cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Links Marijuana To Mental Health










  Drug Czar Links Marijuana To Mental Health

Posted by CN Staff on May 03, 2005 at 19:48:37 PT
By Vytenis Didziulis, UPI Correspondent 
Source: United Press International 

Washington, DC -- Christopher Skaggs, a 13-year-old from Colorado Springs, was in so many ways representative of many young Americans. In eighth grade he played football, had acne and experienced mood swings his parents attributed to pubescent hormones. Christopher also suffered from depression and smoked marijuana with friends, a combination Drug Czar John Walters, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, says is increasingly common among teens. 
"We are especially worried about the growing and compelling evidence from researchers around the world that regular marijuana use can contribute to depressions, suicidal thoughts and schizophrenia," Walters told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.The research cited by Walters, which includes studies in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, shows a pattern between early marijuana use and the increased chance for depression, schizophrenia and suicidal thinking later in life but cannot provide a biological explanation for this delayed causality."For those who have used marijuana prior to age 12 the rate of mental illness jumps to 21 percent," Walters told reporters. According to the ONDCP, "Teens age 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely than non-users to have thoughts about committing suicide" and "the earlier use of marijuana, the greater the risk of schizophrenia."Neil McKeganey, a professor and director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, echoed Mr. Walters' concern but admitted that recent studies have not "adequately explained why it is that some young people go on to develop serious mental health problems and others do not."Critics say Walters and the ONDCP are using poor methodological investigations and scare tactics designed to reduce marijuana use by exaggerating its negative side effects, in order to increase the perception of risk surrounding marijuana use. The fallout from such questionable research, critics warn, is that the government will lose credibility and not reduce drug use."It is another wave the flag, ring the alarm campaign to shake up baby boomers," Alan St. Pierre, executive director of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told UPI, referring to the similarities between Walters' zeal for aggressively pursuing a reduction in marijuana use and the reefer-madness crusade of the 1930s.Some of these studies are "methodologically quite unsound," Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a recently retired Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of many books on schizophrenia and drug use, told UPI. According to Grinspoon, there is an incidence of schizophrenia in about 1 percent of all populations around the world. "If these studies were true, we would expect that that figure would begin to see some ripple effect. ... There is absolutely nothing."Marijuana is currently the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 25.2 million people (10.6 percent) used marijuana in the past year. According to the ONDCP Web site, 6.4 percent of eighth graders in 2004 had tried marijuana in the past month and over 80 percent said marijuana was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to acquire.Tanya Skaggs, Christopher's mother, told reporters that before learning Christopher smoked marijuana in January 2004, she and her husband Ernest Skaggs paid scant attention to Christopher's mood swings and other signs of depression. After Christopher was caught smoking outside school with friends, Tanya and Ernest picked him up daily from school, checked his clothes for paraphernalia and his eyes for a glassy redness, and they ultimately sent him to New Mexico to spend time with other family members. A week after spending two months in New Mexico, Tanya Skaggs received a call from Christopher's girlfriend warning them that Christopher was contemplating suicide. When Tanya burst into Chris's room he had already hung himself but was still alive. He died three days later.The Skaggs family trauma illustrates a number of social trends and public-policy implications that both families and the ONDCP are grappling with.Mrs. Skaggs said she would warn other parents most about "the laid back attitude" average Americans take towards marijuana use. Robert DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior and Health and a former drug czar in the 1970s, translated Mrs. Skaggs' parental warning into a policy framework. "What discourages drug use is the perception of risk. When you see grave risk associated with using illegal drugs they are far less likely to use. And this perception of risk is a reflection of a societal belief system," DuPont said.Grinspoon and St. Pierre both agree the best way to curb teenage drug use is not through illegalization but through controlled federal programs similar to alcohol or cigarettes. Grinspoon recalled an episode outside a liquor store in downtown Boston where teenagers unable to purchase beer waited outside and exchanged cannabis cigarettes for six-packs of beer with outgoing customers."It's about how we as a society deal with people who use marijuana," Grinspoon said, adding, "(Marijuana) has never been responsible for a death and I can assure you it has never caused schizophrenia. An accident, a loss of a parent, alcohol or marijuana can precipitate schizophrenia but not cause it."Source: United Press International (Wire)Author: Vytenis Didziulis, UPI CorrespondentPublished: May 03, 2005Copyright 2005 United Press InternationalWebsite: http://www.upi.com/ Contact: nationaldesk upi.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/RxMarijuana.comhttp://www.rxmarihuana.com/Marijuana Now Comprises Nearly Half of Arrestshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20619.shtmlMarijuana Behind 45 Percent of U.S. Drug Arrestshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20618.shtmlGovt: Marijuana Causes Mental Illness http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20617.shtml

