Is Not Drugging Your Child A Crime?

Here's a scary story from New Mexico... Chad Taylor, the father of a child who had been prescribed Ritalin for Attention Deficit Disorder, may be prosecuted for child abuse for taking his son off the drug. Taylor said he was afraid of the side-effects his son was showing.

"He was losing weight, wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating," Taylor told ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV in New Mexico. "[He] just wasn't Daniel."

When the boy's teachers found out he was no longer taking Ritalin, the school district notified New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families. Then a detective and social worker made a home visit.

"The detective told me if I did not medicate my son, I would be arrested for child abuse and neglect," Taylor said.

Now, Taylor faces jail time for child abuse. Child abuse? For choosing not to use a mind-altering medication on his child? When did parents lose the right to determine what's best for their children?

Incidentally, this isn't the first time the Rio Rancho school system has been the center of controversy. Here are other instances, courtesy OpinionJournal.com

May 2001: A 16-year-old freshman at Rio Rancho High was kicked out of school for possessing a tiny penknife.

May 2001: A senior at the same school was jailed for five days after a security guard found a hunting knife in his brother's car, which he had driven to school.

November 2003: A 12-year-old Rio Rancho student got an "in-school suspension" because a vending machine gave him two drinks when he paid for only one.

January 2004: A teenager at Rio Rancho Mid-High School was suspended for five days for bringing Gas-X, an over-the-counter drug, to school.