DANGEROUS DRUGS ALREADY LEGAL

In a recent letter regarding medical marijuana and its assumed "adverse
effects on Scott Thorpe," we read the belief that the "legalization of
drugs" is not a good idea. I would suggest that "drugs" are already legal.
But, unlike medical marijuana, these drugs are disguised, widely accepted
and distributed, and quite potentially dangerous.

I am referring to the heavily promoted anti-depressant and anti- anxiety
prescription drugs. These medications belong to a class of drugs known as
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), kin to LSD and PCP.
According to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, of the International Coalition For Drug
Awareness (www.drugawareness.org), and author of "Prozac: Panacea or
Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare": "Antidepressants are the closest thing
we've seen to LSD and PCP; they affect the same receptors in the brain." In
fact, the maker of Prozac patented LSD years ago, when it was touted as a
potential cure for mental illness and alcoholism.

Ritalin also affects serotonin levels. It is a meth drug, similar to
cocaine. Five million children were on Ritalin in the year 2000. Between
1995 and 1999 Ritalin use went up 23 percent in children 6 years and under,
while the Prozac family of drugs went up 580 percent in the same age group.

According to Dr. Tracy, and other experts, 7 to 10 percent of patients do
not have the liver function necessary to metabolize these drugs. Even if
they do, eventually this liver function can become impaired. The potential
toxic effects from extended use of and withdrawal from these substances can
be quite severe.

"I can certainly verify that anti-depressants can cause mania and psychosis
and cause violence and suicide," says Dr. Peter Breggin, of the Center for
the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, and author of "The Anti-Depressant
Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil,
Celexa and Luvox."

Dr. Tracy is currently writing a book on parents who kill their children
because 90 percent of them have been found to be on these mind-altering
drugs. The most recent, tragic case is Andrea Yates.

Debra Craig

Grass Valley