The Violent Side! The Prescribed Drugs Zimmerman Took Before He Shot Trayvon

[Ian David]

The media made a big deal out of Trayvon Martin having weed in his system, but they continue to discount what George Zimmerman had in his body.

Last week when Zimmerman’s medical records were released, it was revealed that he was on the prescription drug Temazepam.

Temazepam, also known as Restoril, is known to cause insomnia and anxiety; however there are more important side effects that were not mentioned.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the drug is also known to cause “aggressiveness” and “hallucinations,” among other problematic symptoms.

<snip>

Zimmerman was also on the often-abused prescription drug Adderall, which is known to cause "worsening mental or mood problems (eg, aggression, anxiety, delusions, depression, hallucination, hostility)."

More:
http://globalgrind.com/news/george-zimmerman--drugs-violent-side-effects-killed-trayvon-martin-details

[spanone]

1. why was zimmerman on these drugs?

[hedgehog]

2. "This medication is used for the short-term treatment of patients with trouble sleeping (insomnia).

It is generally used for 7-10 days. It may help you fall asleep faster and decrease the number of times you awaken during the night. It may also help you sleep for a longer period of time. Temazepam belongs to a class of medications called sedative/hypnotics. It acts on your brain to produce a calming effect.

Rarely, after taking this drug, people have gotten out of bed and driven vehicles while not fully awake ("sleep-driving&quot . People have also sleepwalked, prepared/eaten food, made phone calls, or had sex while not fully awake. Often, these people do not remember these events. This problem can be dangerous to you or to others. If you find out that you have done any of these activities after taking this medication, tell your doctor immediately. Your risk is increased if you use alcohol or other medications that can make you drowsy while taking temazepam.

Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: confusion, unusual feelings of well-being (euphoria), uncontrolled movements (tremor), restlessness, memory loss, sweating, mental/mood changes (e.g., hallucinations, agitation, anxiety, unusual/disturbing thoughts, depression, rare thoughts of suicide), increased or vivid dreams, vision changes, fainting.

http://www.rxlist.com/restoril-drug/consumer-uses.htm

[liberalmike27]

32. Sadly

That will just give him another reason for getting off without prison. Then he can sue the drug companies.

[obxhead]

55. No it won't.

You're not allowed to use the "I was blinded drunk" defense in a murder trial.

[McCamy Taylor]

53. Take rx speed by day and a sleeping pill at night to come down.

Does not sound healthy.

[Enrique]

13. because he lives in Florida

prescription drugs are a way of life down here.

[Surya Gayatri]

24. Prescription drug-shopping capital of the world!

I think I read it's only second to tourism in economic importance to the state.

[malaise]

3. Oops!

I knew this goon had issues

[lunatica]

4. Yeah, but they aren't pot and he isn't a teenager

Oh! And he isn't black.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. ^This.

[H2O Man]

5. Thank you for this.

Recommended.

[TBF]

7. Great, now Zimmerman will sue the drug company for making him hallucinate.

Along with the money from his book/movie deals he is going to be living better than any of us.

[barbtries]

8. hopefully

anything he gets will immediately be awarded to Trayvon's parents in a wrongful death lawsuit.

[TBF]

9. Awesome reponse -

I would love to see that!

[mopinko]

10. don't see why they couldn't be party to the suit. nt.

[GreenStormCloud]

14. That will depend upon the verdict.

If the jury finds "not guilty" then Zman gets civil immunity also.

[Rob H.]

27. Nope

OJ Simpson was found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, and Brown's and Goldman's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OJ and won. In wrongful death cases, the standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt, as in criminal trials.

Edits: clarity and capitalization. D'oh!

[groundloop]

28. "Stand your ground" grants civil immunity

If the "stand your ground" defense flies Zimmerman will have immunity from civil suits.

[Rob H.]

33. Wow, didn't know that

Learn something new every day.

[JDPriestly]

45. That Stand Your Gun law is just a license to kill.

If Zimmerman gets off, that law will become the object of an impassioned campaign to get rid of it.

[Hatchling]

30. Is this a Florida law?

I know OJ was found not guilty but lost his shirt in a civil trial.

[GreenStormCloud]

44. OJ was in California, Zman is in Florida.

OJ was not claiming self-defense. In most SYG states if you defend yourself against unlawful attack then the attacker is responsible for his injuries including death.

[uponit7771]

18. +1

[Surya Gayatri]

25. +1,000 ! n/t

[mwooldri]

35. Adderall comes in generic form these days. Who to sue?

Adderall - amphetamine salt...

This medication can definitely cause adverse side-effects. I know, I was on the drug for a while, it didn't work as expected and I discontinued it. All under doctor's supervision.

[OnlinePoker]

11. I can see where this is going

He wasn't responsible for his actions because the drugs had altered his thought process. Sounds like another "Twinkie" defense coming.

