Friday, March 05, 2004

Bill would curtail prescriptions for mentally ill children (Massachusetts)
Story in the Boston Globe - "The Church of Scientology's national campaign to attack the field of psychiatry has come to Beacon Hill, where several senators are sponsoring legislation to curtail the prescription of medication to mentally ill children. The bill, sponsored by Senators Richard T. Moore and Charles E. Shannon, would require doctors to provide parents with information from the "Physician's Desk Reference Family Guide to Prescription Drugs" related to a medication's possible side effects. Doctors would need a parent or guardian's signature before prescribing Ritalin, Prozac, and other widely used psychotropic medicines."  
  

Officials seek help to divert mentally ill inmates (Pennsylvania)
Herald-Mail story - "The Franklin County Prison Board will ask members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation to co-sponsor legislation that would fund programs to divert nonviolent mentally ill criminal offenders from county jails. The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2003 was passed by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate last year, said Don Murray, associate legislative director for the National Association of Counties, or NACo."  
  

New Congressional Caucus Focuses on Addiction, Recovery
Brief item at JoinTogether.org - "Reps. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) and Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) have formed a new Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, intended to enhance awareness of addiction and educate lawmakers about the challenges associated with accessing treatment and recovery services, the Legal Action Center reported March 2."