Wyoming Coroner Claims, 10 to 1 If You Are Taking Your Psych Meds Correctly You Won’t Die, Bill Fails to Test for Psych Drugs After Death
Republished with permission from AbleChild
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, careless statements and unfounded assertions can jeopardize outcomes that truly matter. And sometimes the information being circulated is simply wrong. What’s most concerning, however, is when such inaccuracies come from medical doctors and those who should have known better.
During a legislative hearing in Wyoming of the Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee, AbleChild submitted testimony in support of 26LS0205 – The Data Collection and Toxicology Transparency Act. In a nutshell, if approved, this legislation would have required the coroner to investigate and report the presence of psychiatric medications in all suicide and homicide deaths.
Laramie County Coroner, Rebecca Reid, was present at the hearing, opposing the recommended legislation. That the coroner opposed the legislation wasn’t the problem. Laying out her concerns, Reid explained her opposition this way, “psychiatric medications are among the most prescribed medications and their presence in toxicology reports do not establish causation.”
Reid is correct. The problem is that the recommended legislation never intended for the coroner to establish cause of death based on the toxicological results revealing psychiatric drugs (including therapeutic levels) in the system of the deceased.
Furthermore, Reid explains also that “mandating reporting without proper context risks misinterpretation of data and may inadvertently stigmatize mental health treatment.” Interesting. Reid almost sounds like a spokesperson for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness and an attorney for Big Pharma). Reid is making a simple request more difficult than necessary.
The legislation was never intended to do anything except collect data as to whether the deceased did or did not have psychiatric drugs in their system at the time of death. What part of that data could possibly cause stigmatization? All due respect to the honorable Coroner Reid but given the ever-increasing number of Americans (1 in 4 adults) being diagnosed with a mental illness and, in fact, experts calling it a national “crisis,” one can hardly imagine that being stigmatized for having a mental illness is even possible.
Reid further had problems with requiring targeted medication investigations in every suicide and homicide because it would “impose a significant administrative burden, potential delay and other critical death investigation and diverging attention for more pressing matters.” How? One could argue that blood is routinely taken from the deceased for toxicology tests for illegal drugs. How much of a burden could it be to use that same blood to test for legal prescription psychiatric drugs? Perhaps, if similar legislation is considered in the future, the coroner could explain this perceived administrative burden.
Reid wrapped up her opposition by raising the issue of privacy, explaining that “mental health treatment is deeply personal,” and mandating specific drug investigation is outside the scope of the coroner’s role.” There was never any intent to make the deceased known. Again, it is simply data collection, not who but what. By the way, HIPPA was never intended to shield psychiatrists from giving children cocktails of drugs or to protect mass killers who kill citizens in schools, malls, and churches.
It was of special interest during the coroner’s question and answer period when she explained to lawmakers that “in Laramie County, 98% of our cases have alcohol and illegal drugs in their systems. If someone is taking their medication like they’re supposed to, ten to one they’re not gonna die by suicide.” How would the coroner know this information if she has never conducted toxicology tests for psychiatric drugs?
Plus, it cannot be ignored that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has put Black Box warnings (the most serious warning before pulling a drug from the market) on all antidepressant drugs for Suicidality. Yes, the antidepressants can cause those taking the drugs to commit suicide.
Finally, Dr. David Foreman, a psychiatrist who testified in opposition to the legislation, clearly wins with the most half-baked theories provided to lawmakers that day. According to Foreman, “the way they work (medications for depression) they actually take a couple of weeks to get the effect meaning it has to go into your brain…you have to make new RNA…DNA, new RNA, and it basically takes several weeks to get the effect.” No. This is not true. New DNA and RNA are not made when you take antidepressants.
Science does not know what causes depression or any other psychiatric disorder. There is no objective, confirmable abnormality that is depression. No test is available to measure brain chemicals. And the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the antidepressants have no idea how the drug “works’ as “treatment” for any psychiatric disorder.
The psychiatrist was good enough to explain that “once you take more than three medications, it’s hard to predict what is going to happen.” Yep. Three mind-altering drugs are difficult to keep track of and how they may adversely affect the patient. And, finally, Foreman says “polypharmacy could be a…significant problem.” Truer words have never been spoken. Hence the reason for the requested legislation.
Unfortunately, Wyoming’s lawmakers were not provided with enough factual information to make an informed decision and, apparently, taking the advice of Coroner Reid and psychiatrist Foreman, decided to shelve the legislation.
How many are dying in Wyoming while on psychiatric medications is important information. The drug data may not show any causation between the psychiatric drugs and the death, but the collected data would have shown a pattern/association of psychiatric drug use and death. Wyoming legislators have chosen to do nothing to try and find out what is causing the increased suicides in the state and to quote psychiatrist Foreman, “it’s hard to predict what is going to happen.”
Since 2015, Wyoming has ranked among the top three states for suicide rates in the nation. From 2018-2021, Wyoming had the highest rate of suicide in all fifty states. There were 352 suicides in Wyoming for the combined years of 2021-2022 for an overall rate of 30.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 population. In individuals under the age of 29, there were 92 recorded suicides, including 6 in children aged 10 to 14. Additionally, there were 13 homicides within this age group, 6 of which involved victims under 14 years old. Source.
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