[KharmaTrain]

12. More Of The Equivelency Game...

...but merited in this case as there are those who want to slime Martin by using the lame excuse he had marijuana in his system and thus must be some "Reefer Madness" monster and/or since he got high (and black) he was obviously some thug that warranted being profiled by Zimmerman. So if Martin had some dangerous psychotic drugs in his system then aren't drugs in Zimmerman's system that could alter behavior also be taken in account.

On the whole this is yet another circle jerk as neither conditions will be central to any forthcoming jury trial...

[byeya]

16. I am afraid that the THC will play to the jury while the prescription

medicine, no matter how toxic, will not.
Hoping for the best.

[KharmaTrain]

19. It's Not Germaine To The Case...

The trial will be strictly on the evidence surrounding the murder...the events immediately leading up to what happened, not a lot of the sideshows that others are injecting here. This one one of them. A good judge will have any mention of drug use on either side stricken as that's not part of the indictment.

[patrice]

22. Bingo, especially with a little NRA super-PAC "educating" going on.

[mwooldri]

36. Adderall - Amphetamine salts.

If the prosecutors use the generic name of the drug that Zimmerman was taking rather than the brand name - then the jury will be pumped up. The word amphetamine can conjure up all kinds of things.... thinking of other illegal drugs.

[jeff47]

48. Except that would demolish his SYG claim.

If he "acted out" because of the drugs, he wasn't standing his ground.

[DallasNE]

15. I Posted On Zimmerman's Adderall Last Friday

Here. Didn't know about the other drug then.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=124250

[uponit7771]

17. WHOA! NRA now the Drug cartel...who's going to make the movie?!

[bupkus]

26. The ATF already made the movie

It was called "Fast and Furious"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg,0,3828090.storygallery

[slackmaster]

20. Did Zimmerman admit to taking one of both of those meds that night, or is there a toxicology report?

TIA for anyone who can clarify.

[Meiko]

31. There has been no report released

Either Zimmerman was never given a blood test or the report has been sealed and will not be released until the trial starts. The consensus is that no drug test was given which would violate Florida state law due to a firearm having been involved.

[slackmaster]

40. I perceive a pattern in the flow of information, which I find troubling

It seems to me that people have repeatedly gotten up in arms over something that hasn't been published, with the assumption that the information must not exist if it can't be seen on the Web.

The story presented in the OP for this thread says that Zimmerman was "on" two particular drugs, but that may mean only that he held prescriptions for them. People jump to the conclusions that A) he was under the influence of the drugs and that B) they affected his behavior. Either or both may be true, or not. Add another layer C) which would be whether or not the effects of either or both drugs have any legal weight. For example, was he in violation of the terms of his concealed-weapons permit? That would sink his defense like a rock.

This is why we have courts and orderly trials.

[JDPriestly]

46. Thanks.

You are advised not to drive if you have taken medication that might make you drowsy.

Seems to me that gun laws should require gun-owners to refrain from carrying guns if on medications that might make them drowsy or stimulate them.

[Enrique]

38. he had received prescriptions for the drugs

according to the same medical report that showed his injuries.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57435247/george-zimmermans-head-wounds-after-trayvon-martin-shooting-likely-bolster-self-defense-claims/

The court documents also show that prior to the shooting, Zimmerman had received prescriptions for Adderall and Temazepam, which have been shown to cause agitation and mood swings, though in less than 10 percent of consumers.

[patrice]

21. Oh crap, think about all of the Pharma-activist-money that could trigger!

"Who, us? - a nation of PRESCRIPTION drug abusers??? No way!!! We just milk 'our' 'health' 'care' systems for any and all of the pills we can take, just to get from one day to the next. NO TIME to actually fix anything in our lives that is causing the symptoms for which we and our pet pill-pushers survey the vast menu of chemicals available for our every physical and psychological twinge. And DO NOT TALK about it. All you really need to do is just keep that nose down on that grindstone. Don't ask any questions about why everyone is so troubled and sick. Just keep pretending you're happy, and everything you do is what you wanted to do in the first place, and keep taking your meds. And "God" forbid you should need a little (very expensive) help from an actual other person; that would be wrong, just keep on running that rat race and taking those pills and when you find you, ahem . . . , "must" do something horrific to 'protect' y/our own life, don't worry about it, we'll just mark that one up to the health of a head-busting-cop-wannabe, in this case, George, or the health of an oil-based economy, or the health of the 'job creators', or the health of an obsolete treaty organization, or the health of anyone and everyone's soul but you own. So when innocents suffer and die, because you lost track of who you are and what you are doing, we all can get higher than a kite on the bathos alone and reward everyone with big crocodile-tears fests for the poor sad sweet kid with the heart of a lion who happened to attract your attention+++; and for primitive brown-people in other countries who happen to think they own our oil; and for those loser rubes who didn't adapt effectively to multi-dimensional American financial shell-game 'job' markets; and for insufficiently ruthless foreigners who didn't kill their way to the top of gangster economies; and for everyone who didn't join 'our' divine little power-clique, conceived, birthed, nurtured, entertained, blessed into and out of life on violence and pharmaceuticals. Don't worry about what you don't know. Salute the flag, or else, and have another pill."

