Maryland's compulsory drug proposals

 

Maryland’s compulsory drug proposals

 

Maryland’s legislature is exuberantly moving forward with proposals to force medications on unwilling patients. New laws under consideration are coercion tactics to medicate both inpatient and not hospitalized individuals who may be subject to psychological stress. How the judicial arm of Maryland government will interplay with these potential legislative efforts is yet to be determined.

 

National debate reached a crescendo concerning the mentally disabled amongst us after the massacre inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. Adam Lanza, mentally challenged for years, finally went berserk taking 27 lives then his own. Multiple psychiatric ailments were attributed to Lanza who received treatment for them intermittently from the time he was in elementary school. Adequacy of therapy was the central theme in the aftermath of this egregious event. Lanza could not be forced to take pharmaceuticals to control his behavior. With new laws under consideration that scenario may change.

 

Division in the medical community on forced medication protocols for those with the gamut of mental illnesses is significant. Many questions need to be answered to satisfy the hordes of practicing physicians who will be called upon to apply these therapies. Is informed consent necessary? Will the Maryland’s Attorney General Office be waiting with a noose if the doctor does not believe and or apply the therapies within the protocol? Maryland’s Board of Physicians: where do they stand on this issue?  Are physicians protected against malpractice suits when the patient objects to being drugged? Who writes the standards of care for this exploitation of the patient, lawyers or physicians? The list of questions is long and involved. Maryland Physicians are fully aware the legal community will benefit most from this State overreach into its citizens’ lives.

 

Proof that intensely medicating people will reduce levels of violent crimes has yet to evolve. Draconian measures under consideration are reminiscent of controls utilized in the most undemocratic of societies. Worse, in the event this egregious legislative effort is allowed to breathe, what next? School children who are not already taking psycho-tropics could be forced on to them or be expelled. Once this door is opened, bureaucrats may enforce these drugs on an array of people. Before legislation of forced medicating people is placed into effect studies need to be performed and or reviewed to justify this approach. Maryland’s legislature does not have the cerebral ability to either justify this move or the integrity to make it work for those who will potentially benefit most. Perhaps our legislators should take a tour of the State Constitution and its big brother in the federal domain before the few rights Marylanders have left move off into the sunset.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Book Reviews and Healthnets Review Services.

www.healthnetsreviewservices.com    platomd@gmail.com

Author of Demons of Democracy and his newest work, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster.

Tyranny's first step: gun confiscation

Tyranny’s first step: gun confiscation

 

After the horrific tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, cries for more curbs on private gun ownership were splashed across the media. President Obama seized the moment appointing a gun control advisory panel headed by the Vice President. The President’s superficial aim is to reduce gun violence, yet his greater goal is to remove as many guns as he can from the general population. A contingent of left leaning politicians, their media counterparts and the White House have decided that registering a weapon is not enough. Taking weapons from the good-guys is their answer to the wave of violence confronting the nation. George Mason, the great patriot, said:  “to disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” After each horrific massacre the government has attempted to tweak the rights of legitimate gun owners ever so slightly. Ultimately, Mason’s vision of a society without guns comes to fruition as the bureaucracy dissects the very laws that allow their ownership. Most recent guestimates of private ownership of handguns, assault rifles and other armaments exceeds two hundred million. Andrew Cuomo, the liberal Governor of New York, will attempt to legitimatize gun confiscation through a permit process. Speculated legislation would make criteria for ownership so difficult that only a very small sub-segment of the state’s population would qualify. Cuomo’s remarks came on the heels of media elites such as Ed Schultz calling for confiscation of weapons from “all” law abiding citizens. People will not give up their weapons without a level of civil unrest that would be difficult to quantify at this time. Opposing weapon confiscation is a plethora of organizations with the National Rifle Association in the forefront. Their stance is firm and well known. Government entities, whether state or federal, will find a tidal wave of opposition imposed on them through the judicial process from these groups. In the event courts take the liberal perspective, the suggested civil unrest could become a reality. The irony is many members of government have concealed weapon permits along with those in the media who have attested to their own possession of various weapons. There are many reasons for extreme violent acts with guns and there are even more reasons why psychotics should not have access to them. Government’s goal should be to keep weapons out of the hands of the Adam Lanza’s of the World, not law-abiding citizens. The next move is the government’s, let us hope it is the “right” one. Mark Davis MD., President of Healthnets Review Services, www.healtnetsreviewservices.com.

Hell comes to Newtown Connecticut

Hell comes to Newton Connecticut

 

In a peaceful community 60 miles from New York City hell opened up its doors on Friday December 14, 2012. Approximately 9:40 am Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut and discharged several weapons killing 26 people, twenty of whom were children. Earlier that day Lanza killed his mother in her home with multiple shots to the head. Those who visited the school crime scene in its aftermath could not put words to the carnage they viewed. As more information emerged the irrationality that sparked this tragedy began to take form. Interviews with Adam’s relatives described a picture of a troubled youth who may have been on psychiatric drugs. A much larger question bandied about in the media was Adam Lanza’s reason for the massacre at this specific school. Adam’s psychosis may have been fed by the endless violence embedded in his video games or Hollywood’s murder a minute films. Similar to so many other mass killings by young males the reasons for their actions are never fully elucidated.

 

Media outlets took turns politicizing this tragedy calling for more gun control legislation. A few national cable concerns consistently plastered Adam Lanza’s picture across our screens making him a martyr to those on the fringe of society, instead of portraying him as the psychotic he was. Professional apologists with doctoral degrees jumped into the fray discussing certain quirky personality disorders that could have led this psychotic to perform these heinous acts of violence. The few facts known about Adam’s background to date are his mother, Nancy Lanza, was divorced in 2008 leaving her with an excellent financial settlement to finish raising her son. Early news releases noted Nancy Lanza had previously worked at the massacre site, now the reverse is being stated. She had a fixation with guns, which allowed Adam to obtain his weapons easily. An older brother discussed Adam’s psychological profile in a generalized sense mentioning the word autism in passing. Whether he had a developmental disorder or a mental affliction acquired in early life remains the subject of debate. Words attached to Adam Lanza run the gamut from introverted and withdrawn to troubled and psychologically imbalanced. Adam is a reflection of many emotionally troubled people who live on the sidelines of life until the last thread of reality finally leaves their minds.  Unfortunately, he was not satisfied to die alone. Today the nation is grieving for the little ones who will never reach their full potential. Only God knows what tomorrow will bring. Mark Davis, MD