jmcquown wrote:
> Gabby wrote:
>> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> maureeng7eh wrote:
>>>> A few years ago, a man in eastern Canada killed his mother-in-law,
>>>> in another town from where he lived.....all the while under the
>>>> influence of Halcion (sleeping drug)
>>>>
>>>> He had absolutely no recollection of any of the events that night.
>>>>
>>>> He was found not guilty.......I don't think doctors prescribe this
>>>> drug anymore in Canada (unless patient is in a psychiatric
>>>> hospital).....its definitely banned in England.
>>> Cite the case law, please. I've taken Ambien and I certainly did
>>> remember doing such mundane things as getting up to use the toilet
>>> in the middle of the night. I'd definately recall having killed
>>> someone, so this is a farce
>>> or lawyers tricks. Ambien makes you sleepy, it doesn't turn you
>>> into a psychopathic killer. And you can buy over the counter sleep
>>> aids that make
>>> you feel much more "muddled" when you wake up than Ambien does.
>> Regina v. Parks
>>
>> I don't remember that he was on medication but I do remember the case
>> very well. 1987 -- He was sleepwalking, drove his car about 15 miles
>> to his in-laws' house and stabbed MIL to death & also stabbed his
>> FIL, woke up before he got back home and drove himself to the police
>> station. He was found "not guilty" of both murder and attempted
>> murder a year later. The case was appealed all the way to the
>> Supreme Court where the verdict of 'not guilty' was upheld in 1992.
>>
>> You can read about it here, with a link to the Supreme Court decision.
>>
>> Gabby
>
> Not even sure Ambien was available as a sleep aid in 1987... we're talking
> almost 20 years ago. And I have no idea what Ambien has to do with Halcion.

No, Ambien wasn't available in 1987, but what Ambien has to do with
Halcion is not a big stretch.

Halcion was once the most widely prescribed sleeper, like Ambien is now.
For a long time, the undesirable side effects of Halcion, especially
among the elderly (who received it almost universally in hospitals and
nursing homes) were ignored, like those of Ambien now.

In short, the human tendency to medicate itself into the appearance of
normality is no different now than it was then. The consequences are the
same, too.