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Ron Paul Blames Psychotropic Drugs For “American Sniper” Murder And Other Mass Shoot

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Ron Paul Blames Psychotropic Drugs For “American Sniper” Murder And Other Mass Shootings
Feb. 26, 2015
Andrew Kaczynski
Megan Apper


“…almost always these massive shootings whether they are military or not, occur with the doctors involved giving psychotropic drugs to people who are depressed.”

Former Congressman Ron Paul, the father of potential presidential candidate Rand Paul, said Wednesday that “American Sniper” Chris Kyle would be alive today if his killer was not using psychotropic drugs.

Paul has repeatedly linked or blamed mass shootings on the use of psychotropic drugs.

“If Eddie Ray Routh had never served in the military, I’m of the opinion that he would probably not have killed anybody,” Paul wrote on the website of his Institute of Peace and Prosperity on Wednesday as well as on his Facebook page. “He would not be imprisoned for life and Chris Kyle would be alive today. Much of the blame should lie with our foreign policy of interventionism and the VA’s faulty reliance on psychotropic drugs for treating the guilt associated with preemptive wars.”

The post echoes comments Paul made last year in a speech to The Independent Institute in which he said “it doesn’t take a real genius” to figure out psychotropic drugs are the cause of mass shootings.

“Just recently we heard about another shooting at Fort Worth,” Paul said in his April 2014 speech. “Second time you know, within a short period of time and soldiers were killed and the articles kept saying, ‘well we got to get to the bottom of this, what is causing this?’ And yet it doesn’t take a real genius to figure it out. Because when you look at it, if you look at the shootings and the various problems on campuses, and who knows what will happen on the one that happened today, but almost always these massive shootings whether they are military or not, occur with the doctors involved giving psychotropic drugs to people who are depressed.”

Paul said when many veterans return from war they realize the dangers of multiple deployments and come to the belief that perhaps the war they are fighting in is “useless, worthless, maybe there is no benefit to it.”

“When individuals come back, of course they are torn, because they have realization — just as I was pleased that they have the realization that a non-interventialist foreign policy pleased the military — what would it be like to go over the 3,4,5 and 6 times, worrying where your next step is going to be and whether you are going to get blown up. Seeing your buddies killed, and not seeing back home a whole lot of concern about why we are there. Just ‘oh yes you are great guys, you are all a bunch of heroes’ and we all wear bumper stickers and everybody is happy about it. But that is a far cry from these people waking up and saying ‘you know, maybe this war is useless, worthless, maybe there is no benefit to it.’ And all of a sudden they remember about kids getting killed, women getting killed, and all the carnage and saying, ‘you know they never did a thing to me, why did I go 6,000 miles?’”

Paul then again singled out the use of psychotropic drugs, saying “now we have a suicide epidemic” and this was all a consequence of American foreign policy.

The former congressman added the ultimate solution to the epidemic of soldiers committing suicide was a non-interventionist foreign policy.

“Now I am convinced that soldiers that are put up with that and when they are exposed to it, when they come back end up with a lot of guilt and so they go see a doctor and unfortunately the doctor gives them these drugs and they end up—and now we have a suicide epidemic. And its a consequence of the foreign policy.

We are not going to stop this problem by turning it over to the doctors. We need to turn it over to the American people who insist that our government quit getting involved in these kind of wars and exposing our kids to these predicaments they are in.”

Continued and Ron Pauls facebook post can be found here http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczy...ic-drugs-for-american-sniper-murde#.fnbD4Jr42

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ZOLOFT & LITHIUM WITHDRAWAL? American Sniper Killer Eddie Ray Routh Found Guilty
By Ann Blake-Tracy on February 25, 2015
 
People who take medication for depression are more likely to lash out violently, just like depressed people who don't take medication, so what does the good Dr. suggest I wonder?
 
The shooter Routh had suffered from PSTD and Schizophrenia, he was in and out mental hospitals for a couple of years. Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield had brought Routh to a shooting range to help ease his PSTD, which I believe the gunfire weapons had caused a flashback somehow convincing him to shoot his two friends.

Now sure some of the medications he was on could have caused some side effects both mentally and physically, but they were given to prevent this exact situation. Sure the medication may have hindered his thought process, but this man was mentally unfit to even handle a weapon.

Now, I am unaware of how long Routh had been schizophrenic for, but he should not have been allowed to join the military. By allowing him in the military they not only put him at risk, but the safety of other men and woman at risk. Even after his discharge he should have been labeled unfit to handle a weapon and should not have been allowed in the gun range.
 
People who take medication for depression are more likely to lash out violently, just like depressed people who don't take medication, so what does the good Dr. suggest I wonder?

I don't get the hate Ron Paul gets. Some of his ideas can be a little out there but hell, he wants to bring the troops back from a shitty pointless war. At least that's what really matters IMO. Whether some psychiatric drugs can cause suicidal and homicidal ideation I don't really know enough about to say one way or another.
 
Eddie routh falls in the category where these side effects are most prominent. I could be wrong but I have been. Told by a psychiatrist before this age rage is 18 to 25 and he's 25. Also this is just statistics
 
I don't get the hate Ron Paul gets. Some of his ideas can be a little out there but hell, he wants to bring the troops back from a shitty pointless war. At least that's what really matters IMO. Whether some psychiatric drugs can cause suicidal and homicidal ideation I don't really know enough about to say one way or another.

Because unlike his father who attracted wing nuts, Ayan-Rand Paul caters to them.
After Obama I don't believe a damn thing politicians promise.

