Top 3-School Depression Screening, Alzehiemers, Colorado sex offender

The Voyage Cast Top Three

In today’s Top Three:

• Illinois becomes the first state to mandate mental health screenings for all students — but with Big Pharma fingerprints on the test, is this protecting kids or feeding a system that overdiagnoses and overmedicates?
• Two cancer drugs show shocking potential in reversing Alzheimer’s in mice — could hope for memory restoration finally be on the horizon, and what does that mean for families right now?
• Colorado sex offender Solomon Galligan walks free after an attempted child abduction — thanks to mental health law loopholes. Is it time to bring back secure psychiatric hospitals?

From classrooms to labs to courtrooms, Ed cuts through the headlines with clarity, compassion, and challenge — asking the bigger question: are we really protecting the vulnerable?

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Transcript

The Voyage Cast Top Three: 

Illinois Student Screenings, Cancer Drugs for Alzheimer’s, Colorado’s Galligan Case

Three stories, one show: Illinois wants every student screened for mental health, cancer drugs may hold the key to reversing Alzheimer’s, and a sex offender in Colorado walks free after an attempted abduction.

This… is The Voyage Cast Top Three.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed Senate Bill 1560 — making Illinois the first state to require annual mental health screenings for every public school student, grades 3 through 12, starting in 2027. Parents can opt out.

The most likely screening tool is the PHQ-9 — a nine-question depression survey. It’s considered accurate — about 88 percent in clinical use according to a 2001 study — but it was developed with Pfizer funding, the same Pfizer that produces antidepressants.

Critics call this a conflict of interest, pointing to a 2019 JAMA study showing doctors who took pharma payments prescribed more antidepressants. Supporters, including NAMI Illinois, argue it’s a needed step in fighting rising youth suicide rates, now the second-leading cause of death for kids ages 10 through 14.

Screening itself isn’t the enemy — shallow care is. A nine-question survey can’t replace the messy, human context of a child’s life. It can flag symptoms, but it can’t tell you if that’s because of bullying, family stress, or just the ups and downs of adolescence.

If the next step is a rushed consult and a prescription, we’ve failed. We’ve reduced a child to a number, and let a pill carry weight it was never meant to bear.

So here’s my advice to parents: if your child gets flagged, slow the process down. Ask for a full evaluation by someone who actually knows your child’s story. Don’t outsource your child’s identity to a form. Screening should be the doorway to deeper care, not the end of it.

From the classroom to the lab — where Alzheimer’s research just took a stunning turn.

Researchers at UCSF and the Gladstone Institutes reviewed over 1,300 FDA-approved drugs looking for Alzheimer’s potential. Two cancer drugs stood out: letrozole for breast cancer, and irinotecan for colon and lung cancers.

In mouse models, the combo did what almost no Alzheimer’s treatment has done — reversed damage: abnormal brain activity normalized, toxic tau proteins dropped, degeneration stopped, and memory returned.

A review of 1.4 million patient records showed people who’d taken either drug for cancer had lower Alzheimer’s rates. Clinical trials will test whether this works safely in humans. The hurdle: these are chemo drugs, with serious side effects.

Families living with Alzheimer’s don’t just want slowed decline. They want reversal. To hear the word “memory restored” is almost unthinkable. But we need to stay grounded: mice aren’t people, and chemo isn’t a casual treatment.

Still, what excites me here is the mindset. Instead of inventing something from scratch, researchers asked: what tools do we already have? That’s humble, data-driven, and efficient.

If you’re walking with a loved one through Alzheimer’s, here’s my counsel: follow the research, but don’t let tomorrow steal today. Dignity, patience, and presence are medicine too — the kind no drug can replace.

From hope in the lab to outrage in Colorado, where the justice system just released a man many say should never walk free.

Aurora, Colorado — April 2024. Surveillance shows 33-year-old registered sex offender Solomon Galligan storming a school playground, lunging at an 11-year-old boy as kids screamed “stranger danger.” He tripped, fled, and was arrested — charged with attempted kidnapping and child abuse.

Fast-forward to August 2025: a judge dropped all charges after doctors declared Galligan permanently incompetent to stand trial, citing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder diagnosed at 16. Under Colorado’s 2024 law, he now faces only a short-term civil commitment — up to 90 days — before possible release if deemed “non-threatening.” No requirement to notify victims.

It’s the fourth time since 2018 Galligan has avoided prosecution on similar grounds. Outrage exploded online — one viral X post drew 5.7 million views — with parents demanding legal reform.

Now, this might be unpopular but this case proves we need secure psychiatric hospitals again.

Before the 1960s, someone like Galligan — severely mentally ill and repeatedly dangerous — would have been placed in a state hospital indefinitely. Those institutions were far from perfect. Abuse scandals, budget cuts, and the deinstitutionalization movement led to mass closures. The promise was “community-based care.” The reality? Thousands left to cycle between the streets, short hospital stays, and sometimes violence.

We can’t return to the abuses of the old asylums. But we do need a modern, safeguarded system for people who are permanently incompetent to stand trial and pose a clear risk. Not prison. Not freedom. Secure care.

Because compassion without boundaries isn’t compassion. It’s negligence. And in this case, it’s children who will carry the cost.

From Illinois classrooms, to Alzheimer’s labs, to Colorado courtrooms — the thread is the same: protecting the vulnerable.

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