Psychiatric drugs for kids focus of debate

Some link medications to school shootings

By Lynn Bartels

State Board of Education member Patty Johnson has a theory about Einstein: "If he were alive today, they'd probably put him on Ritalin."

Johnson and others who appeared before a legislative group Tuesday condemned what they called the drugging of America's kids, a practice they fear is linked to school violence, including the Columbine tragedy.

"The use of psychotic drugs is creating kid killers," said Dr. Bruce Wiseman, president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a national psychiatric watchdog group.

Opponents of drugs such as Ritalin, Luvox and Prozac argue that too many students are misdiagnosed by educators and by doctors who don't spend enough time with patients.

Several doctors who crusade nationally against the drugs told lawmakers that some students who are diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder likely have food allergies or are hypoglycemic. Others, they said, are so gifted they are bored, or the kids may just be plain old-fashioned discipline problems.

But Colorado doctors Marianne Wamboldt and Marshall Thomas urged lawmakers to consider the millions of children on the drugs who never pull a trigger -- but who might be violent if they weren't on medication.

"We didn't take penicillin from the market because some people died from a reaction," Wamboldt said.

Thomas pointed out that although several witnesses mentioned that Columbine gunman Eric Harris was taking Luvox they failed to note that his partner Dylan Klebold is not believed to have been on any drugs.

The daylong hearing was organized by a group of Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Penn Pfiffner, who said they are looking for answers after the April 20 Columbine shootings.

"If all we're talking about is putting metal detectors in hallways, we're not addressing the issues," he said.

Several students who opened fire on their schools in recent shootings, from Springfield, Ore., to Conyers, Ga., were on medication, witnesses said. Dr. Peter Breggin, author of Toxic Psychiatry, said the side effects of the drug Harris was taking include "grandiosity and Godlike behavior."

"What (children) need is not pills but lots and lots of adults engaged in their lives," he said.

Johnson said she has received a number of complaints from parents who said they were urged by teachers to put their kids on Ritalin. She said she thinks school districts are being influenced by federal mandates, which give districts extra money for children diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder.

The Colorado Board of Education on Thursday will vote on a resolution that asks schools not to push parents to put their kids on drugs but to allow parents to make the decision.

The resolution has no legal teeth, but Johnson said it would send a message.

November 10, 1999