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I don’t think the meds are the issue. I think the issue is that these people are crazy enough to NEED the meds and aren’t kept locked up, crazy as they are. Before the mid 1960’s, people like this just spent their lives in state hospitals, on meds or off, and away from guns and victims. Once they were let out into the “community,” the shootings began.

I think you are on to something.

There was a time when someone who “heard voices”, had psychotic delusions, demonstrated extreme anti-social and dangerous behaviors not acceptable in any sort of sane society, had thoughts of suicide or of harming others, were committed to psychiatric facilities not only for our protection but for their own. Now they are just given an Rx and referred to outpatient “counseling” which they may or may not ever follow through with and it is very difficult to commit the very seriously mentally ill for hospitalization and treatment, even when their families want it.

In years gone by people like Jared Laughter, James Holmes and Adam Lanza would have been committed long before they could have done serious harm to anyone. And they all exhibited signs of being not only mentally ill, but seriously mentally ill to a point of being a danger to others.

I am not advocating locking up people nilly willy against their will and absent any due process of law or returning to the days when many psychiatric hospitals, especially the state run ones were “hell holes”, “snake pits” and places not fit for humans or even animals, but I do think we need to seriously re-evaulate how we deal with the seriously mentally ill. Thinking that just giving them these meds, without very close supervision or hospitalization is bone headed.

Medications in and of themselves are IMO, not the problem, and in fact they are often a “god send” to the people who need them and benefit from then along with their families. I have a family member who is bi-polar and she is “bat guano crazy” when not taking her meds. But when she does take them and takes them consistently and follows through with her psychiatric appointments, you would never know she had any sort of problem.

But she has been committed for some short term stays in psychiatric hospitals over the years when she was out of control and she was after getting out and getting back to “normal” very grateful for it as were we.