>we didn't blame the drugs, we
>blamed officials for not investigating their possible role and the media
>for ignoring it.
If Rodriguez has been taking zoloft and ritalin since age three, how would you even begin to investigate their possible role in his killing spree apart from or in addition to the mental health issues they were first prescribed to treat? Even in the seemingly more salient case, which this Sam Smith editorial seems to conflate Rodriguez's case with when mentioning the risk estimate, where someone commits suicide shortly after taking antidepressants, the cause and effect interaction isn't straightforward: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/ghcc-sad062707.php
-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of Dennis Claxton Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:36 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: [lbo-talk] behavioral drugs and mass slayings
from Sam Smith:
OUR PIECE on the possible connection between prescription behavioral drugs and mass slayings stirred up a lot of correspondence pro and con, with the latter missing a key point: we didn't blame the drugs, we blamed officials for not investigating their possible role and the media for ignoring it. As we pointed out, a drug that works for a million people but causes violence or suicide in just one percent means 10,000 people who could kill themselves or others.
Speaking of which. . .
ABC NEWS - It was the first, anguished thought that sprung to the mind of the mother of the Omaha mall sniper Robert Hawkins when she realized her son was the killer. . . Rodriguez said her son's life had been a challenge from the start. She divorced Hawkins' father when the boy was 3-years-old, she said, and by 5 he was taking prescription Ritalin and Zoloft. . .
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3994022&page=1
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