PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS A History of Betrayal

The evolution of psychiatric drugs has been a procession of claimed “miraculous” new developments that were all eventually found to be harmful, even deadly.

Early 1900s:
Barbiturates, which are sedative-hypnotic drugs, were introduced to control patient behavior. By 1978, the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs proposed restricting barbiturates because they were “more dangerous than heroin.”

1930s:
Amphetamines, used as antidepressants, were promoted as having “no serious reactions.” However, cases of addiction and “amphetamine psychosis” were almost immediately reported but the information was withheld from consumers.

1943:
LSD, initially developed as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant, moved into psychiatric ranks in the 1950s as a “cure” for everything from schizophrenia to criminal behavior, sexual perversions and alcoholism. Information was suppressed about its effects, which included panic, delusions, toxic confusion, depersonalization and birth defects.

1950s:
Ecstasy, which was originally and unsuccessfully developed as an appetite suppressant in Germany in 1914, was used as an adjunct to psychotherapy. Today, it is one of the most dangerous of the illegal or “street” drugs.

1950s:
Working in a lab in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942, researchers discovered a phenothiazine (yellowish crystalline substance used for dyes and insecticides) that depressed the central nervous system. In the 1950s, the drug was marketed under various names, including chlorpromazine, Largactil and Thorazine. It wasn’t until 1972 that patients were warned of the crippling effects of the drugs, including irreversible damage to the nervous system and a fatal toxic reaction that killed an estimated 100,000 Americans. Statistics of deaths in other countries are unknown.

1957:
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs), originally developed to treat tuberculosis, but withdrawn from the market because they caused hepatitis, were used as antidepressants. Certain foods and drinks such as cheese, wine and caffeine interacted with the drugs to cause potentially life-threatening changes in blood pressure. In 1958, as an alternative, tricyclic longer-acting antidepressants were developed but caused sedation, drowsiness, difficulty in thinking, headaches and weight gain.

1960s:
Minor tranquilizers or benzodiazepines became known as “Mother’s Little Helper” because of the number of women prescribed them. The public was not told that they can be addictive within several weeks of taking them.

1960s:
Originally used to reverse a barbiturate-induced coma, the cocaine-like stimulant, Ritalin (methylphenidate) was used for childhood behavioral problems and “hyperactivity.” By 1971, Ritalin and other stimulants were scheduled in the same abuse category as morphine, cocaine and opium.

1980s-1990s:
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants were marketed as “a designer medical bullet” and virtually side-effect free. Fourteen years later, the public was finally warned that neurological disorders, including disfiguring facial and body tics (indicating potential brain damage) were potential effects, and that the drugs cause suicidal and violent behavior.

1990s:
“Atypical” (new) neuroleptic (nerve-seizing) or antipsychotic drugs for “schizophrenia” were hailed as a “breakthrough” treatment, despite studies in the 1960s linking one of the drugs to respiratory arrest and heart attacks. Cases are now emerging of the drugs causing diabetes and inflammation of the pancreas.

Today:
At least 17 million people worldwide are prescribed minor tranquilizers, with “Western European countries facing epidemic levels of citizens being hooked on tranquilizers as well as antidepressants,” author Beverly Eakman reports.
In Spain, the use of antidepressants rose 247% in the 1990s, with the sales of antidepressants increasing three-fold and anti-anxiety drugs by four-fold since 2000. In 2004 in Britain, scientists discovered that one SSRI is consumed in such large quantities that traces of it are now in the country’s drinking water. The pharmaceuticals travel through the sewage network and end up being recycled into the water system. According to an environmental spokesperson, Norman Baker, M.P ., “This looks like a case of hidden mass medication of the unsuspecting public and is potentially a very worrying health issue.”

Coincidentally, the world today is suffering from massive social problems that are international in scope, including increased drug abuse and violence.

MARKETING HARM FOR PROFIT: Negative psychiatric drug publicity has historically been countered with articles and advertisements in medical journals which routinely exaggerated the benefits of drugs, while blatantly ignoring their numerous risks. In the case of antipsychotic drugs, that included Parkinson symptoms, permanent nervous system damage and even death.

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