Sunday, April 29, 2007

In Memory Of Richmond Smith

First I'd like to say..

Minister Ron Smith, I am at a loss for words, but I will do the best I can to make sure your son Richmond's death which according to what you have shared in your grief is due to Ritalin will not be in Vain, my prayers are with you and your family.

I pray for your sanity, strength, and peace, I couldn't imagine burying my child, especially if I felt it were due to a medication I felt that he was forced on by the system!

I have not seen my children since September 2002. (Scroll to older blogs for more info) so this fight for america to stop drugging our children may or may not be a personal one.

Nonetheless I feel the fight to STOP drugging of america's innocent children is a VERY IMPORTANT FIGHT, so I will stand up and shout, whether it's a personal fight or not, it is extremely important to me!

In the Email below, from Minister Ron Smith I learned his son's fight for his life was lost ..

For those who are unaware, my son Richmond Elihu Smith passed on April 27th at 8:33pm CST as a result of being mandated to take Ritalin as a 7 year old. He took this drug for 11 years and it took his life. He would have been 21 on May 9th.
Ron Smith

In the earlier email below from Minister Ron Smith, we had learned his son Richmond was very ill and was fighting for his life...


Ode To Richmond
By Ronald Smith


Bluish green in color he entered this world
Just before I cut his umbilical cord.
Happy with spirit and energy was he,
The school says, “there’s a problem"Must be ADHD.
Ritalin is the answer...IT SURELY MUST BE.
It took away his spirit, his energy, his glee
Made him very stoic, much like an elm tree.
The one thing that we did not expect,
The drug had a very ugly major negative side effect.
Twenty years old, Richmond is fighting for his life
With tumors in his liver he is fighting with all his might.
My child's condition, I can't bear the thought,
When the doctor prescribed it this effect was not taught.
If your child Has spirit,
don't kill them with drugs,
Instead of Ritalin give praises and hugs.

Minister Ronald E. Smith,
CEO Children Need Both Parents, Inc.


Below is another email Minister Ron Smith shared with the group.

Can Ritalin cause cancer?

Cancer Prevention Coalition American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Treating Behavioral Disorders in Children with Ritalin Ignores Evidence of Cancer Risks warns Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.Chicago, 10/04/01. —

Based on an industry-funded multi-university trial on 282 pre-teen children treated with Ritalin for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), just published in Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed the use of the drug.

However, the Academy ignores clear evidence of the drug's cancer risks of which parents, teachers and school nurses, besides most pediatricians and psychiatrists, still remain uninformed and unaware.

Some 40 years after the drug was first marketed by Ciba Geigy, carcinogenicity tests were conducted at the taxpayers expense by the National Toxicology Program, the results of which were published in 1995.

Adult mice were fed Ritalin over a two-year period at dosages close to those prescribed to children. The mice developed a statistically significant incidence of liver abnormalities and tumors, including highly aggressive rare cancers known as hepatoblastomas.

These findings are particularly disturbing as the tests were conducted on adult, rather than young mice which would be expected to be much more sensitive to carcinogenic effects.

The National Toxicology Program concluded that Ritalin is a "possible human carcinogen," and recommended the need for further research.

While still insisting that the drug is safe, the Food and Drug Administration admitted that these findings signal "carcinogenic potential," and required a statement to this effect in the drug's package insert.

However, these inserts are not seen by parents or nurses.

The Physicians' Desk Reference admits evidence on the carcinogenicity of Ritalin, now manufactured by Novartis, qualified by the statement that "the significance of these results is unknown," apparently not recognizing that this is more alarming than reassuring.

Apart from cancer risks, there is also suggestive evidence that Ritalin induces genetic damage in blood cells of Ritalin-treated children.Concerns on Ritalin's cancer risk are more acute in view of the millions of children treated annually with the drug and the escalating incidence of childhood cancer, by some 35% over the last few decades, quite apart from delayed risks of cancer in adult life.

These risks are compounded by the availability of alternative safe and effective procedures, notably behavior modification and biofeedback.There is no justification for prescribing Ritalin, even by highly qualified pediatricians and psychiatrists, unless parents have been explicitly informed of the drug's cancer risks.

Otherwise, prescribing Ritalin constitutes unarguable medical malpractice.Contact: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., emeritus Professor Environmental Medicine, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, and Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition, 2121 W. Taylor Street (MC 922), Chicago, IL 60612, phone 312-996-2297, fax 312-996-1374, email
epstein@uic.edu

Minister Ronald E. Smith, CEOChildren Need Both Parents, Inc.
www.cnbpinc.org

The services for Richmond Smith are as follows:
Thursday May 3, 2007 viewing 4pm-8pm
Friday May 4, 2007 viewing 10am-10:30am
Funeral - 10:30am Carter Funeral Home 2100 E. 75th StChicago, Illinois
Thank you all for caring Minister Ronald E. Smith, CEOChildren Need Both Parents, Inc.www.cnbpinc.org

1 comment:

Sinkiss said...

Ritalin s bing push by the drug companies as a cash cow, most of these kids don;t need to be on this drug, however you do know that once your kid in on this drug then in the future they may not be able to get in the military at all, i wonder what the military knows about ritalin????????????

yes the fmaily courts needs a major overhaul, but at the same time we need to get these drug companies out as well. not ever problem can be solve with a pill.