Freedom Convoy | Ontario - The Power of Truckers and Music

 

This blog offers its full support to the truckers currently standing up for humanity across Canada.

Now watch the video.

Bob Fiddaman

The Paxil Kid From Pictou County

I thought I'd heard the last of the Paxil horror stories. I thought doctors and psychiatrists would have got the message by now that Paxil is not safe, is not suitable for children and adolescents but...

A story hit me hard today, a realization that this abhorrent antidepressant is still destroying lives.

Shawna (not her real name but being used to protect the identity of her and her son) is a mother who has took it upon herself to fight for her 20 year-old son.

The story bears all the hallmarks of psychiatric abuse but, hey, how can you prove that when so many people believe that psychiatrists actually know what they are doing? In truth, they don't, in truth they use people as guinea pigs to see if they can tolerate drug a, b,c or d.

Shawna’s son was extremely shy and had just come out of a relationship. Shortly after he, according to a Canadian news website, "spiralled into a deep, dark depression that saw him in his unlit room, unable to sleep, eat or perform even day-to-day tasks."

His mother did what she thought best and took him to a hospital where he was prescribed Paxil... yup, just like that.

This from the article...

He was prescribed the anti-depressant Paxil which she was told would help alleviate his depression, but instead it made things worse.

Shawna said the side effects of the drug were probably more devastating than his symptoms of depression. He started to threaten to kill him himself, sending her “goodbye texts” and wandering off without any contact for hours and hours.

“It was just crazy thinking,” she said. “You couldn’t get him to do anything. She said the final straw was when he spent 32 hours straight on the rocks at a local beach, contemplating whether he wanted to take his own life.

Shawna's son was then admitted to hospital where, she says, he received no care and was just left sitting in a room  for three days with no visit from any psychiatrist. On the fifth day, however, he was seen by a psychiatrist.

**Insert drum roll here**

The psychiatrist told both Shawna and her son that he needed to be kept on the drug Paxil because it takes 30 days to work properly, despite the side effects.

Where does it say that on the Paxil labeling? Why didn't the psychiatrist associate Shawna's sons actions as an adverse reaction to the Paxil he was taking? If a patient is threatening to kill himself shortly after being put on Paxil why on earth didn't the treating psychiatrist acknowledge that this may have been down to the treatment?

So, Shawna's son continued to take the Paxil.

Here's the article again...

For the next month, she said, things were going from bad to worse.  He was in and out of Aberdeen’s mental health unit as well as Kentville and Antigonish’s units for short three-day stays. After being released from the units each time, she would have to call the police to help search for him because the suicidal thoughts kept coming and the wandering continued.

Mental Health and the Police

Here's where the story takes a rather absurd twist.

Shawna was told by a police officer that the only way her son could receive proper treatment would be if he was arrested. She was told by the officer that her son, once arrested, would then be "in the system" and "sent to Dartmouth for a 30-day mental health assessment."

A few months later her son was arrested for assault. Just as the police officer had told her, Shawna's son was given the treatment he needed - care. He is now on house arrest, under her care, and without the help of any psychiatric counseling.


The family doctor is slowing weaning him off the Paxil.


Afterthought

It's glaringly obvious to anyone reading this account that a 20 year-old kid was given a drug that gave him an adverse event, a dangerous adverse event. His treating psychiatrist should have intervened and guided his patient off the drug - instead, he chose to ignore the obvious signs of Paxil induced mania and told the kid to continue taking the medication. That's abuse by anyone's standards.

As for the mental health system in Nova Scotia, well, what can you say?

It takes an officer of the law to tell a patient's mother to, basically, get her son arrested, so he can receive appropriate treatment.

Talk about a comedy of errors!



Bob Fiddaman.



Source: Mom desperate to get help for son

Health Canada Refusing to Release Glaxo's Dirty Secret

The Canadian medicine's regulator, Health Canada, are reportedly sitting on information pertaining to a recent FDA  inspection of a GlaxoSmithKline plant in Québec, Canada.

In a letter to John Glavas Site Director, Quebec Operations GSK Biologicals, North America, the FDA raised concerns that related to bacterial contamination problems that were ongoing and may date back to 2011. Moreover, the FDA raised concerns about the purified water system at the plant.

The FDA also noted that since 2011 a total of 60 lots of vaccine from the plant have been rejected due to endotoxin levels that are over a pre-specified limit. Endotoxins are created by bacteria.

Glaxo manufactures roughly half of Canada’s seasonal flu vaccine order and has the country’s pandemic flu vaccine contract.

Health Canada carried out its own inspection of the plant but, according to The Toronto Star, are refusing to release its findings,

“Health Canada seems to be prioritizing what the companies claim is confidential business information over patient safety and that really isn't acceptable,” said Dr. Joel Lexchin, a health policy professor at York University and drug safety expert.

Health Canada refused to release the eight-page report in an emailed response. The agency said the inspection found no “critical risks” and the factory was given a “compliant” rating, but that it documented problems with contamination levels.

Great line, “Health Canada seems to be prioritizing what the companies claim is confidential business information"

So, if there is information that could be potentially damaging Glaxo scream, "Hey that's confidential business information".

Back in April  the FDA sent GlaxoSmithKline a warning letter listing a series of violations regarding one of their plants in Ireland. The plant, located at Currabinny, Carrigaline, Cork, Ireland, had been inspected by FDA officials back in October 2013 and it was found that batches of paroxetine [Known by it's brand names of Paxil, Seroxat and Aropax] had become contaminated with material from Glaxo's waste tank, which contained APIs [Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients], intermediates, and solvents.

A month later the Brazilian drug regulatory agency, ANVISA, sent Glaxo a warning letter stating that batches of Paxil may have been manufactured with the use of active ingredient in the presence of residues. As a result, the sale of Paxil was temporarily suspended.

Furthermore, in 2010 Glaxo were fined $750 million for failing to meet government standards for their drugs that were being manufactured at their Cidra plant in Puerto Rico. Violations that included...

• Antidepressants containing different dosage strengths.
• Heart medication containing different strengths.
• A diabetes medication with a defect.
• A children's ointment that was contaminated with a microorganism associated with bacteranemia, urinary tract infections, meningitis, wound infection, and peritonitis.
• And a injectable drug used to treat nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy that was contaminated with micro-organisms.

