AlterNet: Big Pharma Bribes Doctors to Hook Your Kids on Drugs

[marmar]

Big Pharma Bribes Doctors to Hook Your Kids on Drugs

By Bruce E. Levine, AlterNet. Posted July 17, 2009.

Americans must start to question the legitimacy of the exploitative pharmaceutical-industrial complex and the predatory people atop them.





"The wave of evil washes all our institutions alike." –Ralph Waldo Emerson


The wave of evil washes not only the financial-industrial complex, the military-industrial complex, the energy-industrial complex, and predatory executives at AIG, Citibank, Halliburton, Blackwater/Xe, Enron, and Exxon. The pharmaceutical-industrial complex has virtually annexed the mental health profession, whose all-star opportunist team is captained by Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Biederman, the high-profile doctor most responsible for the explosion of kids on psychiatric drugs, first for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and then for bipolar disorder.

In 2008, Biederman was nailed by Congressional investigators for taking $1.6 million from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 and failing to report most of this loot to his university, a major conflict of interest in violation of the rules. In a February 26, 2009 deposition given by Biederman to several states attorneys (who were claiming that makers of antipsychotic drugs defrauded state Medicaid programs by improperly marketing their medicines), Biederman was asked what rank he held at Harvard.

"Full professor," Biederman answered.

"What’s after that?" asked one state attorney, Fletch Trammell.

"God," Biederman responded.

"Did you say God?" Trammell asked.

"Yeah," Biederman said.

As part of this legal proceeding, Biederman was forced to provide documents relating to his interactions with Johnson & Johnson, the giant pharmaceutical company. These documents included presentations he made over several years summarizing the work of his center financed by Johnson & Johnson. On March 20, 2009, the New York Times reported that Biederman pitched Johnson & Johnson that his proposed research studies on its antipsychotic drug Risperdal would turn out favorably for Johnson & Johnson -- and then Biederman delivered the goods. The Times also reported that in 2005 Biederman proposed a study on adolescents using the ADHD-drug Concerta, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, and he assured the company that his study would "extend to adolescents positive findings with Concerta." And in 2006, Biederman was co-author of a study showing that children given Concerta for a prolonged period did not have reduced growth, allaying a significant concern about the medicine -- but in contradiction to what has now been established. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/141369/big_pharma_bribes_doctors_to_hook_your_kids_on_drugs/

[snappyturtle]

1. I remember back in the 80's a friend of my son's. His name was Dave.

Dave just oozed an aura of future success. Bright, humorous,and extremely good looking blond, blue eyed All American type. His parents were very successful professional types who never seemed to be around a lot. Frequently Dave spent time at my house with my son and a couple other of their close friends. I always enjoyed the times the boys visited. Lots of laughter and good times talking one minute about sports and then girls and what happened at school, ad infinitum! Just full of life!

However, I began to notice a change in Dave. He seemed unhappy. I asked my son about it. He said, "Oh, his mom has him on Ritalin to help him focus!" The kid seemed zombie like to me. I had a brief encounter with Dave's mother. We were making arrangements for the kids, and she asked me out of the blue if I didn't think Ritalin would help my son. I was aghast. "Help him do what?," I asked and she answered back with, "Well, to concentrate better on his classes." She had high aspirations for her son. She even went so far as to give me the name of a doctor who would be willing to access my son! I came away with the feeling that Dave's mother put him on Ritalin for herself. He had seemed normal to me. I had taught many boys Dave's age in health and psychology classes so I had what I thought was a good base for measuring Dave. I think all to often the drugging of our kids keeps them from being kids and all that comes with it....annoying to the parents or not. Maybe it helps a few but so many?

Here's an easy to read article about the side effects of Ritalin: http://www.ncpamd.com/Stimulant_Side_Effects.htm