About a month before the Aurora movie theater rampage left 12 dead and at least 70 injured in July, James E. Holmes told a psychiatrist he was having homicidal thoughts and she concluded he could pose a danger to the public, according to documents released Thursday.
University of Colorado-Denver psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Fenton told a campus police officer about her concerns June 12, the day after she met with Holmes for their only session. Her fears were revealed Thursday when the new judge presiding over the case unsealed a host of search warrants and arrest documents.
Fenton also told Lynn Whitten, a campus police officer, that after she stopped seeing Holmes he "threatened and harassed her via email/text messages," the documents said.
Whitten deactivated Holmes' ID so he could not get into university classrooms and laboratories, the documents say. That appeared to contradict what university officials have said: that Holmes was not banned from the university because of a threat but because his ID was deactivated as part of the normal student withdrawal process.
Along with chemicals used for explosives, rounds of ammunition, pistol cases and paper targets, police seized movie posters, video games, apartment lease papers, numerous computers, 48 containers of beer and other liquor and stacks of school textbooks. They found prescription medication for sertraline, a generic version of Zoloft used to treat depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder; and Clonazepam, usually prescribed to treat anxiety and panic attacks.
...The documents also shed some light on a notebook that Holmes mailed to Fenton, which was found in a university mail room after the shooting. The notebook was described in search warrants as brown with a placard on the cover that said "James Holmes." Also written on the outside of the notebook were the words, "My Life."
...The notebook, which is still sealed, has been a bitterly contested issue. The prosecution says it should be admitted into evidence, but the defense says it is part of doctor-patient privileged communication...
The ties between young people, anti-depressant drugs and violence are so well-documented that the FDA requires bold warnings for the use of psychotherapeutics, including possible fantasies about suicidal and homicidal behavior.
Among psychotherapeutics’ black box warnings are:
• “Increased risk of suicidal ideation in short-term studies in children and adolescents with ADHD.” (Strattera, SNRI)
• “Antidepressants increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in short-term studies in children, adolescents and young adults with major depressive disorder and other psychiatric disorders.” (Zoloft, SSRI)
• “Monitor appropriately and observe closely for clinical worsening, suicidality or unusual changes in behavior for all patients who are started on antidepressant therapy.” (Parnate, MAOI)
• “High potential for abuse; avoid prolonged use. Misuse of amphetamine may cause sudden death and serious cardiovascular events.” (Adderal, sympathomimetic amine)
A helpful infographic at VizWorld depicts the real-world challenges associated with Zoloft: "A Blockbuster Drug with a Black-Box Warning: Zoloft."
Of course, this morning the propagandists on the Sunday talk shows were not interested in dealing with the root causes of violence. They were instead fixated on redistributing wealth to illegal aliens and relieving citizens of their Second Amendment rights.
3 comments:
Excellent piece. The hypocrisy, arrogance and flat out stupidity of the elected royalty.
The pharmaceutical lobby must be awful powerful.
Let's see:
In 2009, the total contribution of the US firearms industry to the US economy was about $24 BILLION.
Meanwhile, the US pharma producers shipped $142 BILLION worth of drugs, of which $42 BILLION were exported. That's just the the drugs themselves.
Go after Big Pharma or the Firearms Industry? Seems like an easy choice.
You're looking at a numerator without a denominator.
These are some of the most prescribed drugs in the United States. Millions of people use them. It would be amazing if people with the psychiatric histories of these shooters had not been treated with any of these drugs.
Post a Comment