Glaxo's mission statement is that they are "are committed to fighting disease by bringing innovative medicines and services to patients throughout the world".

Maybe they should start by reassuring consumers that there are no contaminated medicines leaving their plants!

Bob Fiddaman.

The Mysterious Suicides of Tony Scott and Tooker Gomberg

Today I'd like to draw comparisons to two suicides that happened years apart and in different parts of the world. Both persons were famous, both deaths came out of the blue and left family members and friends in deep shock and wondering why?

Tooker Gomberg

Tooker Gomberg [above] was a bike and climate activist who made headlines a number of times.

In 2001 Tooker fell into depression which took him out of action for around 9 months - a year or so later he locked himself into a vault in Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's office and faxed out hand-written press releases on Klein's own letterhead, this was in protest at the Kyoto Protocol and global climate change.

In 2004 Tooker, who was now enduring another bout of depression, started taking antidepressants which, according to his bio written by his surviving wife, Angela Bischoff, "lead to increased anxiety and agitation, a common adverse reaction and potent predictor of suicide. After just five weeks on the drug, he was driven to end his anguish by jumping off the MacDonald bridge into the Halifax harbour. His bicycle, helmet, and suicide note were found on the bridge. His body has never been recovered."

Tony Scott

In 2012 Hollywood and the rest of the world woke to the news that Tony Scott, a British film director and producer, had killed himself by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles.

Scott, who was the younger brother of Sir Ridley Scott (English film director and producer) had been taking an antidepressant at the time of his death.

Both Scott and Gomberg were prescribed the SNRi Remeron, (mirtazapine) a drug indicated for use in patients suffering with major depressive disorder.

Scott's autopsy report showed that he had a “therapeutic level of mirtazipine (Remeron) and zopiclone (Lunesta), a sleep-aid” in his system on the day of his death on August 19.

During the past year or so I have collected information [gained under the Freedom of Information Act] regarding suicides in New Zealand.

I asked for information on patients who died from suicide between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2010 and a list of drugs they were taking at the time of or 6 months prior to their suicide.

Zopiclone appears a lot in the information provided to me, although in the main it was prescribed alongside a whole host of other psychiatric drugs.

In Auckland, just one of the many DHB's I contacted, there was a total of 31 suicides by patients under the care of Auckland DHB, of these 31 there were 10 on Zopiclone at the time of or 6 months prior to their suicide. That's almost a third!

In the UK, the British drug regulator, the MHRA, have received 1,451 adverse drug reaction reports related to Zopiclone use, of these 68 have been fatal. When we look at the adverse drug reaction to mirtazapine [Remeron] we learn that there have been a total of 2,728 reports filed to the MHRA, 87 of which are fatal.

This doesn't mean that 87 patients killed themselves whilst on Remeron, to look at the deaths one has to look further into the MHRA's drug analysis prints. [DAP's]

Remeron, it appears, is associated with 10 cardiac disorders that led to the patient dying, 18 deaths are listed as "general disorders" 13 deaths listed as "injuries", whilst 21 are listed as "psychiatric disorders".

Apart from cardiac disorders these explanations are rather vague, don't you think?

Digging a little deeper into the Remeron DAP we can see it get even more confusing.

Fig 1 shows that there were 3 deaths reported, 1 drowning and 13 "sudden deaths".

Fig 1

This has confused me somewhat, so much so that I Googled 'Sudden Death'. The Merriam medicine dictionary defines sudden death as "unexpected death that is instantaneous or occurs within minutes or hours from any cause other than violence."

So, given that there have been 13 sudden deaths reported to the MHRA why then are the 3 deaths listed above not 'sudden'?

Are we to assume that the 3 deaths were prolonged deaths as opposed to sudden? I would have thought that any death is sudden, wouldn't you?

Again, I referred to the Merriam medicine dictionary, it defines death as "the irreversible cessation of all vital functions especially as indicated by permanent stoppage of the heart, respiration, and brain activity : the end of life."

It becomes even more confusing when we see there have been 12 adverse reactions reported regarding overdose. [fig 2] Overdose is, just like death, split into three categories, namely; intentional overdose, overdose and prescribed overdose. No deaths were reported for prescribed overdose but there was 10 reported for overdose and 2 for intentional overdose.

Fig 2

Are we to assume that 'overdose' actually means accidental overdose? If so, how can we determine whether or not an overdose is accidental? If 10 patients on Remeron died as a result of overdose then it could be deemed as suicide, could it not? It could also mean that these 10 patients overdosed not by their own choice, was it homicide then? Were these 10 patients killed by someone slipping large amounts of Remeron into food?

It's bizarre that the MHRA don't add 'accidental' given that they add 'prescribed' and 'intentional' to the other categories.

Remeron is considered to be relatively safe in the event of an overdose. [1] The figures from the MHRA database would suggest otherwise. 41 overdose and survived. 10 overdosed and died - I wouldn't call that relatively safe, would you?

Further into the DAP we learn that the 21 psychiatric disorders I mentioned earlier are all listed as 'completed suicide.' [Fig 3] So, is completed suicide a psychiatric disorder?

87 deaths attributed to Remeron in Britain alone, 21 of those deaths were by suicide but the MHRA, in what I can only describe as a cover your ass tactic, decide to mask these suicides by labeling them as "psychiatric disorders".

Fig 3

They fail to mention exactly what these psychiatric disorders were. One can only assume that anyone who takes their own life has a psychiatric disorder of some sort... I mean, it couldn't have possibly been the Remeron that caused these 21 patients, Tony Scott and Tooker Gomberg to take their lives, right?

The Remeron product monograph [Merck] treads carefully.

Adults and Pediatrics: Additional Data

"There are clinical trial and post-marketing reports with SSRIs and other newer antidepressants, in both pediatrics and adults, of severe agitation-type adverse events coupled with self-harm or harm to others. The agitation-type events include akathisia, agitation, disinhibition, emotional lability, hostility, aggression and depersonalization.

"In some cases, the events occurred within several weeks of starting treatment.

Rigorous clinical monitoring for suicidal ideation or other indicators of potential for suicidal behaviour is advised in patients of all ages. This includes monitoring for agitation-type emotional and behavioural changes."

Merck cleverly omit the brand Remeron from this important piece of information for the consumer. Other pharmaceutical companies use this tactic too. It's designed to lump all the group of antidepressants together, it's then the job of the Remeron rep to convince a doctor that Remeron is safer than the other antidepressants on the market, they do this with company written documents, lavish dinners, gifts and payments [disguised as consulting fees] for doctors.

