{"id":32435,"date":"2012-12-20T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T18:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=32435"},"modified":"2012-12-20T15:41:51","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T21:41:51","slug":"its-time-for-a-serious-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=32435","title":{"rendered":"It’s Time For A Serious Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

I used to play in a band with a guy, a keyboard player. \u00a0He was a bit of a prodigy; he’d been sent off from North Dakota to the Berklee College of Music in Boston; he was one of the most amazing keyboard players you’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Of course, like a lot of prodigious talents, he had some issues. \u00a0He was bipolar. \u00a0The illness left him unable to function at Berklee, so it was back to North Dakota. \u00a0Psychiatrists put him on lithium – which enabled him to function. \u00a0To thrive, really – when he was on his meds and everything was well-tempered, he would practice, perform, put on recitals that’d stun the locals, play in bands, hold a job, function in society.<\/p>\n

Then he’d feel he could function without the meds. He’d go off ’em…<\/p>\n

…and, inside of a few weeks, wind up in the papers for having driven to Fargo and remodeled the inside of a Catholic church with a sledgehammer. \u00a0Followed by another bout of treatment, and then another course of lithium. \u00a0Lather, rinse, repeat.<\/p>\n

He functioned about 95% of the time. \u00a0About 5%, he was incapacitated. \u00a0Was he a success story, or a failure?<\/p>\n

———-<\/p>\n

Psychotropic medication has been a boon to many people. \u00a0They’ve helped pull back the gray fog on the lives of millions who suffer from depression. \u00a0They allow many with serious mental illnesses to function, and often thrive.<\/p>\n

But as my keyboard-playing friend showed, there’s a downside; when the medication doesn’t work, or when the doses get changed, or abruptly stopped? \u00a0Bad things can happen.<\/p>\n

As at least one Catholic church in Fargo discovered back in the early eighties.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, much, much worse.<\/p>\n

The site “SSRI Stories” – it stands for “Seratonin-Specific Re-Uptake Inhibitor”, a class of anti-depressants that includes Zoloft, Paxil and Wellbutrin among many others – catalogs crimes and other violent and bizarre incidents<\/a> that have some link to psychotropic meds. \u00a0 The stories on the site are open to some discussion – and there is discussion<\/a> – and correlation doesn’t equal causation. \u00a0But the site chronicles a hell of a lot of correlation.<\/p>\n

The list of school shootings alone is below the jump. \u00a0The incident at the Red Lake Reservation school seven years ago is on the list. \u00a0There’s much, much more there.<\/p>\n

