Below is my fifth published letter to the editor since June 6th, 2006. The starting date 6-6-06 was well deserved for this disturbing truth. The futures of more than 300,000 recent and future Veterans depend on our government. We have to help these young adults.
Our vets should not be over-medicated, experimented on.
Several months ago, "60 Minutes" did a segment entitled "A Pill to Forget?" It was about the old drug used for high blood pressure called propranolol that they believe can erase memories. The story ended by saying that the military has provided funding to test this theory on veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder. I can understand a veteran with high blood pressure paying a co-payment for the maintenance medication Propranolol, but not to test out a theory that might not even work.
Since the 1950s, there have been hundreds of thousands of research projects and study groups that have been done involving our veterans.
During the Vietnam War, many soldiers roaming the battlefield for days on end were given the amphetamine Ritalin to keep them awake and alert for battle.
This resulted in a medication for our children with attention deficit disorder. It also provided documented evidence to medical/mental health officials that overuse of amphetamines can cause the user to be paranoid and delusional. It was not enough that past veterans helped create and protect our nation. It is time the medical community and drug companies returned the favor and knowledge they have already received from our veterans. Too many veterans from past wars have already ended up as just another number in a research project.
As a fine medical entity, which is grossly under-funded and under-staffed, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center itself must stop over medicating our new young veterans from this global war on terrorism.
timesleader.com
Pat Smith Duryea
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