You'll note that Merck also list emotional lability as an "agitation-type event."

I first came across the term "emotional lability" when I read through the infamous Paxil 329 study.  GlaxoSmithKline used this term to hide the 5 attempted suicides that had occurred during the clinical trials of Paxil.

In fact, all of the agitation-type events Merck list for Remeron are precursors to suicide. Remember they are not talking about an illness here, they are talking about a drug that can induce these thoughts... something the MHRA adverse reports for Remeron fail to do.

Tony Scott and Tooker Gomberg both took Remeron, both killed themselves by leaping to their deaths. Family and friends will tell you that they were completely shocked by their acts.

Keeping an eye out... or monitoring patients on these drugs is nigh on impossible. Suicide is impulsive and these types of drugs inhibit emotion.  Fear is an emotion inhibited by these drugs and if we, as humans, do not fear death then we will embrace it.

The makers of Remeron have a lot to answer for as do the makers of other groups of antidepressants.


Bob Fiddaman.


[1] Relative safety of mirtazapine overdose.
Velazquez C, Carlson A, Stokes KA, Leikin JB. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11757992

Sara Carlin - 6 Years On

18 year old Sara Carlin

Today [May 6] marks the 6 year anniversary of the death of Oakville teen, Sara Carlin.

Sara tragically took her life back in 2007 and her much publicized 2010 inquest saw her parents, Neil and Rhonda, face teams of lawyers representing doctors and GlaxoSmithKline.

Sara had, around a year or so prior to her death, been prescribed Glaxo's Paxil [paroxetine], a drug that is infamous for inducing suicide, particularly in children and adolescents.

Sara was just 18.

The inquest, that I labelled the Glaxo & Friends Vs The Carlin Family, rolled out apparent SSRi experts who made various claims that 'suicide is much more strongly related to cases of untreated depression' and in any event Paxil induced suicide is more common when first starting the drug.



Oh really?

Sara had missed her dose for three to four days leading up to her suicide. This was disregarded by the experts because "the information provided did not suggest that Ms Carlin suffered from the usual triad of symptoms seen with withdrawal" - Oh really?

Completed suicide is a symptom of withdrawal. There is no greater suffering than death Mr Expert Man!

Anyway, Sara's story went global and many, myself included, believe that her suicide was brought on by Paxil. Yes there were other factors, all of which were used by lawyers representing both Glaxo and doctors during the inquest. I've mentioned before how Glaxo like to blame everything but their product, Sara's inquest is a classic example of this.

We see this played out all the time in coroners courts. I don't envy anyone who has to sit through so called experts blaming the victim but softening the blow with terminology such as 'troubled youngster' or 'mentally ill'.

Coroners courts put the victim on trial and offer opportunity for people that didn't even know the victim to say how bad they was, be it through drinking, illegal drug-taking or being an uppity teen. We've seen victims of suicide bad mouthed before and after Sara's inquest, Toran Henry and Shane Clancy are two that spring to mind.

A whole heap of recommendations were made at the end of Sara's inquest. I have wrote about the word 'recommendation' before. It means nothing.

None of the recommendations made back in 2010 have been implemented.

Today my thoughts are with Neil and Rhonda


Here's a video I did for Sara back in 2010, a video that has been viewed over 13,000 times.

Nessun dorma Sara

Related Sara Carlin articles

Sara Carlin Inquest – Latest

Sara Carlin Inquest – Failure of Oakville Medical Profession

Sara Carlin – ‘Death by Paxil’ Inquest – The ‘Expert’

Sara Carlin Inquest – Coroner’s Witness In U-Turn… And That Man Shaffer!

Coroner’s Inquest – Glaxo & Friends Vs The Carlin Family

Sara Carlin Inquest – Local MP Slams GlaxoSmithKline

SARA CARLIN INQUEST - What The Jury Should Know

Sara Carlin Inquest - "Paxil likely played important role in teen's suicide"

Sara Carlin Inquest - The Eli Lilly 'Links' & Today's Recommendations.

**Exclusive - Sara Carlin Inquest: The Bias Of Coroner's Counsel, Michael Blain & Coroner, Bert Lauwers?

The Inquest of Sara Carlin and the Moderation of Yahoo Groups




Bob Fiddaman

JOIN THE FIDDAMAN BLOG ON FACEBOOK

Canadian Network Report on Big Bad Pharma

Well worth watching.

As usual the pharmaceutical companies mentioned (Eli Lilly, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline) in the 16×9 investigation failed to appear in front of camera, opting instead for the tired old "Our drugs are safe and effective" kind of statement.

The regulators come under fire too. Footage includes Pete Breggin and David Healy.

Good to see Canadian TV highlighting the flaws of antidepressants... only wish their limp-wristed regulator, Health Canada, were the same.




**If you can't get the video player to load you can watch it via the TV network [HERE]
Bob Fiddaman

JOIN THE FIDDAMAN BLOG ON FACEBOOK

More Paxil Birth Defect Woes for Glaxo

It would appear that GlaxoSmithKline have some sort of sick fetish for courtrooms or battling against consumers who complain about their antidepressant, Paxil [Known as Seroxat in Europe and Aropax in the southern hemisphere]

It's just been announced that Canada has been given the green light to attempt to seek justice for its first national class action lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Paxil, which is alleged to have caused birth defects in children born to women who took it during pregnancy.

Representative plaintiff, Faith Gibson, took Paxil during her pregnancy throughout 2004. On September [same year] her daughter, Meah Bartram, was born with a hole in the heart.

The class action, given the thumbs up by The Supreme Court of British Columbia, will see lawyers argue that GlaxoSmithKline knew or ought to have known of the risks and failed to provide adequate and timely warning to doctors and the public.

The Supreme Court green light can be viewed, in full below:

Health Canada Bury Heads in Sand over Champix Suicides

Unsurprisingly, the Canadian medicines regulator, Health Canada, are burying their heads in the sand regarding the reported suicides that surround the smoking cessation drug, Champix, also known as Chantix [Varenicline]

Canadian newspaper, The Star, is reporting that their own "investigation has found 24 Canadians taking Champix to quit smoking have killed themselves since it hit the market here in 2007, putting it among the leading suspected causes of reported suicides linked to prescription drugs."

