In the wake of the VA Tech mass murder, there are a lot of talking heads on TV talking about how we need to limit access to guns in order to stop mass murders. They claim that it’s easy access to guns that is somehow the cause of this type of carnage.
I have suggested that the VA Tech shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, who killed 33 people including himself, may have been having an adverse reaction to psychotropic medications. Is it possible that easy access to mind-altering prescription drugs is the problem?
On this, the anniversary of Columbine, which had many similarities with the VA Tech murder/suicide, I was curious as to whether the Columbine killers were using mind-altering prescription drugs as well.
In his manifesto, Cho Seung-Hui, expressed admiration for the Columbine killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Previous reports have said that Mr. Cho was taking psychotropic medication(s) but they have not been identified. We’ll have to wait for the toxicology reports.
It is clear that the Columbine killers had undergone psychiatric treatment as well and at least one was taking psychotropic medication. From Wikipedia:
On January 30, 1998, both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were caught with computer equipment that had been stolen, moments earlier, from a parked van near Littleton, Colorado. Both were arrested and attended a joint court hearing, where a judge decided that, because of their lack of moral judgment, the two needed psychiatric help. They attended a support group. Both were released from the program early due to their good behavior. Harris wrote an ingratiating letter to the owner of the equipment they stole, offering not just apologies, but empathy.[5] During this time he would often boast in his journal entries about faking regret, and applauded himself at his deception.[6] It is believed that shortly after being released from psychiatric care in April 1998, Harris and Klebold began to plot the attacks as a form of retaliation; the pair felt as if they were “at war” against society and needed to take action towards those they hated.[citation needed]
During his evaluation by doctors at the program, Harris was prescribed the anti-depressant Zoloft. Shortly afterwards, Harris reported having suicidal and homicidal thoughts to his doctor.[7] But instead of being taken off anti-depressants completely, Harris was switched to the very similar drug Luvox. Some analysts have argued that this medication may have contributed to Harris’ actions, and claimed that side-effects of these drugs include increased aggression, loss of remorse, depersonalization and mania.[8] [Emphasis added]
HappinessOnline.org has more on the use of antidepressants by school shooters and a lawsuit filed by one of the victims against the maker of Luvox. What is really interesting is that medical records of these young school shooters are often sealed. The official reason is to protect the privacy of minors. Is it instead to protect the drug companies and the cozy relationship they have with government and doctors?
The Physicians 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.
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, Calif.
The medical histories of scores of “school shooters” have not been revealed, allegedly to protect the minor child. Ann Blake Tracy is a consultant in Taylor’s lawsuit and director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. She holds a doctorate in biological psychology and is a specialist in what she believes are the adverse reactions to SSRI medications. She says Luvox caused Harris to go on the Columbine shooting spree and thinks the medical history of children who commit violent acts in school should be made public.
“Suing Solvay for the injuries Mark Taylor suffered is one of the biggest SSRI suits we’ll ever see,” Tracy says. “It’s a pivotal case because what happened at Columbine was so big. It’s really crazy when you think about it. All you have to do is read the Luvox package insert to see that Eric’s actions were due to an adverse reaction to this drug. Show me a drug anywhere that has listed mania and psychosis as frequent adverse reactions. That is what the insert says for Luvox. There is no doubt in my mind that Luvox caused Eric Harris to commit these acts.”
CNN reported in 1999 on Harris’ and Klebold’s toxicology reports:
Toxicology reports on the two killers showed no traces of alcohol or drugs, the Jefferson County Coroner’s office said Monday.
RockyMountainNews reported the same thing.
This does not jibe with the statement “The autopsy on Harris revealed a “therapeutic level” of Luvox in his system.”
Also, Klebold’s toxicology reports were sealed.
Tracy continues, “Beyond the adverse reactions listed about Luvox, one of the first clues I had that these boys were on antidepressants was when it was made public that Eric [Harris] and Dylan Klebold had both been in anger-management classes. Anger-management classes equal antidepressants. Unfortunately, Dylan Klebold’s medical records have been sealed, so there’s no way of knowing what if anything he was on, but it makes sense that if he was in anger-management classes he was prescribed some antidepressant.”
The problem, Tracy concludes, “is that this is a public-safety issue. So why is everything kept so secret, under lock and key? This information should be made available to the public so that people can learn from it and maybe we can stop this kind of tragedy from happening in the future. We’ve got a nightmare on our hands with these drugs, an absolute nightmare. We’ve got kids on these drugs that are ticking time bombs in every school in America.
Dr. Tracy said this long before the VA Tech killings.
It appears that in these cases there’s a double standard when it comes to toxicology reports. They report on drugs that are considered “recreational” but don’t report on drugs that are legal prescriptions.
Let’s connect some dots: It is documented that some individuals have adverse reactions to these drugs. Judges are ordering people into programs where they will be prescribed the drugs. Some of those individuals then go on to kill others and themselves. Doesn’t that make the judges (the government) responsible for the carnage that follows?
HappinessOnline.org has a lot of other information about this including the fact that parents of victims are dropping out of the lawsuit for fear that they may have to pay if they lose their case.
It is nothing short of criminal to seal the medical records of individuals who commit these crimes. No dead person’s “right to privacy” can trump the right of individuals to know if medications being prescribed by their doctors are a hazard to themselves and others. How anti-science can you get?
Cho Seung-Hui was not a minor. Hopefully that means his toxicology reports will not be sealed and we’ll find out what he was taking.