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Comment #29 posted by jose melendez on July 31, 2005 at 07:03:04 PT
variations on a theme
According to ONDCP's John Walters, funding drug policy programs is "a game in Washington."That message has spread like wildfire:"In the '80s, it was communism. In the '90s, it was drugs. In the 2000s, it's terrorism," said Eric Hackett, a Calexico drug investigator assigned to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and a member of an Imperial County (California) narcotics task force.(snip)I don't find it annoying because I know that terrorism is the buzzword to get us money," Hackett said. "It's a game. I have to use the right wording to get the right money in the right places."http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050731-9999-1n31drugwar.html
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 13:50:22 PT
Jose
You're welcome and good luck if you decide to apply!
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Comment #27 posted by Jose Melendez on May 04, 2005 at 13:41:03 PT
thanks
thank you, FoM . . . for everything!
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 12:22:19 PT
GreenJoy
We will keep working to help change the laws because of people like you and others here. I have never had a person even remotely try to post on CNews about how they were shaken down because they had heroin in their house. Maybe it happens but I sure haven't heard of it. I have heard many horror stories like yours about cannabis. Everything is upside down.Hang in there!
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Comment #25 posted by indijo142 on May 04, 2005 at 11:46:42 PT
BULLS__T!!!
There are a few big reasons why this 'link' between marijuana and depression and schizophrenia is bullshit. One, they say marijuana 'use' causes depression and schizophrenia, but it's not 'use', but rather 'abuse'. Some people seem to forget that doing too much of any drug has adverse side effects, including alcohol. Just ask any pharmacist why the little label on drugs provides direc tions for a minimal 'dose' every so many hours. If someone does too much of such medicine, it is known as 'abuse' and can have adverse side effects. There are no 'directions' on bags of marijuana because it is 'illegal' and the dealers don't care as long as they sell it all and make a huge profit.Second, there are a hell of a lot more factors that kick in to a teenager's metabolic system and biology that account for mood swings and depression. Personally, I am a witness to this. When I was a teenager, I used marijuana. But it wasn't marijuana that fucked up my life. My mother was an ignorant catholic who wanted me to be a priest and completely ignored psychological and biological facts about youth. After she separated me from my girlfriend in 1975, sent me away for the summer and I lost her, I experienced a broken heart and severe depression. She found out I used marijuana and blamed it, rather than the loss of my girlfriend. She was so clueless about my feeling for the girl that she didn't figure it out until 'Seven years' later. Meanwhile, marijuana was used as the scapegoat.Both the government and parents are using marijuana as a scapegoat for their own failures in responsibility. They don't want to take the blame for being stupid, negligent, sadistic, or irresponsible, so they blame marijuana. It's that easy! They point the finger at marijuana and shirk all responsibility for being bad leaders and parents. It's a historical fact. Bad leaders and parents prefer making scapegoats rather than admitting any fault within themselves! Marijuana is their most popular scapegoat.Third, how do we know the drug warriors aren't lacing half of the 'uncontrolled' street mj with bad chemicals, just to fuck us up and feed fuel to their campaign?
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 11:43:09 PT
Jose
I found this on MPP's web site and know you are into video and thought you might want to check this link.http://mpp.org/jobs/videorfp.html
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Comment #23 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on May 04, 2005 at 11:03:28 PT
GreenJoy
Hang in there GreenJoy I have the same thing going on with me. I had one doctor tell me I have tried all of the drugs available for degenerative disk disease. None of them work worth a crap. I am wondering if all of the prescription drugs I have taken through the years have left me with a liver problem or not. I like to watch this drug war story unfold because I have read so much about how this has all began with racists lobbying from their high places. It is intrigueing how people that had so much wealth and power could be so racist like Wiliam Randolf Hearst and Anslinger were, and how corporations have so much interest in the prohibition of this plant. The people who are fighting cannabis are the same people who are at the helm watching healthcare go down the drain in this county. They are quickly loosing credibility. Like I posted before: It seems like the federal government has waged a war on Prescription drugs because it is getting to the point that nobody can afford them.Every drug has a side effect of depression. 
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Comment #22 posted by GreenJoy on May 04, 2005 at 10:19:50 PT
The Switch
 I hope I don't share too much, but I can honestly say that during this one year plus without cannabis there were times when I was darn close to just pitching myself into the nearest tree branch shredder. Pkgkgkgkgggggg. Don't worry...I won't. But the pain has been so bad without pot... that feeling/urge was recognizable. Have you ever been in so much pain that you just wanted to make it stop? It didn't help that they came crashing into my home and smashed me down on my face in my fourier and cuffed me and dragged me into my living room. I can glance over and see the spot from here as I type. It didn't help that they ransacked my home, defiled the temple. Its still hard to live in it...my home of 15 years. It didn't help that the court seemed callous to the chronic pain. Perhaps I got probation instead of incarceration because of it. I don't know. Anyway, I digress. They're just saying it was the chicken and not the egg. I can well understand someone partaking of the wonder weed, soothing some gnawing emotional/physical pain. And then when its ripped away from them it becomes unbearable to continue on.  But I WILL. I'm mad and I percieve the good fight now. I found the the switch and flipped it! 
 
