# Should Lithium Be Added To The Public Water Supply? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 6, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426 "2003-12-06T20:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/1 "2003-12-06T20:24:43Z")
It has long been known that lithium is a cure for severe depression…and depression afflicts one in three Americans. So why not add sufficent lithium to the water, so that eeverybody is happy? Fluoride has been added to the water for years…and it has greatly reduced the incidence of dental caries. So, why not help prevent the extremely criipling condition of mental depression? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/2 "2003-12-06T20:43:29Z")
[Bad Idea](http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/bipolar/trillian/lithium_2.htm) > [@](#): > > Lithium must be taken with care, with attention to taking the proper dose, having regular blood tests, and reporting changes in diet, exercise, and the occurrence of illness. Toxic levels of lithium in the blood can cause vomiting, severe diarrhea, extreme thirst, weight loss, muscle twitching, abnormal muscle movement, slurred speech, blurred vision, dizziness, confusion, stupor, or pulse irregularities. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/3 "2003-12-06T20:54:24Z")
Lithium can also interfere with thyroid hormone production. Administering it willy-nilly without proper testing would be disastrous. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/4 "2003-12-06T20:58:27Z")
They say if you hang out on the SDMB long enough you’ll see everything. They were right. We’ve got here a real-live conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. Someone call Slim Pickens. He’ll know what to do. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/5 "2003-12-06T21:20:18Z")
Lithium in the water supply’s a bad idea, but I’m a strong supporter of the aerial spraying of Haldol. ---
**Author:** ![nameless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/6 "2003-12-06T21:29:42Z")
And soma. Give me lots of soma. Daily rations maybe even. ---
**Author:** ![\_possum\_stalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b77776/32.png) [@\_possum\_stalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_possum_stalker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/7 "2003-12-06T21:29:48Z")
Gee, let’s all take a soma vacation! It’s safe a helicopters. I’m glad I’m a Beta. ---
**Author:** ![\_possum\_stalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b77776/32.png) [@\_possum\_stalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_possum_stalker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/8 "2003-12-06T21:32:04Z")
**Nameless** : get out of my mind. 🙂 Also, the phrase is "safe **as** helicopters, for Ford’s sake! ---
**Author:** ![pervert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pervert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervert)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/9 "2003-12-06T21:37:54Z")
Would these be black helicopters by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/10 "2003-12-06T21:41:29Z")
> [@](#): > > So why not add sufficent lithium to the water, so that everybody is happy? That seems like a lot of bother. Lets all just move to [BD+233912](http://www.aas.org/publications/baas/v28n2/aas188/abs/S058006.html). The planets there should already have lithium in the water supply. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/11 "2003-12-06T21:45:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > **depression afflicts one in three Americans.** According to this site, depression affects about 20 million Americans. That’s not even close to one in three. ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/12 "2003-12-06T21:46:38Z")
From [http://www.nature.com/nsu/031103/031103-8.html](http://www.nature.com/nsu/031103/031103-8.html) > [@](#): > > Three species (of fish) living downstream of a water-treatment plant in northern Texas had accumulations of the active compounds in two popular antidepressants in their brains, livers and muscles Granted these fish live in water downstream from a sewage plant and not in public drinking water supplies, but it looks like we may just be on our way to having anti-depressants in our drinking water, intentionally or not. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/13 "2003-12-06T21:50:25Z")
Whoops! 20 million \*adults.\*Still, that’s in a nation of 300 million people. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/14 "2003-12-06T23:43:33Z")
You can’t just dump something in the water supply because it mgight be good if taken in pill form. Not every drug works well with every delivery method: flouride only happens to work well that way. But you couldn’t do the same with, say, prozac. Of course, I know nothing about lithium in particular, I’m just syaing we can’t jut assume that it would be a good additive. Also, doesn’t lithium, er, not like water all that much? The chemical we should be looking at is Lithium carbonate, right, and they only call it lithium for short? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/15 "2003-12-06T23:56:47Z")
Everyone knows the solution is to put LSD in the [water](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063808/plotsummary), then cart off the old people and keep them permanently trippin’. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/16 "2003-12-07T00:20:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pervert \* > \*\*Would these be black helicopters by any chance? \*\* Well, do they have 1920’s style “Death Rays” mounted on the side? ---
**Author:** ![myles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@myles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myles)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/17 "2003-12-07T00:21:51Z")
Not lithium, dilithium you fools!!! And make sure its in a proper crystalline form. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/18 "2003-12-07T00:44:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*Also, doesn’t lithium, er, not like water all that much? The chemical we should be looking at is Lithium carbonate, right, and they only call it lithium for short? \*\* Certainly doctors won’t be prescribing pellets of metallic lithium washed down with a glass of water. ---
**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/19 "2003-12-07T00:54:35Z")
Supposedly lithium carbonate was in the fountains of youth in Florida that Desoto never found. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426/20 "2003-12-07T01:03:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Certainly doctors won’t be prescribing pellets of metallic lithium washed down with a glass of water. Yes, but just throwing it in the water supply is not exactly the greatest idea either. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lithium-be-added-to-the-public-water-supply/217426.md?page=2)