Speaking of correlations that don’t necessarily equal causation – is it any wonder the Psychiatric community is so hell-bent on calling gun crime a “public health issue?” \u00a0It’d sure be more convenient than addressing their own stake in violent crime, especially spree shootings, wouldn’t it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nLuvox\/Zoloft Antidepressants<\/td>\n1999-04-20<\/td>\nColorado<\/td>\n**COLUMBINE: 15 Dead: 24 Wounded<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nProzac Antidepressant<\/td>\n1992-01-30<\/td>\nMichigan<\/td>\n**School Teacher Shoots & Kills His Superintendent at School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAnafranil Antidepressant<\/td>\n1988-05-20<\/td>\nIllinois<\/td>\n**29 Year Old WOMAN Kills One Child: Wounds Five: Kills Self<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nCelexa & Effexor Antidepressants<\/td>\n2001-04-19<\/td>\nCalifornia<\/td>\n**Teen Shoots at Classmates in School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nPaxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant<\/td>\n2004-02-09<\/td>\nNew York<\/td>\n**Student Shoots Teacher in Leg at School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nProzac Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL<\/td>\n1998-05-21<\/td>\nOregon<\/td>\n**Four Dead: Twenty Injured<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nPaxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant<\/td>\n2001-03-10<\/td>\nPennsylvania<\/td>\n**14 Year Old GIRL Shoots & Wounds Classmate at Catholic School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nProzac Antidepressant<\/td>\n2005-03-24<\/td>\nMinnesota<\/td>\n**10 Dead: 7 Wounded: Dosage Increased One Week before Rampage<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nCelexa Antidepressant<\/td>\n2006-08-30<\/td>\nNorth Carolina<\/td>\n**Teen Shoots at Two Students: Kills his Father: Celexa Found Among his Personal Effects<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant<\/td>\n2006-09-30<\/td>\nColorado<\/td>\n**Man Assaults Girls: Kills One & Self<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nZoloft Antidepressant<\/td>\n1995-10-12<\/td>\nSouth Carolina<\/td>\n**15 Year Old Shoots Two Teachers, Killing One: Then Kills Himself<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressants<\/td>\n1992-09-20<\/td>\nTexas<\/td>\n**Man, Angry Over Daughter’s Report Card, Shoots 14 Rounds inside Elementary School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant?<\/td>\n2002-01-17<\/td>\nVirginia<\/td>\n**Possible SSRI Withdrawal Mania: 3 Dead at Law School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant?<\/td>\n2007-04-18<\/td>\nVirginia<\/td>\n**Possible SSRI Use: 33 Dead at Virginia Tech<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant WITHDRAWAL<\/td>\n2007-10-12<\/td>\nOhio<\/td>\n**Teen [14 Years Old] School Shooter Possibly on Antidepressants or In Withdrawal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant WITHDRAWAL<\/td>\n2007-11-07<\/td>\nFinland<\/td>\n**Student Kills 8: Wounds 10: Kills Self: High School in Finland<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nProzac WITHDRAWAL<\/td>\n2008-02-15<\/td>\nIllinois<\/td>\n** 6 Dead: 15 Wounded: Perpetrator Was in Withdrawal from Med & Acting Erratically<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nMed For Depression<\/td>\n2009-03-13<\/td>\nGermany<\/td>\n**16 Dead Including Shooter: Antidepressant Use: Shooter in Treatment For Depression<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nSSRI<\/td>\n2010-02-19<\/td>\nFinland<\/td>\n**On Sept. 23, 2008 a Finnish Student Shot & Killed 9 Students Before Killing Himself<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nMeds For Depression & ADHD<\/td>\n2011-03-18<\/td>\nSouth Carolina<\/td>\n**Teen Shoots School Official: Pipe Bombs Found in Backpack<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting<\/a><\/td>\nZoloft Antidepressant & ADHD Med<\/td>\n2011-07-11<\/td>\nAlabama<\/td>\n**14 Year Old Kills Fellow Middle School Student<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Plot<\/a><\/td>\nMed For Depression<\/td>\n1998-12-01<\/td>\nWisconsin<\/td>\n**Teen Accused of Plotting to Gun Down Students at School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Plot<\/a><\/td>\nMed For Depression WITHDRAWAL<\/td>\n2008-08-28<\/td>\nTexas<\/td>\n**18 Year Old Plots a Columbine School Attack<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Plot<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressants<\/td>\n2009-09-22<\/td>\nEngland<\/td>\n**Two English School Boys Plot to Blow Up High School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Related<\/a><\/td>\nLuvox<\/td>\n1993-07-23<\/td>\nFlorida<\/td>\n**Man Commits Murder During Clinical Trial for Luvox: Same Drug as in COLUMBINE: Never Reported<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Threat<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant<\/td>\n2003-05-31<\/td>\nMichigan<\/td>\n**Teen Threatens School Shooting: Charge is Terrorism<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Threat<\/a><\/td>\nAntidepressant<\/td>\n1999-04-16<\/td>\nIdaho<\/td>\n**Teen Fires Gun in School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Threat<\/a><\/td>\nMed for Depression*<\/td>\n2004-10-19<\/td>\nNew Jersey<\/td>\n**Over-Medicated Teen Brings Loaded Handguns to School<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting Threats<\/a><\/td>\nCelexa Antidepressant<\/td>\n2010-01-25<\/td>\nVirginia<\/td>\n**Senior in High School Theatens to Kill 4 Classmates: Facebook Involved: Bail Denied<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School Shooting\/Suicide<\/a><\/td>\nCelexa<\/td>\n2002-10-07<\/td>\nTexas<\/td>\n**Young Girl [13 Years Old] Kills Self at School With a Gun<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I used to play in a band with a guy, a keyboard player. \u00a0He was a bit of a prodigy; he’d been sent off from North Dakota to the Berklee College of Music in Boston; he was one of the most amazing keyboard players you’ve ever seen. Of course, like a lot of prodigious talents, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,49,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime-and-punishment","category-science","category-victim-disarmament"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32435"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32438,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32435\/revisions\/32438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}