The investigation also found that there was no indication Health Canada has investigated individual cases of psychiatric side effects since it looked into 14 cases of aggression, depression and suicidal thoughts from 2007, adding, Health Canada did a “systematic review” to see if Champix caused psychiatric reactions in 14 cases from 2007, the year the drug came out here.

Sara Carlin: She Would Have Been 24

Happy Birthday Sara Carlin.

24 today.

It's a cruel world when a life so precious is taken away. So many young lives lost to pharmaceutical companies and their lust for power, lies and greed.

Nessun Dorma, Sara.

Back stories HERE




Fid

ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE OR UK HERE

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Ontario Coroner Gives Up Body Parts

Kind of a macabre title for a post doncha think?

Can you imagine, years after saying goodbye to a loved one, you are going about your daily routine, trying desperately hard to remain strong, to fight back the tears... because even after years of apparent healing one still grieves... despite what the DSM tells us all about grief.

In modern day society death is treated with disdain, grief is somebody else's problem as positions of power continue to make mockery of those poor souls that have passed, be they someone's elderly partner or someone's child who, through no fault of their own, fell victim to pharmaceutical madness and greed in life...and a total lack of respect from the Ontario coroner in death.

On Wednesday June 13, the Global Toronto ran with the story that the Ontario coroner had asked families what best to do with 4,000 stored autopsy organs.


Those bereaved didn't even know that the Ontario coroner had stolen/borrowed their loved ones body parts. In my language one first seeks permission when they wish to borrow something of mine... they don't just take.

It appears that the excuse coming out of Ontario is that this was done to spare relatives added grief. What utter codswallop!

Two Ontario deaths spring to mind here, that of Sara Carlin and Brennan McCartney, two teens who both suicided, two teens, both in their prime of life, who were prescribed antidepressants, Sara, Paxil, Brennan, Lexapro.

It's bad enough having to endure burying your own child but to hear news that all of your child's body parts may not have been intact because some horse's ass down at the coroners office decided to play God is tantamount to an index finger being paraded in front of the bereaved.

I'm totally shocked by this abhorrent behaviour, this total lack of respect. What an appalling way to treat human life...even in death.

Dr. Michael Pollanen, the province's chief forensic pathologist,  has openly apologised and, quite unbelievably, added,  "Based on today's standards, we could have communicated more openly with families in the past."

Today's standards?

Does this mean that retaining body parts without the permission of families has been going on for some time in Ontario?

I thought the whole Coroner's Office in Ontario was beyond a joke after the way they dealt with Sara Carlin's inquest. This news leaves me shaking my head in disbelief and wondering who on earth the head honcho in Ontario thinks he is!

Heads should roll for this... metaphorically speaking of course.

Grieving relatives have now been urged to contact the coroner's office to find out whether an organ belonging to a deceased loved one may have been retained. The coroners office have offered to pay for costs and funeral/cremation expenses.

Whoopifookindoo!


Parents should not have to bury their children, alas it is part of life that some have to.

No parent should ever have to ask a coroner for remains of their child... years after their death.

Sickening.




Fid

ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE OR UK HERE

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Lexapro - The Brennan McCartney Story

Brennan McCartney - A victim of Lexapro

You are young, you have relationship problems with your partner, you talk things through with your doctor, you are prescribed a drug, that drug is not recommended for people of your age group.

You kill yourself.

An all too familiar story has recently been aired on Canadian TV.

Brennan McCartney was just 18 years old when in November 2010, he was prescribed Lexapro [known as Cipralex in Canada]. 4 days later Brennan hanged himself.

Lexapro is the sister drug to Lundbeck's earlier antidepressant Celexa [also known as Cipramil]

Now, this is where pharmaceutical marketing comes into play.

Celexa's patent was running out, in other words, other companies could make generic versions of it, thus making heaps of money... money that Lundbeck wished to keep for themselves.

So, what do they do?

They play around with a molecule or two of Celexa then re-badge it as Lexapro. Voila! A new antidepressant hits the market.

The company hail it as a much better drug than their previous best-seller. Doctor's, convinced by pharmaceutical spin and ghostwritten articles start switching patients from one drug to another which is, in essence, the same drug.

Canadian Brennan McCartney was prescribed a sample pack of Lexapro, a pack that would have been left behind by a visiting Lundbeck rep who more than likely would have failed to mention the suicide link in Brennan's age group. The rep would not have cared who the doctor was prescribing it to, nor would he have intervened if the doctor was prescribing off-label to patients that the drug was not recommended for.

Brennan's doctor may or may not have told the 18 year old about the dangers of taking Lexapro, particularly during the first two weeks. Even if he did, Brennan really wouldn't have believed that a pill manufactured to help lift his apparent depression could actually make him worse.

SSRi's such as Lexapro make you do things that you wouldn't normally do. You lose your inhibitions, you lose your fear, two traits that are embedded in us for a reason. They tell us what is right and what is wrong, they are pre-cursors... warnings, insights into consequences.

Brennan was contemplating a split with his partner. He, like millions of others, was trying to deal with the heart-ache. His doctor, for reasons that I am unaware of, deemed Lexapro as a pill to help heal his heart, a heart, that remember, was broken...only metaphorically speaking.

Instead of healing the gut-wrenching feeling of a relationship split, Lexapro managed to do the complete opposite. It fixed nothing. The chemicals released into Brennan's system would have more than likely been the cause of his chemical imbalance - they would have changed because Lexapro gives you a re-uptake of serotonin - the substance, claim doctor's, psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies, that needs boosting when one becomes depressed.

This, as many of you know, is pseudo-science, it's claptrap, it's pharmaceutical spin designed only to sell more and more drugs to an unsuspecting public.

Man in white coat treats poorly patient - man in white coat is deemed as God.

There is no better retailer for a product.

So, what happens when a patient commits suicide when taking one of these types of drugs?

We've all seen the warnings that they 'may' cause suicide...yet when they actually do cause a person to take their own life we get no admittance of liability from the companies that make them. The victim...or rather the victim's original illness is blamed, in Brennan's case, heartache.