[iemitsu]

49. wow, did yu write this diatribe on drugs?

and if so, which ones.
it's beautiful and so on target.

[patrice]

51. caffeine & Thank You!

[iemitsu]

59. thank you.

and from the looks of my spelling i must have been on drugs when i responded.

[ccavagnolo]

23. I would be pretty surprised

if drugs lending themselves to curb insomnia don't contain warnings for operating heavy machinery and driving? of which he was doing both.

[zzaapp]

29. Sounds like this could be used as part of his defense. LAWYERS !!!!!1

[goclark]

34. K and R

If Trayvon had these drugs in his system, if alive --- he would have been in jail by now.

[Blue Owl]

37. The war against some drugs takes some prisoners

n/t

[Gregorian]

39. This thread is probably as good an example of what we're doing on DU as any I've ever seen.

Drug war, timely justice, bad laws, racism, media conglomeration...

[krispos42]

41. I'd rather deal with a guy on pot than a guy on this stuff, I think.

Imaging you're working the counter at Starbucks... who would YOU want to deal with???

[libodem]

42. knew it

Something drove that unsolicited aggression.

[Life Long Dem]

43. One is under prescription

The other is illegal. I didn't hear the media talk about any aggressiveness from the weed. They'd be laughed at if they did.

[iamthebandfanman]

47. thatd be a silly defense...

and wouldnt only make things worse on him..
cause itd bring lawyers from big pharma into it to prove its a safe drug n couldnt have done it..

[Jackpine Radical]

50. An interesting drug cocktail

and maybe proof that some MDs shouldn't be allowed to prescribe psychoactive medications.

Adderal is essentially a mixture of 2 forms of speed, often used for ADD, which can certainly cause insomnia, paranoia, & similar problems--so then he is prescribed Temazepam to try to bring him down from the effects of the first drug.

And he's running around with all that shit in his bloodstream carrying a gun.

Lemme tell ya I'd much rather he be stoned on pot than taking that combination if he's gonna be wandering around with a gun.

[Skip Intro]

52. I know this is a selective-fact thread, at best, but, in search of the truth

I did some web-searching on these claims, not to be a "Zimmerman-defender" or "Zimmerman-apologist" (but feel free to call me names if the mood strikes), but to learn the truth, and found that there are no reliable media sources reporting, to the degree in the OP, this aspect of the issue.

However, digging a bit, I did find an ABC News report stating the following:

According to the report, prior to the shooting Zimmerman had been prescribed Adderall and Temazepam, medications that can cause side effects such as agitation and mood swings, but in fewer than 10 percent of patients.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-medical-report-sheds-light-injuries-trayvon/story?id=16353532#.T7slGtms87q

It isn't clear, from what I can find, if Zimmerman was still taking one or both of these drugs before the incident, or if he was under the effect of one or either that night, or, if so, fell into the less than ten percent who may have an adverse reaction.

Of course, the same is true for Martin and his drug use. Martin having had THC in his system proves or disproves nothing. This would be true for Restoril and Adderall in Zimmerman's system, imho. Another bit of info, but proves zilch.

We don't know how long ago these meds were prescribed, of if Zimmerman was on either just prior to or during the incident with Martin. We have no indication that he had the less than 1 in 10 reaction that would cause him to experience agitation or mood swings.

The OP, and the linked article, seem to use this snippet of real news to paint Zimmerman as some out of control drug-powered zombie bent on killing.

I'm sorry, but in the interest of honesty, nothing in this thread proves anything of the sort.

Flame away.

[aquart]

56. One out of ten will have side effects?

That seems insignificant to you?

[McCamy Taylor]

54. Can't sleep at night, can't stay awake in the day---OSA. Sleep apnea.

Too often treated with pills that target the symptoms not the disorder.

[Blue_Roses]

57. Adderall is taken for AD/HD...

and if a person does indeed REALLY have AD/HD, it should not and will not cause aggression. It gives a paradox effect. I know this because I have been prescribed and taken Adderall for over four years--with none of the aggressive side effects, in fact, quite the contrary.

I suspect Zimmerman probably does have AD/HD which would explain his impulsiveness and inability to follow directions. Sounds like he didn't take his meds that day. It also explains his inability to succeed with his desire to be a cop. No follow through or again impulsive, bad decision making.

Nevertheless, he does not need a gun if he does have AD/HD, because he obviously isn't taking his meds. The number one characteristic of AD/HD is impulsiveness--something he clearly has.

Also, having AD/HD is not an excuse for murder.

Adderall can affect sleep (obviously) so sometimes a doctor will prescribe meds to combat that. (although, ironically, Adderall makes me sleepy and many others who have AD/HD) But, it's often something very light or the natural drug Melatonin. I guess it depends on the doctor.

[RogerShuler]

58. The MSM?

Has it touched this story? Certainly seems to be pertinent information.