CCHR reports on association of psychotropic drugs with violence

CCHR reports on association of psychotropic drugs with violence

An article in the September newsletter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has raised the issue of psychotropic drugs setting off violence: “Senseless Shooting, Another Psychotropic Drug? Federal Investigation Is Long Overdue.” The correlation between psychiatric drugs and acts of violence and homicide has been well documented, by both international drug regulatory warnings and studies, and by hundreds of cases where high profile acts of violence, including mass murder, were committed by individuals who were under the influence of psychiatric drugs.

The CCHR is the world’s leading mental health wartchdog and has been working tirelessly for decades to investigate hundreds of acts of senseless violence, working alongside investigative reporters, law enforcement, as well as legislative hearings, such as those held in Colorado following the 1999 Columbine massacre. The ringleader of this massacre, Eric Harris, was found to be under the influence of the antidepressant Luvox.

While there has never been one simple explanation for what drives a human being to commit such shocking acts, all too often the CCHR has uncovered one common denominator in hundreds of cases, prescribed psychotropic drugs, which have been well documented to cause mania, psychosis, violence, suicide and in some cases homicidal ideation. It is a horrible injustice that the general public is not generally being informed about the well documented links which have been shown to exist between psychiatric drugs and violence.

The CCHR has therefore presented some facts dealing with this problem. These facts include that between 2004 and 2011 there have been over 11,000 reports to the U.S. FDA’s MedWatch system of psychiatric drug side effects which have been related to violence. These reports have included 300 cases of homicide, nearly 3,000 cases of mania and over 7,000 cases of aggression. Furthermore, by the FDA’s own admission, only about 1-10% of side effects from these drugs are ever reported to the FDA.

The CCHR has also pointed out that there have been 22 international drug regulatory warnings issued on psychiatric drugs as causing violence, mania, hostility, aggression, psychosis, and other violent types of reactions. Warnings of this nature have been issued in the United States, European Union, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The CCHR has also highlighted that just about every mass school shooting has involved a minor who was under the influence of psychotopic drugs, along with any other high profile cases.

The press has been encouraged by the CCHR to please ask the right questions when asking James Holmes about what prompted him to commit such a brutal and senseless crime in the recent Colorado movie theater shooting. The psychiatrists are of course likely to say he was simply mentally ill. What the press must ask is what, if any prescribed psychotropic drugs Holmes may have been on, or in withdrawal from. All together there have been fourteen recent school shootings which have been committed by those taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. And there have been 109 wounded and 58 killed in these cases. Clearly the CCHR is right on target in implying the psychiatric drugs are killers which mimic mental illness and worse.

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