I challenge the editors of The San Francisco Chronicle to voluntarily try taking a strong dose of an antipsychotic psychiatric medication, also known as a neuroleptic. See what it’s like. The Chronicle editors has been spending Spring 2010 promoting and pushing laws to make it easier to forcibly give psychiatric drugs to people living outside of institutions, out in the community. The Chronicle has run columns, editorials and news articles. It’s time to speak out.

Zyprexa8 June 2010

A very concerned MindFreedom member called today to alert us:

The San Francisco Chronicle is running a whole series of prominent articles, columns and editorials this Spring promoting one thing:

More and more forced, court-ordered drugging of people living outside of institutions in the community.

Of course, we encourage letters to the editor to the Chronicle about this immediately. (Important: Keep your word count below 200!) You can use their web form here to submit your letter:

http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1

Neuroleptic Kool-Aid Acid Test?

Why don’t we offer the editors of the SF Chronicle the chance to voluntarily try a dose of their own medicine? Since the most common drug given for serious mental health problems is a neuroleptic – also called an antipsychotic – why not try a dose?

They can take Thorazine, Stelazine, Mellaril or Haldol, as I was forced to do. Or they can take the overblown, expensive newer “atypicals” like Abilify, Clozapine, Risperdal or Zyprexa.

Just like BP claimed their oil wells are totally safe, the Chronicle editors are making miraculous claims that these and other psychiatric drugs are the magic fairy dust that will end homelessness and violence, and bring an era of peace, prosperity, happiness.

This is pharmaceutical fundamentalism.

Forced drugging, the editor’s suppose, might get homeless psychiatric survivors out of their sight when they’re out for their own drug of choice – no doubt a cappuccino  – without ever offering the homeless any homes, or any jobs, or any peer support, or any other creative approaches that are proven to work, but may involve taxing the editors.

I guess the infamous pro-drug theme of the San Francisco 60’s finally won, though in a very twisted way.

Perhaps the SF Chronicle editors will have their own Antipsychotic Kool-Aid Acid Test, reminiscent of Ken Kesey’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test?

The MindFreedom member who called, said today’s Chronicle editorial is very prominent, in very big print, promoting more court-ordered forced psychiatric drugging of people living outside of institutions. In California, this “Involuntary Outpatient Commitment” is called Laura’s Law.

Because get a load of the Chronicle’s propaganda here!

The SF Chronicle’s Chemical Crusade – Spring 2010:

You can read today’s 8 June 2010 editorial here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/EDE61DR8HJ.DTL

It follows quickly on a 5 June column by C.W. Nevius here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/BA7V1DQ5BM.DTL&type=health

The notorious crusader against our human rights, Carla Jacobs, just had a guest column last week calling for our forced chemical pickling:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-03/opinion/21655088_1_mentally-court-ordered-treatment-jailings

And less than a month ago, the Chronicle ran an article about how every County in California is being pushed to implement this law:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-05-12/news/20894383_1_mental-health-carla-jacobs-end-homelessness

Where Are the Real Journalists?

Right now…

  • Mainstream journalism ought to be covering the fact that authors like Bob Whitaker have exposed that the psychiatric drugs are not what they’ve been sold. Bob’s book Anatomy of an Epidemic brings together the actual data, showing that these drugs were over-sold as panaceas, when actually they are apparently causing an upsurge in severe mental and emotional problems. (You can hear Bob on our MF Web Radio this Saturday.)
  • Mainstream journalism ought to be covering the claims by PsychRights, a sponsor of MindFreedom, that these drugs can actually increase the rate of violence.
  • Mainstream journalism ought to be covering the role of psychiatric drugs in the enormous mortality rate of people in state mental health care, who die 25 years earlier than the rest of the population.
  • Mainstream journalism ought to be covering the latest avalanche of scientific evidence that neuroleptics – also called antipsychotics – can actually shrink the frontal lobes, the part we’re supposed to use for higher-level functioning..

MindFreedom is pro-choice on taking prescription psychiatric drugs. Many of our members choose to take neuroleptics. But we are all united in standing up against bullying, that shoves these chemicals down our throat, even though the drugs can kill and cause brain damage.

Here’s another connection between BP and the Chronicle. Neuroleptics are based on synthetic chemicals made, ultimately, from coal tar derivatives. Early neuroleptics have been used as dyes, and as deworming agents in sheep.

Speak Out About the Chemical Crusade

So the Chronicle is, in a way, pushing to force a chemical spill into our minds.

You can submit your letter to the editor here (keep it below 200 words):

http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1

If you want to navigate the SF Chronicle’s voice mail and leave a strong but civil phone message for their news or editorial divisions, you can call them here: (415) 777-1111

If you want to send a strong but civil to individual editors and writers, their contact info is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/info/e-mail/

Especially consider an e-mail to their top editor, Ward H. Bushee, here: wbushee@sfchronicle.com

And seriously… In a way all of those pushing forced drugging will, if they win, get a dose of their own medicine. Because eventually everyone has a dear loved one – a young person, a senior in a nursing home – who can end up being denied humane alternatives, and instead be given neuroleptics.