The verdict on killer drugs
Prescription for murder? Much has been made of the risks of antidepressants to our adolescents, both in these pages and (finally) in the mainstream press. Not to belabor the issue, but much of the focus has been on whether or not these drugs cause teenagers to contemplate or commit suicide… But another question is this: How much study is being directed at whether or not these poisons cause kids to become violent against their fellow man? A current court case seems poised to blow the debate on this topic wide open. It involves a South Carolina youth named Christopher Pittman, charged with shot-gunning his grandparents to death in cold blood (then setting their house on fire) just weeks after starting on the popular
prescription antidepressant Zoloft. He was 12 years old at the time. Before taking the medication, Pittman showed no pattern of violence or hostility toward his family or anyone else, according to his relatives. And a forensic psychologist retained by Pittman's
lawyers contends that the murders were definitely triggered by an adverse reaction to the drug. Naturally, the drug's maker, Pfizer, denies this possibility, and has experts of its own "educating" the South Carolina prosecutor whose task it is to prosecute the youth. Of course, I don't mean to trivialize these deaths, and I'm all for the harsh punishment of murderers-regardless of their age. And while I don't view any drug use (prescription or otherwise) as an excuse for murder, I must wonder: Would this boy have pulled the trigger on his guardians if he hadn't been hopped-up on psychotropic drugs? Beyond this, I wonder if there's evidence of a pattern here. I mean, has anyone bothered to look into how many other similar crimes among young adults - school shootings, parental slayings,
murderous assaults, and the like - have been committed while under the influence of antidepressants? Is there a common thread of medication running through the Columbine massacre, the Menendez case, and others? It's a logical question to ask, especially since among adults, aggressive behavior is a noted side-effect of antidepressant drugs. In fact, some highly publicized court cases involving crimes of violence have been pinned squarely on the makers of these mind-altering chemicals. In June of 2001, a Wyoming jury ordered GlaxoSmithKline to pay $6.5 million to the family of a man who
murdered his wife, daughter and granddaughter two days after starting on their antidepressant Paxil. In light of this kind of verdict, is it really so unreasonable to conclude that another in this
same class of drug might've sent poor Christopher Pittman over the edge? In my opinion, not at all. But such things need to be studied - thoroughly and objectively - while sales of these drugs are halted in the meantime. As disturbing as the thought may be that medicated kids might kill themselves or go on murderous rampages at any moment, it's even more disturbing to learn that these kinds of behaviors may not be triggered ONLY by drugs aimed at treating those who are depressed or otherwise in a bad way mentally. Keep reading… Led by a Michigan Congressman whose son committed suicide while taking the drug, a bi-partisan group of four lawmakers is taking the FDA to task about the mental health side-effects of the prescription drug Accutane. What's this medication for, you ask? Depression? Bi-polar disorder? Nope… It's for acne. That's right. A 20-year-old acne medicine that millions of American kids are no doubt taking every day has been linked to a stunning array of negative psychiatric conditions including suicide, depression, psychosis, violent and aggressive behaviors, mood swings, emotional instability, paranoia, and changes in personality. Kind of makes you wonder what other "harmless" drugs out there could turn you (or your grandchild) into a psychopath or suicide victim, doesn't it? According to a recent Associated Press article, the band of concerned Congressmen I mentioned before have called upon Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to force the FDA to pull Accutane from shelves until more research has been conducted on these adverse affects on our nation's adolescents. Will it happen? Not a chance, if the current trend of the FDA to fiercely protect drug makers from even the slightest loss of profit is any indication. What about loss of life - from acne medication, antidepressants, or what have you? To the FDA and drug makers, that's just part of the cost of doing business.
Murderin' mad about deadly drug deceptions,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD **************************************************************
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