CANADIAN CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AGAINST PSYCHIATRIC STIGMA AND DRUG ABUSE

Whereas: The above right is also affirmed under Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and under Article 33 of that Convention, which states that children have the right to protection from the illicit use of psychotropic substances;

Whereas: Medical research indicates considerable controversy and diverse opinion about the validity of childhood behavioral or learning disorders such as but not limited to, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and which are not scientifically substantiated;

Whereas: In Canada up to three-million children have been administered potentially addictive, psychotropic stimulants and other drugs because of these psychiatric disorders;

Whereas: Such psychotropic stimulants have the same abuse liability as cocaine, and are considered more potent than cocaine; and that such drugs can cause other adverse reactions, including, psychosis, agitation, bizarre dreams, loss of appetite, confusion and depersonalization and do not improve academic performance;

Whereas: Parents and children are being denied adequate information about the lack of science behind childhood psychiatric disorders, and the risks associated with drugs prescribed for them;

Whereas: Parents and children are being denied adequate information about alternatives to drug treatment for classroom or behavioral problems and thereby are being denied the right to informed consent;

Be it known that we, the undersigned, sincerely request that the government put legal safeguards in place to prevent children from being stigmatized as mentally disordered, as is done by Special Education, and the use of psychological tests and questionnaires in the classroom and to protect their inalienable right to be educated without the use of drugs.