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Comment #21 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on May 04, 2005 at 10:06:07 PT
A War On Prescription Drugs
The way I see it, the federal government has no credibility to say anything about drugs. Look at prescritption drugs, it would be safe to say they are winning a war against prescription drugs because it is now to the point where a large portion of the American people can not afford prescription drugs. The only thing the Bush Administration is good at is war. The way corporations and jobs have left this country, one would assume a war has been waged against them. 
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Comment #20 posted by Sam Adams on May 04, 2005 at 09:55:09 PT
Mentally ill
I was petitioning once for a MJ referendum and a guy about 15 or 16 years old came up to me. I told him he was too young to sign. But he pulled me aside, away from his friends, and looked me in the eye real ernestly and said, "you know, I've got real bad bipolar disorder, and sometimes smoking a little herb is the only thing that keeps me functioning. It's much better than the prescription drugs.  I've told my doctors this and they acknowledge it, but there's not much they can do about it." He said smoking small amounts often enabled him to do homework & other mental tasks when he was feeling real bad. It's easy to tell when someone's lying or telling the truth. I immediately understood why he was telling me, I'd experienced the exact same thing with other medical problems and cannabis. You feel like you've made a very, very important discovery, that other people should know because it's made such a huge difference for you, it could help many others. But there's no real outlet for this discovery. Our entire cultural/industrial/medical system is set up to supress medical MJ. Sometimes you just want to tell someone who will listen to you. With mental problems it's especially tough, because you don't even want to admit out loud that you're struggling hard just to maintain basic sanity.It's just as easy to see that Walters and most people in the government are lying, evil bad people.
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Comment #19 posted by runderwo on May 04, 2005 at 09:50:50 PT
insane
How does this have anything to do with marijuana? The kid was depressed before he was noticed using it, and then eventually committed suicide after his access to it was removed? You could just as easily say that his medicine was taken away from him and the inevitable occurred. Absolutely no conclusion can be drawn from this, but isn't it just great that they use the death of a teenager to promote negative associations with marijuana (business as usual)?
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 09:20:16 PT
I Am Now Mentally Ill!
John Walters has pushed me over the edge!I'm only kidding!What he is saying is really off the wall!
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Comment #17 posted by Jose Melendez on May 04, 2005 at 09:12:29 PT
Walters' points
According to Walters:- What you tell your kid about your own past drug use is "your business", parents should not treat their children as confessors.- Funding drug policy programs is "a game in Washington."Any questions?from: http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/050305pbrghalert.cfmNow is your chance to be a part of the opposition by joining other Drug Policy Alliance members to speak up against this insidious policy at the Pittsburgh summit.In Walters' first two summits held in Dallas and St. Louis, Alliance members made their voices heard with thoughtful questions that pressured the ONDCP to acknowledge the harms of student drug testing. Their inquiries highlighted the flaws and inconsistencies in the messages of the presenters for other attendees. With the help of our online toolkit, which contains action ideas, and by signing up to our meet-up tool, which connects you to other reformers to strategize before attending the summit, you too can impact Walters' drug testing policy!If you attend the summit, please grab hand-outs, snap pictures and share with us what happened by emailing jkern drugpolicy.org.The date and location of the meeting is:-- Thursday, May 5, 2005, 9am-5pm
Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh, 1160 Thorn Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA.Thanks for being involved and taking the time to let ONDCP know that their misinformation campaign will not go unchallenged!
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Comment #16 posted by b4daylight on May 04, 2005 at 08:49:41 PT
678
Comment #9 posted by mastercy on May 04, 2005 at 06:53:21 PT
anxietyI hear yea..All the more reson to legalize so we can save our poor children..Even though this gotta save the children is abused itself.
think about it what causes more damage to our childrens adukt life?The national debt or Pot?
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 08:46:13 PT

