Such a sad tragedy in Colorado. We are all so sorry for those involved. My first thought, a question really, was, “What kind of prescription drugs was he taking?”

If it was a drug prescribed for depression, we’ll probably never hear about it, and we can thank medical privacy and HIPAA regulation.

I’d like to know how many tragedies are accountable to side-effects of prescription medications. We see so many weird things, such as school shootings, kids killing parents, mothers killing children. Those things didn’t seem to happen so frequently before the advent of psychiatric medication.

You may not hear about the drug connection, but you might note and wonder, about how most of these demonized offenders have psychiatric issues, and we all can fill in the blank with a popular, outrageously expensive, pharmaceutical chemical being advertised on TV and major magazines with multiple-page ads. We can only hope they spend as much on testing.

Many of these prescribed drugs have listed under side effects, “monitor for increased risk of suicide.” One might wonder if another side effect might be killing others.

Forget marijuana and the movie “Reefer Madness,” which should be remade to demonize pharmaceutical pills instead. If that happened, the pharmaceutical industry probably would sue.

If people had the power of corporations, we should sue our government and co-conspirators for taking away from us the many benefits of marijuana and hemp, and pushing these toxic pharmaceuticals.

Pills are now, without question, the gateway to drug-problems. It’s not marijuana anymore; never was. The real demon in society is those pills.

Dean DeWitt

China Village