VA testing drugs on mentally distressed veterans.
VA testing drugs on mentally distressed veterans.
A Washington Times/ABC News investigation released today finds that “mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects.” The Times reports:
In one such experiment involving the controversial anti-smoking drug Chantix, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) took three months to alert its patients about severe mental side effects. The warning did not arrive until after one of the veterans taking the drug had suffered a psychotic episode that ended in a near lethal confrontation with police.
“VA officials defend their use of veterans in medical studies, saying that helping [post-traumatic stress disorder] sufferers to stop smoking would prolong their lives,” the Times notes.
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sounds like jacobs ladder all over again…
June 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pmI say we start using neo-con warhawks for the tests instead.
What this administration is doing to our soldiers is despicable.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:26 pm41,080 Views on my youtube clip OVERNIGHT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9t9VdkOZlg
Start lobbying for the national initiative and then we can pass a law as CITIZENS to spend more of OUR tax dollars on them when they return.
(not to mention we could just declare the war ILLEGAL by initiative…)
where are you on this thinkprogress? you’ve never mentioned it.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:27 pmBecause we haven’t used them enough in Bush’s Folly? Now they are lab rats?
Wow! Do I see the thumbprint of Big Pharma all over this! Gotta wonder who at the VA is being paid for providing the drug study “subjects”.
PEACE
June 17th, 2008 at 12:31 pmIf the VA is so concerned about prolonging veteran’s lives; then they should not misdiagnose them and should provide the necessary treatment that any normal hospital or medical doctor would prescribe.
Stop smoking treatments are available like “Quit for Life” that use detoxification methods that would be far more beneficial to these vets. Being human guinea pigs is the last thing these men need. The VA needs to adept better (kinder & gentler) policies that will help and not hinder their progress.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:32 pmArmies have been doing this forever. The vikings made berzerkers by drugging, but it that doesn’t make it right.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pmOMG
June 17th, 2008 at 12:44 pmThis is just f-king sick.
I think I might throw up.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:47 pmSyphilis studies on soldiers.
LSD studies on soldiers.
Chantix studies on soldiers.
Isn’t asking them to sacrifice their lives to preserve our freedoms enough? These aren’t guinea pigs, folks, they’re our front line of defense to our Country.
Chantix, much like Ambien, is known to produce psychotic behavior and even suicidal thoughts in those taking these meds. What the hell happened to white rats? Oh, wait, they’re all in the Whine House!
June 17th, 2008 at 12:48 pmrelax rogerse will arrive shortly to cut and paste an explanation as to why this is a fine idea
June 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pmdbadass Says:
relax rogerse will arrive shortly to cut and paste an explanation as to why this is a fine idea
June 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
_____
Meanwhile trajan will spin it on TPWatch as “the leftists want to prevent soldiers from quitting smoking.”
June 17th, 2008 at 12:53 pmI’m sure you’rew correct. At least in rogerse’ case someone will actually read and maybe even comment on it
June 17th, 2008 at 12:55 pmdbadass,
Ya think roger2 has lost his drive? Just finding cut and paste explanations that usually undermine his positioin or are so old as to not be relevant?
How the troll quality has fallen! Just like the Repug support.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:58 pmSupporting the troops the W way.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pmAnd this supports the troops, HOW?
June 17th, 2008 at 1:25 pmSomeone like roger2 at the ABC comment section after the story posted the standard Bush/Cheney line- he volunteered for the study, he should have known that alcohol shouldn’t be mixed with this drug, blah, blah; blah.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:26 pmHappy fodder’s day.
Someone’s Institutional Review Board needs to step forward and explain a few things. One, were the risks known up front and if so, were patients told?
Two, if the risks came out during the study, do the potential benefits outweigh the risks?
Suicide vs. smoking cessation? That seems a no brainer for yanking the study, but it helps to see the data.
June 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pmThis doesn’t surprise me at all. This criminal administration is so sick, I’m sure they personally approved this crap. Only sick little men like them would stand by and defend experimenting on wounded mentally ill soldier. This azzhole should have been impeached right along with the sick little f_uk he had for a running mate. They both claim to be christians but nothing could be further from the truth.
June 17th, 2008 at 3:27 pmThis prove that that little dictator doesn’t give a flying f-ck about our troops. He only used them to get reelected and them discarded them like trash. He is a coward of the worst kind and now he’s treating our hero like dirt.
This man will go down in history as not only the worst leader we’ve ever had, but as a sick sad little bum who tried to prove that he was brave with the blood of others. No one who really understand war would subject our troops to the type of experiment that NAZI’s use on Jews during WWII. Furthermore, this proves that he is only interested in making his friend rich and the experience our soldier losing their lives for no reason.
He sad part about it is John McCain a war veteran himself, doesn’t have enough brains to realize that this war is not worst destorying an entire generation of young men soldier lives. He like Bush is planning to play political games with their lives. He claims he cares, but still thinks we should have stayed in Viet Nam. The ironic thing is that if we had, he most likely would not have made it out of the POW camp alive. Which means he wouldn’t be here to run for President now. But that requires thinking and I think McCain has lost his ability to clearly think things though. Yes, I think he’s just too old to have a clear enough thought process that would allow him to come to the right conclusion.
June 17th, 2008 at 3:41 pm