Neurobehavioral disinhibition?

Well here's a chilling followup to my earlier post on inoculating children against pleasure. I hear Mark Kleiman suggested that this could never happen in the US. (Note that he had a hand in writing the report). Maybe he should have told NIDA this is a laughable proposition when he picked up his paycheck. The taxpayer-funded agency has been underwriting research (paid for with our tax dollars) clearly designed to set clinical criteria for judging who will get the shots. From NIDA's own website:

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research have identified a set of characteristics that appears to predict a boy's vulnerability to substance use disorder (SUD) in young adulthood. Once validated for use with the general population, this new construct, "neurobehavioral disinhibition," may help clinicians tailor drug abuse prevention programs for children most in need of support.

Under the direction of Dr. Ralph E. Tarter, the researchers have conducted comprehensive longitudinal studies to understand how neurobehavioral disinhibition may relate to the genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors that are thought to predispose individual boys to SUD. They have developed an index that links the set of personality characteristics to a quantitative scoring system. The index appears to identify as early as age 10 children who are especially vulnerable to drug problems in adolescence.

NIDA cautions on trying to apply these findings to all the nation's children, citing the need for more studies, however a look at the symptoms they describe as clinical indicators for the problem does nothing to convince me that it won't eventually be applied across the board.

Compared to his peers, a "disinhibited" child can be described as "difficult." His (or her) moods are volatile, and he often exhibits restlessness and an inability to persevere in a task. Poor self-management often reveals itself in risky, even reckless behavior. Neurological tests reveal a lack of certain capacities that originate in the part of the brain that manages higher level thinking.

One thinks this could be applied to any child (or adult for that matter), that is having a bad day or going through a difficult life transition. Let me say this one more time. If we must drug our children against their will, in order to keep them from taking drugs by their own choice as young adults, then we should give up on the human race and stop having children altogether.

For a more scientifically impartial view, read Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (CCLE), "Threats To Cognitive Liberty: Pharmacotherapy And The Future Of The Drug War".