Published by El Nuevo Herald on July 01, 2015
"My 21 year old son has mental disorders and drug addiction. He refuses to receive medical treatment and claims that they can not force him for being an adult. " How many times have we heard dark stories like this narrated by parents powerless against the disturbing reality?
And what happens is really important. The adults can not be forced to take medical treatment, including therapy, unless they are held in prison or supervised by the court.
And usually, when deprived of liberty or conditional it is because they have observed misconduct, framed in illegal and often criminal nature. In other words, most of the time we have to wait for an adult to upset comet crazy to force him to get proper medical treatment. That is, there is no prevention in this matter.
Recently, a young man of 21 years killed nine black people in a Methodist Church located in Charleston, South Carolina. Besides this bloody deed is considered a hate crime interlaced with strong religious beliefs, he points out the obvious truth that only a madman is capable of committing such barbarism; killing nine people of any race, in any church or anywhere, is an act of insanity manifested.
And this young man of 21, was known for his strange behavior and drug hobby. Probably, now the courts will decide he is mentally unstable and therefore should receive medical treatment.
And what they say to the families of the deceased? Nothing, just a lunatic appeared in place and wrong time and unfortunately these things happen.
In December 2012, another disturbed young man of 20 years, killed 20 children aged between five and ten years in a primary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
In April 2007, a psychopath of 23 killed 32 people at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech.
In April 1999, two depressive young of 18 and 17, killed 15 people at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado.
These are just four cases that reached national notoriety. In all of them mental imbalance was protagonist, accompanied by the fondness for video games and drugs. In each case it has revived the need to strengthen the permits and establish mandatory psychiatric examinations to become licensed to carry firearms.
Yet despite the importance of all considerations, we see as the more serious the fact that in the US there are no public asylums; The last known was the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Washington DC.
In Miami-Dade's largest mental health center is the county jail occupied by these patients on 1.200 beds (see our article in the Miami Herald, December 28, 2012).
Although in public psychiatry is difficult to differentiate the madness of drug addiction or homeless, we believe it is priority address the issue within the health budget, without thinking that this will affect US economic growth. Unlike, for example, from 2000 to 2010, we see how Sweden, which has a general health care, according to the World Bank, grew faster than the US, a 2.31% annually, compared with 1.85% in the same period.
Finally, for those who have adult children with mental problems, perhaps an unaware option is that they can go to court, with or without the accused, in order to obtain temporary custody ordered by a judge.
Under this parameter, you have better control over an irrational behavior.
BENJAMIN F. DeYURRE
Economist and Journalist
