal is that this bill will protect all children in all States from being forced into behavioral drug use.

For more information on “The Child Medication Safety Act” or statistics by State of parents coming forward with similar cases, visit www.ablechild.org.