A spate of recent acts of mass-violence has reignited concern that psychotropic medications, with dozens of drug regulatory agency warnings about the potential to induce violent and suicidal behavior, should be investigated. CCHR wants additional warnings on packaging.
Los Angeles, United States - April 20, 2021 /PressCable/ —
Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) reiterates its call for federal and state agencies to investigate potential links to acts of mass-violence and psychotropic drugs that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other drug regulatory agencies have listed may induce violent or suicidal behavior. In the most recent incident was a 19-year-old who killed eight people and injured several others in Indianapolis, before killing himself.[1] His family expressed heartfelt apologies to the victims, as CCHR does too. Only last year the suspect’s mother contacted law enforcement to report her son might try to commit “suicide by cop.” He was placed on a temporary detention mental health involuntary hold.[2]
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report from March 3, 2020, references the mental health check and The Behavioral Health Unit initiating the psychiatric detention because the teen planned to commit suicide at the hands of police.[3] Each year from 2015 to 2018, there were approximately 261- 290 “suicide-by-cop” shooting incidents.[4]
It’s not known whether the boy was prescribed psychotropic drugs that may have exacerbated his behavior. CCHR stresses that the drugs don’t excuse crime. Obviously, not all people taking psychotropic meds will become violent or suicidal, it says, but based on adverse event reports and expert opinion, a certain percent will. With one in six Americans prescribed psychiatric drugs, even rare side effects could lead to violent incidents which warrants investigation by the authorities to safeguard consumers and the community.
CCHR’s comprehensive report, Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence & Suicide: Putting the Community at Risk, available free online, details over 30 studies that support this. A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent endorsed the report as a public service to consumers, government and law enforcement. “I found this to be an exceptional report and I am very impressed with the quality of the investigative research,” he said.
Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D., head of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness, warns of a whole new vocabulary as a result of widespread antidepressant use, with terms such as “road rage,” “murder/suicide,” “going postal” and “suicide by cop.”[5]
A statistical analysis of more than three decades of data shows that in 2011 the U.S. entered a new period in which mass shootings were occurring more frequently. The annual number of incidents tripled from an average of five per year before 2009 to approximately 15 per year since, according to a U.S. Justice report. In 2004, the FDA placed its most stringent black box on antidepressant packaging to warn of the risk of suicidal behavior in those younger than 18, and later up to age 25.[6]
In May 2015, a suicidal veteran, aged 25, in Spokane, Washington, intentionally tried to force police to shoot him as a suicidal act. The man worked at the Spokane Veteran’s Administration Hospital and had previously attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription drugs while on the antidepressant, paroxetine. Despite the fact that the medication lists suicidal thoughts as a side effect, doctors doubled his dose of the antidepressant. He stated: “I should have never been put on that drug. When I made my first suicide attempt, I should have been immediately taken off” it. The court judge regretted but was required by law to sentence him to 10 years in prison.[7]
More and more studies are questioning a potential link. A Swedish study showed young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 who had filled prescriptions for antidepressants were more likely to be convicted of a homicide, assault, robbery, arson, kidnapping, sexual offense or other violent crime when they were on the drugs than when not.[8]
Harvard Medical school psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen noted: “The irritability and impulsivity” from antidepressants, for example, “can make people suicidal or homicidal.”[9] “The link between antidepressants and violence, including suicide and homicide, is well established,” Patrick D. Hahn, affiliate professor of Biology at Loyola University Maryland also stated.[10]
Dr. David Healy, an international expert in psychopharmacology warned: “Violence and other potentially criminal behavior caused by prescription drugs are medicine’s best kept secret.”[11]
CCHR says the usual response to acts of mass violence, if committed by someone who has been under psychiatric treatment, is to demand for more mental health treatment and easy commitment laws to prevent mass killings, but this is patently false.
CCHR is a 52-year-mental health industry watchdog group which has helped obtain more than 190 laws worldwide to protect against psychiatric abuse. It provides a psychiatric drugs side effects database online for consumers to be better informed of potential risks reported to drug regulatory agencies.
[1] “Suspect in Indianapolis mass shooting was former FedEx employee, known to law enforcement,” Fox 59 News, 17 Apr. 2021, fox59.com/news/indianapolis-fedex-shooting/ap-officials-identify-suspect-in-mass-shooting-at-indianapolis-fedex-facility/
[2] Ibid.; www.ibtimes.sg/who-was-brandon-scott-hole-fedex-shooter-had-history-mental-illness-never-got-help-56882
[3] “FedEx shooter identified as 19-year-old Indianapolis resident who ‘voiced suicidal ideation,’” Indy Star, 17 Apr. 2021, www.indystar.com/story/news/2021/04/16/indianapolis-fedex-mass-shooting-suspect-identity-update/7251111002/
[4] “Suicide by Cop: Protocol and Training Guide,” Police Executive Research Forum, www.policeforum.org/suicidebycop, citing: “Examining ‘suicide by cop’: A critical review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 27 (2016) 107-120
[5] Ann Blake Tracy, “Suicide & Death Can Lurk in Each SSRI Pill,” Rense.com, www.rense.com/general77/lurk.htm
[6] Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence and Suicide, CCHR International Report, 2018, www.cchrint.org/pdfs/violence-report.pdf, citing: “Rate of Mass Shootings Has Tripled Since 2011, Harvard Research Shows,” Mother Jones, 15 Oct. 2014, www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/mass-shootings-increasing-harvard-research; “Holder: Mass shootings triple,” Politico, 21 Oct. 2013, www.politico.com/story/2013/10/us-mass-shootings-tripled-098617
[7] Jeff Humphrey, “Army vet gets nine years for suicide by cop attempt,” KXLY news, 3 Mar. 2016, www.kxly.com/news/local-news/spokane/army-vet-gets-nine-years-for-suicide-by-cop-attempt_20161121034442715/176407731; “Man seeking ‘suicide by cop’ found guilty of assault,” The Spokesman-Review, 11 Feb. 2016, www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/11/man-who-encouraged-spokane-police-to-shoot-him-fou/; “Spokane judge reluctantly sentences man to long prison term,: The Spokesman-Review, 3 Mar. 2016, www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/mar/03/spokane-judge-reluctantly-sentences-man-to-long-pr/
[8] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/12/study-funds-should-review-child-deaths-suicide-and-violence-from-psych-drugs/ citing: C. Mitchell Shaw “Study: Psychiatric Drugs Linked to Violent Crime,” The New American, 21 Oct. 2015, thenewamerican.com/study-psychiatric-drugs-linked-to-violent-crime/
[9] “FDA Mulls Antidepressant Warnings,” Daily Press, 21 Mar. 2004, articles.dailypress.com/2004-03-21/news/0403210207_1_dr-joseph-glenmullen-corey-baadsgaard-school-shootings-and-murder-suicides
[10] Patrick D. Hahn, “Antidepressants: a deadly treatment?” Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2015, www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-antidepressants-violence-20150411-story.html
[11] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/12/study-funds-should-review-child-deaths-suicide-and-violence-from-psych-drugs/ citing: John Horgan, “What ‘60 Minutes’ Gets Wrong in Report on Mental Illness and Violence,” Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2013, blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/what-e2809c60-minutese2809d-gets-wrong-in-report-on-mental-illness-and-violence/
Contact Info:
Name: Amber Rauscher
Email: Send Email
Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Address: 6616 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90028, United States
Phone: +1-323-467-4242
Website: https://www.cchrint.org
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89006078
