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Orlando Sentinel

June 17, 2003

Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Prescription for tragedy

Letter to the Editor

Regarding Saturday's article "He was just scared": I am saddened to say that, until mentally ill adults can be required to take their antipsychotic medications, we will only see more of these tragedies occur.

The police officers were doing their job; they do not have the luxury of time to fully assess the mental status of an individual. And family members have no legal avenue to pursue to "force" their ill family member to take medications against his or her will, even when all the symptoms are right there.

So, often it is just a crisis waiting to happen. And too often it does.

Marianne Link

MAITLAND

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