Adds Input to Reader’s Observation

This is in response to a letter published in the Aug. 30 issue of the CV Weekly by Mr. Tony Bowling. His letter was pointing out that the lawsuit being filed against the Glendale Unified School District by the parents of Drew Ferraro was not the correct target and that the more likely target would be the drug [Drew] was on and the company who produced it.

The autopsy report concluded that Drew was taking an antidepressant drug called Citalpram.  
I wanted to add a bit more information regarding  this conclusion.

In my job as a writer for the legal field, I am constantly doing research in the area of personal injury law and have seen much information on lawsuits filed by parents relating to this exact subject, the ill effects of prescription drugs, especially antidepressants, on their family members. In many cases, the drugs produced violent tendencies or suicides and the parents were not correctly informed about the effects. In other cases, some children were being taken off of the drugs and parents were not correctly informed of the need to do so on a slow gradient approach [and] medically supervised, and needless tragedies resulted. On these drugs, children will sometimes do outrageous things like killing other children, pets, or themselves. They become disassociated from reality.

Powerful mind altering drugs are too easily prescribed to children and it is not uncommon that side effects include violence and suicidal tendencies.  Too often parents are not properly made aware of these dangers by doctors, psychiatrists, or the drug companies themselves. This may not be the case with every child, but it is like playing Russian roulette.

Drew’s parents may have been the victim of this just as well. The number of lawsuits in the courts tells the story.

Trissie Badger
Glendale