It's On C-Span 2
 Mental illness is caused by many factors but lord knows it isn't from using Cannabis! 
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 08:42:37 PT

Heads Up: C-Span Now
It's the mother that's talking now!
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Comment #13 posted by Dankhank on May 04, 2005 at 08:20:38 PT

Still trying to understand ...
trading joints for beer ...trading joints for beer ...trading joints for beer ...nope, can't get my mind around that ......like shooting yourself in the foot ...oh ... they're kids ... hope they learn soon ...
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Comment #12 posted by darwin on May 04, 2005 at 08:12:07 PT

DEAwatch
I found this DEA agent post over at the DEAWatch website and felt a need to post it here. "Our esteemed ONDCP director is hitting the public circuit today with news and info that using dangerous drugs causes severe mental handicaps later in life. However, when asked to explain why George W. Bush, having habitually abused marijuana, cocaine and alcohol continues to be the mental giant he is, Waters claims that Mr. Bush used a type of weed and coke of an earlier year which posed no serious threat to one's mental stability.Yeah... right!!!But to counter the question that Mr. Bush, being a mortal just like everyone else, could not possibly escape the brain damage and deterioration Waters claims the rest of humankind is susceptible to by dangerous drug use... Waters claims that Mr. Bush used illegal drugs at a much older age, 35,... thereby escaping the damaging effects of repeated marijuana and cocaine use his scientific data confirms people under 35 (will) suffer from.When asked if other adults who use illegal drugs can also, like Mr. Bush, be worry-free of dangerous side-effects and diminished mental capacity, Mr. Waters replied, "No."... because George Bush was personally selected by The One True God to be our world's savior, only George W. Bush, alone, has been rendered immune to all of the psychological and neurological dangers we mere mortals succumb to from illegal drug use.Our thanks go out to Dir. Waters for relieving our minds of any worry that the war in Iraq, social problems, economic misery, needless deaths and hopelessness caused since Mr. Bush was (s)elected are solely the fault of other drug users whose diminished mental capacities have caused them to disagree with God's appointed, George Bush."You can find it here: http://members.aol.com/deawatch/daily.htm

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Comment #11 posted by stoner spirit on May 04, 2005 at 07:48:48 PT:

Addiction to Cathine
Yes, I'd have to agree that cathine is the most used and addictive drug in the world. Look at me, I have to drink four cups of strong black coffee a day, or else I'm cranky as hell. These people need to face reality, cannabis causing mental illness?, using us responsible adults as scapegoats? What kind of crap is that! 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 04, 2005 at 07:20:26 PT

Press Release from The Drug Policy Alliance
Reminder: John Walters in Pittsburgh on Thursday - Pennsylvania OnlyTuesday, May 3, 2005Drug Czar John Walters is at it again; he's traveling around the country on a taxpayer-funded drug war tour to promote student drug testing as the "silver bullet" to adolescent drug use and his next stop is in your state.As residents of Pennsylvania, you can convince educators and parents that Walters' quick fix solution not only is ineffective, has dangerous unintended consequences, and violates the rights of parents and the physical and moral integrity of young people, but may also violate the Pennsylvania Constitution. Since the 2003 Supreme Court case, which upheld Pennsylvanians' heightened constitutional right to privacy, many school districts in Pennsylvania have abandoned their programs, however some districts continue to test.Now is your chance to be a part of the opposition by joining other Drug Policy Alliance members to speak up against this insidious policy at the Pittsburgh summit.In Walters' first two summits held in Dallas and St. Louis, Alliance members made their voices heard with thoughtful questions that pressured the ONDCP to acknowledge the harms of student drug testing. Their inquiries highlighted the flaws and inconsistencies in the messages of the presenters for other attendees. With the help of our online toolkit, which contains action ideas, and by signing up to our meet-up tool, which connects you to other reformers to strategize before attending the summit, you too can impact Walters' drug testing policy!If you attend the summit, please grab hand-outs, snap pictures and share with us what happened by emailing: jkern drugpolicy.orgThe date and location of the meeting is:-- Thursday, May 5, 2005, 9am-5pm
Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh, 1160 Thorn Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA.Thanks for being involved and taking the time to let ONDCP know that their misinformation campaign will not go unchallenged!Learn More About Student Drug TestingDrug testing is humiliating, costly and ineffective, but it's an easy anti-drug soundbite for the White House. Student testing breaks the trust between children and adults, and drives students away from extracurricular activities. What's more, studies even show that student drug testing doesn't work to deter drug use.Visit our website and read a copy of our booklet Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No.
 http://www.drugtestingfails.org/pdf/drug_testing_booklet.pdfhttp://www.drugpolicy.org/news/050305pbrghalert.cfm
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Comment #9 posted by mastercy on May 04, 2005 at 06:53:21 PT

