Could Drugs Have Been a Factor in the VA Tech Shootings?

In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, it should be noted that while the usual suspects are calling for more government funding for mental health care, the gunman, Cho Seung Hui, had already received the best treatment the mainstream medical establishment has to offer: he had been given drugs. Could that have had something to do with it?

From Mercola.com:

There are known links between antidepressants and violent acts. Research on the drug Paxil found that more than twice as many people taking it experienced a serious "hostility event" as did those taking a placebo. In the United States, labels for all antidepressants note that anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, and mania are all possible side effects.

Part of the cause may be the disconnect with reality these drugs sometimes reportedly cause. In another study of the links between antidepressants and violence, a 12-year-old boy who killed his grandparents while he was on a course of antidepressants said that the whole incident seemed like a dream, and he was unsure whether or not it had really happened.

We can't say for sure whether or not antidepressants played a role, but there is no question that our society is addicted to drugs. We have prescriptions for every little ailment under the sun. "Restless leg syndrome"? Give me a break. The sad thing is that we're so hooked, few people will even bother to consider that there might be a connection.