As far as Kyle:
You live by the gun....
 
I don't get the hate Ron Paul gets. Some of his ideas can be a little out there but hell, he wants to bring the troops back from a shitty pointless war. At least that's what really matters IMO. Whether some psychiatric drugs can cause suicidal and homicidal ideation I don't really know enough about to say one way or another.

I don't know how you got hate for Ron Paul out of my statement. Out of all the candidates in 2008 he would have been my choice, but that's not the issue here. People have been trying to prove a link between psychiatric medication and violent outbursts since the Columbine massacre, and despite all that looking I haven't seen a lick of evidence that psychiatric medications make a person more prone to violence.

On the other hand there's plenty of evidence that people with psychiatric problems are more prone to violence and self harm than the general population with or without drugs, but that's an unfortunate truth that most people don't want to think about.
 
You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug.- Hunter S. Thompson (quote from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
I'd like to know how many mass shootings occurred where the person was on drugs at the time of the shooting though.
But the point Certain recreational drugs can worsen mental illness, but to blame these killings entirely on past use of drugs is a bit of a stretch.
 
PTSD definitely played a role, but there was more going on with the guy than that. The week before the killing, he was mumbling incoherently and his family was freaking out. He'd seen many doctors and tried numerous meds, none of which worked. He also had a serious alcohol problem. I'd wager he was having a psychotic break at the time. (There's a great article about Routh that contrasts his background with Chris Kyle's story). It's hard to blame meds when severe mental illness is already present, but I guess they can't be ruled out as a contributing factor.

Bottom line: he was not getting the help he needed from the VA. Now 3 lives are over as a result.
 
Most of that excerpt in the OP was in regards to Paul prattling on about America's foreign policy, not drugs. Yeah, when you get sent to a foreign country to slaughter other people for some kind of esoteric foreign policy objective of the state it'll often leave marks on your psyche, no shit.

And I would like to know what kind of solutions could be proposed for someone who is perfectly willing to blast two people in cold blood for no apparent reason? Diet and exercise won't fix that kind of mental imbalance. Yeah psychotropic drugs are often really messed up but it's an imperfect solution to an extremely complex problem.
 
PTSD definitely played a role, but there was more going on with the guy than that. The week before the killing, he was mumbling incoherently and his family was freaking out. He'd seen many doctors and tried numerous meds, none of which worked. He also had a serious alcohol problem. I'd wager he was having a psychotic break at the time. (There's a great article about Routh that contrasts his background with Chris Kyle's story). It's hard to blame meds when severe mental illness is already present, but I guess they can't be ruled out as a contributing factor.

Bottom line: he was not getting the help he needed from the VA. Now 3 lives are over as a result.

A lot of Eddie Ray Routh's comrades from overseas, as well as veterans groups are saying he never saw combat tho, he had a desk job and it is unlikely he had PTSD.
He is probably schizophrenic to some degree. The fact that he didn't get the insanity defense doesn't prove otherwise- it's virtually impossible to get that in Texas they don't believe in mental illness down there.
 
^ Andrea Yates pulled it off. But yeah, it is a very difficult defense to mount.
 
I don't know how you got hate for Ron Paul out of my statement. Out of all the candidates in 2008 he would have been my choice, but that's not the issue here. People have been trying to prove a link between psychiatric medication and violent outbursts since the Columbine massacre, and despite all that looking I haven't seen a lick of evidence that psychiatric medications make a person more prone to violence.

On the other hand there's plenty of evidence that people with psychiatric problems are more prone to violence and self harm than the general population with or without drugs, but that's an unfortunate truth that most people don't want to think about.

Oh ok, sorry for the assumption. I have taken psychiatric medication that made me really irritable so I personally wouldn't totally discount the claims, but like I said I don't really know. It would be kind of hard to prove either way really because like you said mentally ill people are going to be prone to these things anyways. But either way, that doesn't seem to be what the article's main point is anyways, just something Paul interjected.

Because unlike his father who attracted wing nuts, Ayan-Rand Paul caters to them.
After Obama I don't believe a damn thing politicians promise.

As far as Kyle:
You live by the gun....

What on earth are you talking about?
 
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Not sure which of my sentences you didn't understand but...

IMO

Rand Paul goes out of his way to address topics other politicians wouldn't touch.
He is also a huge fan of his namesake.

I was going to write some Rand Paul quotes but I don't feel like starting a political debate.

Some may find that karma is the actual cause of Kyle's death.
However I feel that after the movie that was supposed to be about his life, that his accused killer cannot have a fair trial anywhere in America due to bias.
 
Not sure which of my sentences you didn't understand but...

IMO

Rand Paul goes out of his way to address topics other politicians wouldn't touch.
He is also a huge fan of his namesake.

I was going to write some Rand Paul quotes but I don't feel like starting a political debate.

Some may find that karma is the actual cause of Kyle's death.
However I feel that after the movie that was supposed to be about his life, that his accused killer cannot have a fair trial anywhere in America due to bias.

Well I'm talking about Ron Paul... The guy in the article. I think you're mixed up or something. Rand Paul is Ron Paul's son, but they often disagree politically.
 
This book: 'Anatomy of an epidemic' by Robert Whitaker, seems to be relevant.

Coming on and off of these substances and combining them with a dozen other medications has some serious potential for screwing up brain chemistry. It's all about cost and benefits, however, the cost is often minimized and 'harmless medication' isn't quite as benign as it may seem.
 
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