Although six contestants think it's a good idea to monitor the medication of the mentally ill, the majority of respondents to last week's sound off question think it's an unacceptable invasion of civil rights. Typical of the sensationalist, tabloid media in vogue today, a single incident is blown way out of proportion and used as a basis to create more bureaucracy without any forethought. One would hope that once the mentally ill were treated with compassion and respect and the services they need, that they would more willing to take medications that enable them to lead fulfilling lives. Monitoring should be in the form of reminding and observing not physically forcing them to do so.
Mental illness is more common than the general public thinks or knows.
A better system is needed just to see if transients are in need of mental help in the first place, since most suffer from severe psychological problems. If you include everyone who has ever sought professional help including therapy and drug counseling it would be a huge list, and they're probably the most healthy ones. All rights reserved.