Brennan's parents have called for toxicology reports to be carried out on their dead son. Those wonderful folk at the Coroner's Office in Brampton, Ontario have denied their request citing, "the results would be inconclusive"

Genetic testing could determine if Brennan was in a susceptible population, there are certain folk who metabolize these drugs better than others. By not allowing Brennan's parents this one simple test the Coroner's Office of Brampton, Ontario are failing to protect the public, they are sweeping a young death under the carpet because any result from a toxicology report that raised a red-flag to this particular patient population would have to be tackled and Coroner's just don't want to get involved in something so irrelevant.

The Coroner's Office in Brampton should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Quite how they arrived at such a decision is baffling...to say the least

Brennan became agitated, so much so that he told his parents that he 'had to get out'. Brennan left the family home - he never returned again.

It's plainly obvious, to me at least, that Brennan's agitation was a result of ingesting Lexapro...as was his suicidal act.

Brennan McCartney was not depressed, he was saddened because that's how people with a heart get when they split with partners.

Lundbeck, the manufacturers of Lexapro, will no doubt use that in a defence - they will use the fact that Lexapro was not indicated for someone with sadness, particularly someone who fell into the age-group of Brennan. They don't mind doctor's prescribing it though!

So, another kid dies because he was prescribed a drug 'off-label', a doctor who was given carte blanche by medicine regulators who stubbornly refuse to ban SSRi use in children and adolescents. Not recommending use of a drug is not the same as banning it. It's a limp-wristed gesture to show the public that the regulator, in this instance Health Canada, are doing their job correctly.

The segment [below] was aired on 16x9. In it, Lundbeck are quoted as saying that 'there is no evidence that the drug increases the risk of suicide'

According to the FDA, the American drugs regulator, Lexapro was given a black box warning because it indicated that it can cause serious side effects, including disabling reactions, life-threatening conditions or fatal results.

So, suicide isn't a fatal result then?

And what of an inquest for Brennan McCartney?

Well, we've seen just how utterly useless Coroner's courts can be in the past. Two in Canada spring to mind:

Vanessa Young [Prepulsid] and Sara Carlin [Paxil]

In both cases recommendations were made. None of the recommendations made have ever been implemented.

It's ironic that the word 'recommendations' is used twice here. Not recommended for children and adolescents and recommended that A,B or C be carried out to protect future patients.

The word 'recommendations' means nothing, it's yet another smokescreen to make it look like something will eventually be done about a problem...when in actual fact there is no intention to do anything about a particular problem.

The segment about Brennan's suicide can be seen from 7.14 onwards.




Brennan's mom, Nancy, can be followed on Twitter - @NancyMcCartney2

Canadian Psychiatric Association Roll Out The Pregnancy and Depression Tool

Self reinforcing delusion:


1. a delusion is a false belief or opinion
2. and a self-reinforcing delusion is one that creates conditions that reinforce that false belief or opinion.


October 14, 2011 the Canadian Psychiatric Association [CPA] presented their 61st Annual Conference where they rolled out a soon-to-be published tool that, they claimed, may help ease the decision-making process for physicians and patients alike.

Sophie Grigoriadis, MD, PhD, from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, presented preliminary data from a pilot test of an "urgently needed" tool to help clinicians assist pregnant patients who have moderate to severe depression make more informed treatment decisions.

Urgently needed?

Informed treatment decisions?


"Conflicting information about antidepressant medications in pregnancy has made it difficult for clinicians to figure out how to treat these women. What we're trying to do is help them cut through some of the confusion by summarizing the literature in a way that will make it easier apply to clinical practice," Dr. Grigoriadis told Medscape Medical News.

And what exactly was that help in summarizing literature?

Grigoriadis explains:

There were conflicting reports about antidepressant use in pregnant women. In addition, evidence was also published highlighting the risks associated with discontinuing antidepressant medication, and specifically highlighting the increased risk for depression relapse in women.

In the end we need to understand that patients are at risk no matter what decision they make. They are at risk because they are exposed to depression, and they are at risk because they may be exposed to antidepressant medication.

Fair enough, although I would err on the side of caution when treating a pregnant mother with antidepressant treatment, the risk of malformations in the fetus would far outweigh any benefit.

Grigoriadis continued with:

The investigators looked at more than 38,000 abstracts and 821 scientific papers. Of these, 187 articles were selected for inclusion in the tool and underwent a quality assessment by 2 independent reviewers, based on a number of predetermined criteria, and received a final quality rating: high, moderate, low, or very low.

Not surprisingly, she said, almost none of the papers garnered a high rating because very few were randomized controlled trials. Most, she added, were deemed to be of moderate or low quality.

In the face of FDA warnings, she added, one of the finer points about antidepressant medications that is often lost is that these drugs still confer minimal risk to the offspring.

"Depending on the number of studies, the results change slightly, but what we're seeing is that these drugs are not hugely teratogenic, and I think people may feel more comfortable regarding that when they understand that these are not huge effect sizes. You have to consider that 3% to 4% of women can have a baby with a congenital malformation just by chance alone, and people need to understand that," she said.

Not hugely teratogenic?

How huge does it have to be?

Sagar Parikh, MD, FRCPC, a psychiatrist and researcher with the University Health Network in Toronto, who was not involved in the development of the tool, said it will definitely help fill a clinical gap.

He concluded: "There are clearly some studies that show some harm from some medications, but studies like the Paxil study are difficult to interpret on a case-by-case basis. Even from a societal perspective, it is difficult to interpret. If I told you 100 children in Canada were hospitalized at birth because of their mothers were on Paxil, but that the drug prevented 300 women with depression from being hospitalized because they were on Paxil, how do we weigh that? And right now, no one knows how to approach this dilemma."


Ah, no one knows.


Pretty much like a game of Russian roulette then, huh?

The CPA could always ask the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture these drugs if they are teratogenic, or maybe even approach Health Canada and ask them.

It's simple really but would, of course, throw a spanner in the works of this latest tool rolled out by psychiatry.

I applaud the Ying and Yang arguments but the debate about whether or not antidepressant medication can cause birth defects is a no-brainer - See Kilker Vs GlaxoSmithKline

Or, if you can stomach it, watch this short video:




The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Grigoriadis reports she is on the advisory board of Servier Canada. Dr. Parikh reports he has financial/research relationships with Mensante, AstraZeneca Canada Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Inc, CANMAT, Eli Lilly Canada Inc, Lundbeck Canada Inc, and Pfizer Canada Inc.

Say's it all really.



Fid

ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE
OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Adult ADHD - The Canadian Alliance Symptoms

It's not often that a top selling newspaper offers so much print space to fantasy. The Canadian Globe and Mail have excelled themselves with a recent article about Adult ADHD.

