Part 2 - FDA's Continual Responsibility for Making Our Children Into a Nation of Drug Addicts!

Why are parents allowing this to happen?

Dr. Margaret Hamburg needs to lose the blinders - Image by Austin King Salem-News.com. Other images: drugawareness.org, zimbio.com, Wikipedia, acolumbinesite.com, cchrint.org.

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - I recently wrote an article regarding a severe problem on the east coast titled: "Flamingo Pipeline" from Florida to New York City- OxyContin Epidemic. 

Part I - Flamingo Pipeline - Florida to NY City - OxyContin Epidemic

(See the Part 1 link below or click here to read it before going on). 

Every state in the U.S. -- as well as Canada -- has been fighting a war to keep our children from becoming a statistic in the OxyContin epidemic the FDA has allowed to become a runaway train in death.

Why is OxyContin allowed to be prescribed for "moderate" pain and not for "severe" pain only?  Relatively painless effort on the part of the FDA to reclassify OxyContin -- which is compared to Heroin -- but they have been resistant to saving scores of lives -- many of these young lives.  Has any government agency -- including the FDA -- questioned why OxyContin continues to be manufactured in outrageous and "deadly" quantities so that it finds its way on to our streets?

The FDA's "blind eye" does not end with OxyContin

In 1997, 5 million children were listed as using psychotropic drugs, Ritalin being among the most common.  Ritalin use has increased by 700% since 1990. By the year 2000, it was prescribed for approximately 7 million children.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed eight times more often in boys than in girls.

Of these diagnosed children, 90% use a stimulant to help control the disorder. 70% of children with ADHD are prescribed Ritalin. 20% use its counterpart, the generic form known as methylphenidate and an amphetamine known as Dexedrine.

Beginning in the 1960s, it was used to treat children with ADHD, or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), known at the time as hyperactivity or minimal brain dysfunction (MBD).

Dexedrinee

Production and prescription of methylphenidate rose significantly in the 1990s, especially in the United States, as the ADHD diagnosis came to be better understood and more generally accepted within the medical and mental health communities.

The benefits and cost effectiveness of methylphenidate, i.e. Ritalin long term are unknown due to a lack of research.

There is a lack of evidence of the effectiveness in the long term of beneficial effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) with regard to learning and academic performance.

An analysis of the literature concluded that methylphenidate quickly and effectively reduces the signs and symptoms of ADHD in children under the age of 18 in the short term but found that this conclusion may be biased due to the high number of low quality clinical trials in the literature.

Some adverse effects of stimulant therapy may emerge during long-term therapy, but there is very little research of the long-term effects of stimulants.

The United States produces 90% of the world’s Ritalin. It produces, sells and distributes more methylphenidate than any other country worldwide. In addition to the United States, methylphenidate is frequently used in the United Kingdom and Germany.

It is used in many European countries, but in much smaller percentages than in the United States. Some countries don’t use the drug at all, such as Sweden, which has banned its use.

Intuniv

The FDA approved "Intuniv" - the first non-stimulant extended release medication for the treatment of ADHD in children.  This means it can be administered in one daily dose and given in the morning or at night as a stand-alone medication or in conjunction with another ADHD drug to boost overall effectiveness. Because Intuniv is not a stimulant, parents can feel better knowing that their child is being treated with a medication that does not have addictive properties and is less likely to be abused since it is not a controlled substance.

In clinical trials, Intuniv has been shown to boost the effectiveness of treatment when combined with a stimulant, resulting in greater attention span and reduced levels of impulsivity and hyperactivity.  One possible drawback, however, is that it has not been tested for extended use, beyond  that of 8 to 10 weeks.  For this reason, physicians who prescribe Intuniv must closely monitor patients to determine whether it continues to be a successful protocol for longer term management of ADHD symptoms.

At the present time, Intuniv’s longer term efficacy is unknown and will be determined by physicians who carefully monitor patients being treated and report associated outcomes.  Shire, Intuniv’s biopharmaceutical developer, continues to focus their research on this drug’s long term use potential for maintenance of children with ADHD who need drug treatment in order to succeed academically -- as well as socially.

Has your child been kept safe by the FDA in the treatment of H1N1 (swine flu)?

The FDA warning on Tamiflu (in the treatment of H1N1 or "swine flu") states, “People with the flu, particularly children, may be at an increased risk of self-injury and confusion shortly after taking Tamiflu and should be closely monitored for signs of unusual behavior.” (See link below).

It was noted that some children were struck with psychosis, delusions, and paranoia – all in formerly normal children. The FDA issued a warning about Tamiflu's potential for producing skin rashes.

Read the article: Frances Oldham Kelsey, PhD, MD An American Hero

It wasn't until reports surfaced of more than 100 new cases of delirium, hallucinations and other abnormal psychiatric behavior in children treated with Tamiflu that the FDA changed course and required Roche, the company that makes the drug, to include a warning label cautioning patients, doctors and parents to look out for strange behavior in anyone taking the drug.

Dr. Frances Kelsey was a hero while working at the FDA on the dangerous drug,Thalidomide in the 1960's - see links below.  Will there be a hero in 2011 at the FDA to end the message to our kids "take a pill" to succeed in a classroom and to be able to socialize with friends -- after all -- the pills to "perform academically and socially" are all approved by the FDA -- as dangerous as they are.

In 1979, Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD wrote a book entitled "Confessions of a Medical Heretic."  Dr. Mendelsohn wrote "If your child is a little too peppy for his teacher to handle - your doctor may go too far and turn him into a drug dependent."  It appears that Dr. Mendelsohn was ahead of his time -- maybe it's time for the FDA to recognize that our children are being taught at a very young age "to take a pill" -- with, in scores of cases, very deadly consequences.

Might be a good time for Dr. Hamburg to recognize that the FDA is not protecting our children -- the blinders need to come off their eyes -- and the billion dollar plus deep pockets of pharma have to be sewn shut -- so as not to intimidate the FDA to be continued partners in crime.

Part I - Flamingo Pipeline - Florida to New York City - OxyContin Epidemic - Marianne Skolek Salem-News.com

LP -- "To love another person is to see the face of God."  from "Les Miserables" --  To the gift of friendship, love, encouragement, great dialogue, "multi-tasking" and being so proud of each other's continued journey in faith is not only seeing the face of God -- but knowing God is responsible for bringing us together.