LETTER: Xanax, Lexapro and a law that needs revision

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The barrage of letters being published by The Beachcomber, including this one, is a sign of our community’s passionate attempt to come to terms with something so offensive as a $44 million lawsuit aimed at our own school system. An action so big regarding a topic so sensitive has cut our community right down the middle. Those who are friends with the suing party are ‘on her side,’ just as those who are friends with the parties mentioned in the suit being sued are ‘on their side,’ with both sides exuding harmful bias.

The harsh (and fortunate) reality is that our opinions don’t matter in any legal case. The rule of law will do its job in this case regardless of what we think the outcome should be. Stop the ad hominem, public attacks against each other. They only serve to divide our community. If you want to take action in this case, take it against the law that started the whole fracas.

As a parent, I’m mortified by a state law that allows doctors to prescribe drugs to children over 13 without a parent’s consent. It’s a fine law when it comes to adolescents being able to consult with a clinic in privacy about birth control and mental health counseling, but the law breaks down when it comes to drug dispersion. And we are not talking about just any drugs here — according to the countersuit, the discussion Soltman and Rock had with Wright before she filed suit was strictly focused on Xanax and Lexapro — there are serious side effects associated with these two narcotics, not to mention the addiction factor of Xanax. Children, and some adults, should never take either of these drugs unsupervised.

Certainly there is a lawyer and/or public affairs whiz living on Vashon who could help those concerned parents who want to take action against this law?

— Reid Wegley