It's got the usual anecdotal story of a person who say's it's real...adding that it is "a legitimate diagnosis included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and recognized as a disability by government bodies such as Revenue Canada."

Well, if it's in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders then it must be real, right?

The article, which I cannot even be arsed to research deeply, contains a link to CADDRA [The Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance] who list the following symptoms as possible signs of Adult ADHD.

**Please note, these have not been made up as some sort of joke.


Adults may not recognize lifelong problems as symptoms of ADHD. Those who can relate to several of the following red flags may have the disorder:


• A history of impulsive behaviour and difficulty regulating attention.

• Problems with time management (keeping appointments, completing projects).

• Checkered work history and low productivity compared with potential.

• Anger issues (argumentative with authority figures, episodes of rage).

• Marital problems (spouse complains that he/she does not listen, forgets important events).

• Being over-talkative, interrupting frequently, speaking too loudly.

• Parenting problems (inadequate household routines, inconsistent or over-controlling as a parent).

• Money problems (impulsive purchases, bankruptcy, failing to pay bills or do taxes).

• Substance abuse (especially alcohol or marijuana) or excessive caffeine use.

• Addictions (collecting, compulsive shopping, sexual addiction, overeating, gambling).

• Unsafe driving (speeding tickets, serious accidents or being over-cautious to compensate for attention problems).

• Being the parent of a child with ADHD.

Yup, it appears CADDRA have pretty much cornered the market. Incidentally, CADDRA will be holding a two day conference at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre on October 14, 15 and 16. I wish they would have held it a few moths ago when I was out in Toronto, I would have loved to have gone...then again, chances are I would have fallen asleep during the talks of the white coated posse. Falling asleep doesn't mean you are tired or bored any more, it means you have ADHD...because the buffoons in white coats said so.

Fid


ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE
OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Judge Agrees Prozac Made Teen a Killer.

It's always difficult writing about murder, particularly as it may upset the family of the victim. Many families who seek justice through the courts would no doubt feel that there is simply no excuse for anyone who takes the life of another - self-defence may be a decent argument, pleading insanity may also be a first line of defence... but what about murder induced by prescription medication?

Well, a Manitoba judge has ruled that a Winnipeg teen was driven to commit an unprovoked murder because of the adverse affects of taking Prozac. The Judge, Robert Heinrich, came to this conclusion after listening to the testimony of Psychiatrist Peter Breggin MD.

PRLOG reports:

This was the first criminal case in North America where a judge has specifically found that an antidepressant was the cause of a murder.

The case involved a teenage high school student with no prior history of violence who, while chatting in his home with two friends, abruptly stabbed one of them to death with a single wound to the chest. The boy had been taking Prozac for three months, during which time his behavior deteriorated. He became impulsive and unpredictable, and suicidal. He also began to talk at times as if fantasizing about violence. He seemed to become a different person to his distraught parents. Dr. Breggin testified that his primary care physician and his parents alerted the prescribing psychiatric clinic to the boy’s deteriorating condition, but the clinic continued the Prozac and then doubled it. Seventeen days after the increase in dosage, the teen committed the violence.

The news first broke in the Winnipeg Press on 17 September and can be viewed HERE

As a parent I would find it difficult to accept that a prescription drug had caused someone to murder my child but knowing what I know about this class of drugs [SSRi's] and having experienced homicidal thoughts myself whilst taking and withdrawing from Seroxat [Paxil] I am in no doubt that SSRi medication can cause feelings such as homicidal thoughts. It's well documented that antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts yet kind of sniffed at when homicide is mentioned as an adverse side effect.

A life is a life, whether it be your own or someone else.

Pharmaceutical companies and medicine regulators all over the world have been told of the link time and time again. They have chose to ignore, blaming the "illness" instead of the medication.

They will no doubt refute the findings of the Judge in this particular case, the same as they do with other claims of antidepressant related homicidal crimes.

I fully expect the bog-standard reply from an Eli Lilly spokesperson, it will no doubt be along the lines of, "Prozac has benefited millions of people worldwide."

They fail to tell you about those it has not benefited or those that have taken their own lives or the life of another whilst on it.

Recommended reading: - The Power to Harm: Mind, Medicine, and Murder on Trial

Fid


ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE
OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Retired Hockey Star Wade Belak Hangs Self

Wade Belak “He had referred to having been on ‘happy pills’ for four years,”

News filtering through the National Post [Canada] suggests that former NHL star Wade Belak, was on antidepressants for four years.

Belak was found dead last week in a downtown luxury hotel in Toronto. He had hanged himself.

Wade Belak's mother, Lorraine, told CBC that her son didn't talk about his depression a lot.

The National Post's Sean Fitz-Gerald writes:

Lorraine Belak said she last spoke with her son on Sunday, before he left his family home in Nashville for a flight to Toronto, where he was preparing for his role on the CBC show Battle of the Blades. On Thursday, Lionel Aadland, Belak’s father, said the family had been told Belak had taken his own life.

“Of course, I couldn’t believe it,” his mother told the CBC. “I was stunned, shocked, but most of all, I just could not believe that this happened to him.”

Belak’s funeral will be held Sunday in Nashville, where he had settled with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children.

“The lesson we’ve learned from Wade will haunt many of us for a long time — you never know what’s going on in someone’s head,” TSN host Michael Landsberg told TSN Radio on Friday afternoon. “Wade Belak apparently had an external ability that was mind-blowing, how good he could sell his mental well-being. Always smiling.”

Landsberg, who copes with depression, told the station he and Belak had been discussing the condition and its treatments on and off for at least four years. He told the station they had talked about it as recently as a week ago.

“He had referred to having been on ‘happy pills’ for four years,” Landsberg said on the air. “And I said to him, ‘They’re not happy pills, as you know. At best, they return you to being the way you were beforehand.’ ”

It's interesting to note that Belak had been taking medication for his depression for four years, medication that was supposed to help him. It's unknown if Belak had abrubtly stopped taking his medication, if he had, then suicidal thoughts, that are an adverse event of this type of medication, could have been the reason why he did what he did.

A proper death investigation by the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, should include a review of his medical records and postmortem toxicology of any psychiatric drugs he was prescribed at the time of his death. They should be especially looking for changes in dose and /or the addition or deletion of any psychiatric medications, since these are high risk times for drug-induced, violent completed suicide

Belak was just 35 years old.