anxiety
I'll admit that marijuana gives me anxiety, but it usually comes when my stash is low and I have to figure out how to get more. It makes me nervous to actually go to some shady drug dealer's house, it really almost makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong having to acquire non-toxic plant matter in this way...and for $400 an oz, that's enough to make any man or woman have mental problems.-back in college I was addicted to strong black coffee, i could not get enough of it, I think John Walters should out law it like they seem to be doing with all these tobacco bans popping up everywhere, I miss the good ol' days. whenever those were.
peace
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Comment #8 posted by Kozmo on May 04, 2005 at 06:27:15 PT

Did marijuana prevent an earlier suicide ?
If one pays attention to that article it appears that the young man had mood swings but wasn't contemplating suicide until his parents cracked down on his marijuana use. Only after returning from the trip to NM did the depression escalate to the point of suicide. Was smoking marijuana helping him deal with his depression ? Did stopping the use cause his depression to escalate ? I guess we'll never know now that he is gone.
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on May 04, 2005 at 05:54:50 PT

RE Comment #4, BGreen
A classic example of the phenomenon you describe (parenting in a world without cannabis) is in the movie, Footloose. For those of you who haven't seen it: a group of sometimes suicidal high school risk-takers dare death through dangerous behavior because they are so bored with the white-bread life that their overprotective, prohibitionist parents make them live. And there is *NO Cannabis* to blame for their self-destructive behavior!Yes, it's movie fiction, but it's a true reflection of life in many American small towns.
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Comment #6 posted by boballen1313 on May 04, 2005 at 04:34:05 PT:

Mental health? 
We would all like to know what John pee Walters would consider a "healthy" mind. Sounds like most of us would qualify for mental illness by considering Bush a war criminal.
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on May 04, 2005 at 03:43:57 PT

Re-Inventing The Wheel (Refer Madness)
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" ~Chicken LittleWalters is probably the most entertaining drug czar ever. Now, you'll go insane if you smoke marijuana!Fear mongering at it's best (worst). Sad thing is, there are people out there that will buy this bullshit hook, line and sinker.Overwhelm Uncle Sam
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on May 04, 2005 at 00:19:52 PT

Some Parents Fail Miserably, but ......
We, the cannabis community along with the miracle plant, are the scapegoats for these failures of parental responsibility. I've got news for you venomous anti-truth/anti-cannabis/anti-reality people ... we could do away with cannabis this instant and yet tomorrow kids will still go crazy and disobey you and engage in very destructive behavior and many, many of them will be dead, just like now, but cannabis won't be around so you will have to find another scapegoat to blame for the FACT that you people SUCK AS PARENTS!But then again, I think you already know that.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on May 03, 2005 at 22:54:57 PT

"paid scant attention"... BEFORE
"Tanya Skaggs, Christopher's mother, told reporters that before learning Christopher smoked marijuana in January 2004, she and her husband Ernest Skaggs paid scant attention to Christopher's mood swings and other signs of depression. After Christopher was caught smoking outside school with friends, Tanya and Ernest picked him up daily from school, checked his clothes for paraphernalia and his eyes for a glassy redness, and they ultimately sent him to New Mexico to spend time with other family members." 
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on May 03, 2005 at 22:48:52 PT

Where have all the headlines been
in the past ten years or so about the huge increase in schizophrenia? Why wasn't this noticed? Why? Because it hasn't been happening is why.Poor Christopher Skaggs. I'd say his family and the way they treated him might have had something to do with his depression and suicide. I guess they don't want to face that, though.
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Comment #1 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on May 03, 2005 at 20:10:01 PT

caffeine addiction
Caffeine is well know to cause depression and mood swings. It is a very powerful drug to most people. Most people can never get off of this highly addicting drug.Caffeine IS the most widely used drug in the world. Dare to part with it and you will see just how addicted you are. Yes we are all addicts including John Walters.
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