Friday, March 26, 2021

Why is mental health given short shrift?

Brian Joondeph, M.D. writes in the American Thinker about the latest Colorado mass shooting, which
happened under the FBI’s noses. Perhaps they were busy with other important cases. Like the 50 plus agents investigating Trump-Russia collusion, spying on the Trump campaign and administration. Or the dozen plus agents sent urgently to investigate a NASCAR garage door handle with a loop that someone thought might resemble a noose.
The medical and mental health community doesn’t want “mental illness” blamed for mass shootings. Yet mental illness isn’t a single entity but a broad category. While people with brain diseases like schizophrenia “may be no more prone to violence than other people,” other conditions like paranoia may be. The Boulder shooter’s family noted his paranoia.
Mental health is given short shrift in the medical community, especially in Colorado. The University of Colorado closed its inpatient psych unit. Colorado has 12 inpatient psych beds for every 100,000 people compared to the national average of 30. How many shootings could have been prevented if those needing mental health care actually received it?
Marijuana is another issue, legal in Colorado since 2013. As reported in the journal Psychological Medicine, “Continued cannabis use is associated with a 7-fold greater odds for subsequent commission of violent crimes.”
Did marijuana play a role in the Boulder shooting or others? Crime and driving fatalities are up significantly in Colorado since legalization. Over 15 percent of adult reported using marijuana in a past 30-day period.
It’s the “white guy” that the media and the left are worried about while mental health and cannabis are conveniently ignored.
Read more here.

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