RIP

Full story HERE




Fid 


ORDER THE PAPERBACK 'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman US and CANADA HERE OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING 


AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

CCHR Canada - Another Emotional Journey

Toronto - 27th Aug 2011

I've not long got back from Toronto. CCHR Canada invited me out to give a talk about my advocacy work.

It's extremely difficult to get up in front of people and talk about the reasons why I do what I do, CCHR, wherever they are based, have a unique ability to make one feel at ease. The Canadian ball busting branch of CCHR are no different.

Once again, I was made to feel very special by this kick-ass movement. Landing in Toronto on Thursday, being taken for dinner, of the sticky rib variety then off out with one of the sisterhood, Lori Farquhar-Bryenton, to sup on a few Canadian samples of light ale. We discussed many things and I just felt so 'right'. Lori is now officially my Canadian drinking buddy.

Canada holds a very special place in my heart. Regular readers of this blog will know the story of Oakville teen, Sara Carlin, who hanged herself whilst on Paxil. Sara's story really reached out to me, it was a bond that I just cannot explain but I knew one day I would get to finally pay my respects to her. That's a private moment and one that I won't share on this blog. Sufficed to say, I did what I needed to do and now feel much better for it.

The CCHR gala, an annual event, was held at Lakeshore, a former psychiatric unit, only CCHR could muster up such a genius location. The whole event was kicked off by the new Chill EB video made in collaboration with CCHR International. It was the first time this had been aired to a live audience and I have to say it gave me goose bumps and was greeted enthusiastically by the sell out audience.

Guest speakers for the night was myself and Anthony Stephan of Truehope. Anthony gave a passionate talk to the audience about his life and his work which resulted in a standing ovation. He's an accomplished speaker and much of his work has tried to be shot down by the Canadian health regulator, Health Canada - they failed.

My talk was pretty much off the cuff [no script]. I really enjoyed speaking and felt only a slight twinge of nervousness but that was soon washed away. It's surreal for me to be given such a standing, I'm just a council tenant from Birmingham who decided to write a blog back in 2006, to be plummeted into a world of folk that are pretty much all on the same page as I gives me such an adrenaline rush. To be treated like someone special is kind of difficult for me to accept too but it is accepted graciously because it means people are reading my work, more importantly they are listening to the voices of Sara Carlin, Matthew Steubing, Candice Downing, Sharise Gatchell, Toran Henry, Shane Clancy. That is the most important thing for me. These beautiful children should not have been taken from their family and friends and it is only with the great courage of their parents, family and friends that myself, and others like me, will give them what they deserve - a voice. CCHR also give the lost a voice, they also take preventative action so that loved ones are made aware of the dangers of these bullets in a pack. I am in no doubt that medication caused the aforementioned to take their own lives, no doubt at all. I wish I had never met the parents of the children above. The only reason I have is because of their loss. I would sacrifice my friendship with all of them just so they could have their babies back.

Other children are taking these meds, many are falling by the wayside and I will, along with CCHR, do my utmost to continue spreading awareness about the dangers of these drugs, the greedy bastards who make them and the limp-wristed cowards that grant them a licence. I've not changed in my stance against using psych meds on kids. I used to bang the drum loudly about Seroxat [Paxil] - hooking up with CCHR opened my eyes, they kind of fine-tuned me, if you will.

I have met so many great people in Canada, hooking up with the Carlin family was sad...yet uplifting. Paying a visit to the offices of Oakville MP, Terence Young, was also a great highlight for me.

I'm not going to let Sara Carlin's memory be forgotten. Those responsible for her death know exactly who they are, it is they that will have to live with that - I may just remind them occasionally.

Same goes for other children lost to this wanton abuse and denial of those responsible for the safety of prescribing medication to the vulnerable.

I'm in my sixth year of blogging now, my archives are full of sad stories, full of devastation...yet it is voices that are reaching out, warning others about the dangers.

I'm just a small voice...but I've hooked up with an even bigger one in CCHR.

I stand united by their side.

Here's to the next 6 years of psychopharmaceutical monopoly ass kicking!

Ontario Government To Fund the Smoking Cessation Drugs Champix and Zyban

In what can only be described as a sheer act of lunacy, the Ontario government have decided that they will fund the smoking cessation drugs Champix and Zyban by adding them to the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan.

Health Minister, Deb Matthews

"The list of medications covered by the province could cost between $10 million to $15 million a year", said Health Minister Deb Matthews in an article on healthzone.ca

Back in June, the FDA, the American food and drug regulator, issued a warning regarding Pfizer's Chantix, known as Champix in the UK. "FDA Drug Safety Communication: Chantix (varenicline) may increase the risk of certain cardiovascular adverse events in patients with cardiovascular disease."

Chantix was the subject of a freedom of information request I made back in April 2010. I had learned that the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] had changed their policy regarding pilots being allowed to operate aircraft whilst under the influence of SSRi-type medication.

It's great to see that the Canadian Health Minister really has her finger on the pulse. FDA release a warning that a drug can increase cardiovascular adverse events, the Canadian government decide to add the very same drug to the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, thus making it easily affordable to people on low income. Way to go Canada!

Glaxo's Zyban, which is basically Wellbutrin [SSRi] rebadged, is classified as a Category C medicine by the FDA, meaning that it could potentially cause harm to your unborn child.

More info on Champix/Chantix:

58 Page document from the Federal Aviation Administration

Dying for a Pfizer Pfag [Chantix]

Passenger Safety - The Champix Scandal

Another One Bites The Dust - Canadian Teen's Death Cloaked In Secrecy

With the Ashley Smith inquest halted due to legal implications, another inquest is underway to determine how a 16-year-old boy known by the initials G.A was found hanging in a youth jail.

For background on the Ashley Smith inquest see HERE.

Meantime, the Coroner's court are desperately trying to suppress information with regard to "G.A." The province has deployed a small army of lawyers to keep secret all records that could explain how this happened. One has to ask why, exactly who or what are they trying to protect?

Staff reporter for The Star, Diana Zlomislic, has the scoop. She writes:

The case involves a 16-year-old boy known by the initials G.A., who was sent to Syl Apps Youth Centre in Oakville after a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a social worker determined he had “very serious mental health issues” and needed secure treatment. A judge agreed.

