Drugging the Next Generation
Previously on WMD:
Nanny State: Let's Drug All Our KidsMore Education Woes
From the Christian Science Monitor:
To date, according to activists who track the issue, seven states have laws prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs for children. Over the past few years, 46 bills in 28 states have either passed or are awaiting action.
Currently, one federal bill, the Child Safety Medication Act, prohibits schools from making medication a requirement of attendance and calls on the Government Accounting Office to track how often schools pressure parents to seek ADHD diagnoses. It passed the House in 2003 but is currently stalled in the Senate.
Yet even as courts and legislatures muddle through the question of offering protection to parents who choose not to medicate their children, controversy deepens over the use of stimulants like methylphenidate - the generic name for Ritalin - by children.
Matt's Chat
This article was a fascinating read. I have always believed that the parents should have the final authority over what happens to their children. We have allowed our schools to make these decision for far too long. They do NOT have the right to force you to medicate your child. I fully support legislation that would clear that up for "intellectuals" running our nation's institutions of learning.Mark's Remarks
Yes, Matt, but why have the schools gained so much power? The parents, in my opinion, are just as much culpable for ceding to much power to the schools. And, of course it is stalled in the Senate, because John Kerry wants to teach your kids about medication, like Puff the Magic Dragon, complete with hand gestures to that tired hippie song about pot. Finally, we are taking back individual choice and care of our children. However, in order to keep it, we have to not cede authority back to the schools, and keep the initiative upon ourselves (ourselves being parents, though I am not one).
