Tom Cruise: Yup, Idiot.
Drudge posts this transcript from a Today show appearance this morning wherein Mr. Cruise opines about how dangerous it is that some kids are on “anti-psychotic drugs” and how horrible a thing it is to use other “anti-psychotic drugs” when one is depressed. Hrm.
The thing is, Tom, that neither Adderall nor Ritalin is an anti-psychotic. In fact, both of them are pretty near to methamphetamine in chemical composition (Adderall being a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine), one of the side-effects of which is potential psychosis if abused over the long-term. Methamphetamine has been known to induce paraniod-schizophrenia, for instance. So, yeah, I’ll agree that giving kids speed might not be the best medical choice, and that ADHD looks surprisingly like what we used to call “childhood”, but get the damn facts right.
Now, about those anti-depressants. Those aren’t anti-psychotics either. The main class continues to be Selective Saratonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac or Zoloft. There are also other options like Wellbutrin.
It’s true that recently some anti-psychotics have been used to treat bi-polar patients with some success, but that doesn’t reclassify Stimulants and SSRIs as “anti-psychotic drugs”. Let’s be very clear: anti-psychotics are used to treat psychotic disorders, particularly Schizophrenia. Anti-psychotic medications have become fairly important in the treatment of schizophrenia, and there are new ones on the way, but that still doesn’t change the facts on the ground: stimulants and SSRIs aren’t anti-psychotics you ignorant, Scientologist dolt.