But the teen never made it to the jail’s secure treatment unit, a hospital-like setting. Instead, he was placed in general detention while the facility waited for $3,500 in government funding to complete another court-ordered assessment on the boy, who had been described as everything from paranoid and psychotic to polite and personable. Less than a month after arriving at the facility, and just five days after his 17th birthday, the teen hanged himself with a shoelace on May 13, 2008.

The inquest has heard that G.A. came to Canada at age 11 with his sister and parents from Kazakhstan, where he was a gifted student who excelled at math. He practised judo, karate, rock climbing and gymnastics.

Within days of arriving in Canada, his parents separated — something that had been planned without the children’s knowledge.

Both parents found new partners and the siblings split time between their homes in Ajax and Pickering.

When his sister started using drugs, the inquest heard the teen was devastated at losing what he felt was his last role model.

By the time he started Grade 9, G.A. started to experiment with alcohol and fell behind at school.

He was sent to Brookside Youth Centre in Cobourg in January 2008, after pleading guilty to assaulting his 23-year-old sister.

At Brookside, the youth told psychologist Dr. John Satterberg, who is now retired in Newfoundland, that he wanted “to straighten out his thinking.” He said he heard voices.

At their next session, G.A. seemed like a different person, the inquest heard.

The psychologist, frightened, ended the session abruptly after the teen kicked the table and lifted it off the floor.

Zlomislic adds that this isn't the first time a youth has died whilst in custody in Ontario. An inquest recommended the use of segregation cells be abolished after 16-year-old James Lonnee’s death at Guelph’s Wellington Detention Centre in 1996. Segregation cells are still in use today!

In 2009, 22 year old Kulmire Aganeh died following an altercation with several staff members at the **Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, his crime? He stole a car.

It is becoming commonplace, it seems, in Canada for coroners and lawyers to keep the dead from having a voice. Something the coroners of Ontario seem to be ignoring is their own motto, “We Speak for The Dead to Protect The Living."

Keeping details from the public may be down to privacy acts but suppressing voices of dead children/adolescents who died whilst under the care of psychiatric doctors and nurses is unforgivable. It's bad enough that these young adults were deprived of their youth and, in the case of Aganeh and Smith, forced to take medication against their will.

Canada needs a kick up the arse, it needs to protect the vulnerable and not those that put these people in vulnerable situations. That goes for doctors prescribing drugs not recommended for children too!

Diana Zlomislic's full article can be read HERE

Interestingly, in another Canadian newspaper today, The National Post, Christie Blatchford writes about the legal implications in the Ashley Smith inquest.

It seems rather odd that two kids who died whilst in the apparent care of psychiatry  are both having their voices stifled by Ontario Coroners.

Point of interest here is the Ontario Coroners Code of Ethics:

21. Coroners shall not conduct themselves in a manner which might tend to bring their office into disrepute or affect public confidence in that office.

Recent findings would, I suggest, lean toward a lack of confidence from the Canadian public.

** Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene have recently changed their name to Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.


Fid

ORDER THE PAPERBACK
'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
US & CANADA HERE OR UK FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Ashley Smith inquest becoming a bad joke

Christie Batchford, a journalist from the Globe & Mail, throws out the question, Why So secretive?, in regard to the current inquest into the death of Canadian teen, Ashley Smith.

I'm stumped by recent events, in fact the presiding coroner seems to be under fire from lawyers at this inquest.

The article shows three videos:

• Ashley Smith incident in Grand Valley prison
• Ashley Smith in prison days before her death
• Prison video: Guards remove Smith's ligature

There's links to back stories which are well worth a read too.

Story HERE

Fid


Read the new book, The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal

US/CANADA COPIES HERE
UK/IRELAND FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING

Canadian Coroners Suppressing Voices?

Those familiar with the case of Ashley Smith will find the following article baffling. Law, in general, isn't as straight cut as we expect it.

In this instance we have an inquest of a young girl who died in the early hours of Oct. 19, 2007, in her cell at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener.

Smith was found with a ligature around her neck, one of many attempts she had made during her incarceration in various mental institutions.

Ashley Smith was just 15 years of age when a 30 day sentence was handed down to her. Her crime? She threw a crab apple at a postman.

The 30 day sentence spread to 4 years as Smith was transferred on 17 separate occasions by Corrections Canada. The transfers spanned four of the five regions of the Correctional Service of Canada.

Her inquest, which should give her a voice, has been marred by controversy.

The Correctional Service of Canada are seeking to deny the public and press access to exhibits which amounts to a complete publication ban.

What do they want to hide? Well, maybe the video that surfaced on youtube, a video that shows staff outside the cell of Ashley Smith during her final hours? Not so, the video has been shown to the 5 person jury.

The video, first broadcast on The Fitfh Estate, shows how seven guards stood outside Smith's cell and, as the narrator puts it, "Ashley had choked herself to death while seven guards stood outside her cell and did nothing to save her."

Here we have a girl, who at the age of 15, was thrown into the system, drugged up to the eyeballs and handed down further sentences for not being the "model prisoner." Her 30 days turned in to a living nightmare.

Presiding coroner at the inquest, Bonnie Porter, has approached the five member jury in this case and told them, “anyone approaching counsel” for copies of exhibits “may be cited for contempt.”

This is not how things are run in a world of democracy, surely?

The inquest should take all the facts and if the Coroners Court wish to adhere to their own statement, "We speak for the dead to protect the living", then they should allow the jury access to all the facts.

It would appear that the presiding coroner wants to speak for the dead to protect the Correctional Service of Canada.

Smith was not the model inmate, she kicked up a stink, so much so that she had over 500 violations against her, each time her sentence was increased. With drugs, restraints and tazer guns used against her, it's hardly surprising that this teenager fought back the only way she knew how., wouldn't you?

Smith's miserable time at the hands of this system should be brought to the front. A young girl thrown into various cells and various states of drug induced hysteria is one thing. To have her voice suppressed in a coroners court is an atrocious act!

Full story in the Globe.

Here's the video. Here's Ashley Smith's voice.




Related:

Monday, November 15, 2010 THE ASHLEY SMITH REPORT

Thursday, March 31, 2011 "We Speak For The Dead...To Protect The Living" - Unless Drugs Are Involved.


Fid

ORDER THE PAPERBACK
'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
US/CANADIAN HERE OR UK/IRELAND FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING