NEW CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

With 7 people in Florida dying each day because of prescription drug abuse, most of those drugs being psychiatric drugs and painkillers, The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) new chapter in Tampa Bay rolls out its investigation on the source of the epidemic to ensure that patients are given all of the information regarding psychiatric diagnoses and treatment and the people
who are recommending these.

NEW CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
TAMPA CHAPTER DISCOVERS UNDISCLOSED CRIMES OF MENTAL HEALTH PRACTIONERS IN TAMPA

With 7 people in Florida dying each day because of prescription drug abuse, most of those drugs being psychiatric drugs and painkillers, The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) new chapter in Tampa Bay rolls out its investigation on the source of the epidemic to ensure that patients are given all of the information regarding psychiatric diagnoses and treatment and the people
who are recommending these.
Tampa – 5 July 2011 – On July 5th, after just over one month of its formation, the Tampa chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights announced that it had discovered and reported the 24th undisclosed criminal conviction by a licensed mental health practitioner in Tampa to the Florida Department of Health. Licensed Private investigator, businessman and Director of the chapter, Joel Voss, said, “CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive mental health practices. The citizens of Tampa entrust their mental health to these professionals who commit criminals acts and do not disclose them to the Department of Health as they are sworn to do. Yet they recommend drugs and other psychiatric treatments which result in addiction and loss of life.”
Interestingly, most of the convictions of these mental health practitioners are for Driving under the Influence. Other convictions include theft, burglaries, shoplifting and even assault on an elderly person. According to Voss, there are 249 psychiatrists and about 1,200 other licensed mental health professionals in Hillsborough County.
Voss announced the formation of the Tampa CCHR chapter on May 25th at a luncheon which was held at the Church of Scientology’s Ybor Square multi-purpose room where 30-year Tampa police veteran, Captain Kenneth Morman of the Strategic Investigations Bureau charged with dismantling the prescription drug diversion market and “pill mills,” and clinical pharmacist and leading expert in alternative treatment for mental health and behavioral symptoms, Pamela Seefeld, also spoke.
It was the Florida statewide chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which conducted an investigation of Medicaid funding of psychiatric drugs in Florida and found huge amounts being paid by Medicaid for powerful psychotropic drugs – with a large amount going to drugging of children for whom such a use is “off label”, that is, does not have FDA approval. CCHR then discovered that Dr. Fernando Mendez-Villamil of Miami was writing an average of 153 prescriptions a day for an extended period costing the taxpayers $43,000,000 from 2004-2009.
As a result of this CCHR discovery, a nationwide investigation ensued regarding the top prescribers of psychiatric medication and newspapers around the country are now publishing stories on their own top prescribers of psychiatric medication, while Senator Charles Grassley continues his investigation on a national level.
Voss finally said, “It is people like Fernando Mendez-Villamil who are responsible for the proliferating pill mills in Florida and will be a target of CCHR of Tampa. We will continue to root them out and expose their crimes and so reduce the pill mills and abusive practices of these mental health professionals.”
CCHR was established in 1969 by Dr. Thomas Szasz and the Church of Scientology. It was Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard who wrote, “The psychiatrist and psychologist pronounce as abnormal any departure from a single monotonous ‘good dog’ mental state. They have resounding Latin curse words for any personality reaction or behavioral difference in men. All these states are ‘crazy.’ We look in vain for approval of anyone being happy. Instead we find the curse words ‘euphoric’ which means ‘psychotically happy’.”