From: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 02:49:52 +0800
To: "Clay Olbon II" <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960710134531.0082ca14@popserver.panix.com>
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At 08:13 AM 7/10/96 -0400, Clay Olbon II wrote:
>First, a disclaimer:  I think adults should be allowed to ingest whatever
>substances they desire, and parents should be allowed to raise their kids
>without undue interference from the government.  
>
>Having said that, I think that the major issue with Ritalin is that parents
>are giving it to their children in significant percentages of the
>population. 

My real problem with the whole thing is that Ritalin is being prescribed by
government employees in most cases.  It thus constitutes behavior
modification of the population by the government which is certainly a human
rights violation.  It is arguably a First Amendment violation for the
government to chemically prevent you from expressing yourself in certain
ways.  They should not even be allowed to advocate such treatment.    

Obviously, I have no problem if private individuals acting alone or in
consultation with other private individuals decide to tank themselves up to
the gills (as long as they buy their own drogas) but government
"suggestions" for B-Mod should be very troubling to most of the readers of
this list.

Like religion, if you are crazy enough to ask your government what
mind-altering drugs you should take, the government should say -- "No
Comment.  That's up to you."

Government does not exist for the benefit of the governed.  Public school
Ritalin prescriptions do not exist for the benefit of the prescribees.

Once there was a 7-year-old girl.  The schools of Charlotte, NC diagnosed
her as suffering from minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) and prescribed
Ritalin.  Instead, her parents sent her to a non-government school in
another country where they did not employ Ritalin.  They substituted
teaching in its place.  Within a few years, she could decline Latin nouns
and everything.

DCF

"First God was the most important thing in men's lives so naturally men
killed each other for God.  Then the State became the most important thing
in men's lives so naturally men killed each other for the State.  Finally,
Health became the most important thing in men's lives so naturally men
killed each other for Health."