Henry Imler March 31st, 2006

Something is wrong in America. More and more Americans are
using drugs to control their behavior. While I am no doctor and I am
sure that in certain cases medication is warranted, the prescription
trend seems to indicate that many citizens and doctors are taking the
easy way out:

I have heard unofficial stories of people going to the doctor or
counseling and the first thing the doctor/counselor goes for are pills.
The New Scientist’s article, Prescribing of hyperactivity drugs is out of control echoes this same sentiment, with studies to back it up:

To diagnose ADHD reliably, a psychiatrist would ideally
observe a child for several hours, checking their behavior against a
list of symptoms relating to activity and ability to concentrate. But
in many cases, family doctors are prescribing the drugs after just a
few minutes of consultation, based largely on evidence of
boisterousness.

Much of my frustration comes from
[url=http://www.hundiejo.com/photo/v/honzo/ZoloftAd.html]the constant
advertising[/url] I see for these mind-altering drugs. Just this past
week I went with a good friend of mine to his counseling appointment
and the clock in the waiting room advertised Zoloft. This constant
advertising creates in the public mind that Zoloft is the cure to their
kid’s problems:

Doctors are under growing pressure from children and
their parents to prescribe the drugs, as many believe that stimulants
will help them get better school grades. “I have a colleague whose son
was mobbed by friends wanting prescriptions,” says Scott Kollins, a
child psychologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

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