Tag Archives: Dr. David Healy

Gun violence: Gun lobby may not by the only vested interest group

For many years, serious questions have been raised about the possible role of psychiatric medication in violent crimes, including mass shootings. The number of such incidents where the individual was either on psychiatric medication, had very recently been commenced on medication, had a change in dosage or had stopped medication (usually suddenly) is considerable.

Psychiatry’s answer to this issue is to generally blame the diagnosis – ie, that such violence is a feature of the diagnosis with which the person had been labelled.

But is that good enough? Does psychiatry not owe it to the public it serves to actively investigate – openly, fully and honestly – whether there may indeed by real links between psychiatric drugs and violent crime?

So why doesn’t psychiatry generally engage fully with this extremely important question?

It comes down to psychiatry’s almost inevitable lack of objectivity on such matters. Official findings that would link psychiatric drugs to violent crime would be catastrophic for mainstream psychiatry on so many levels. It does not therefore surprise me at all that mainstream psychiatry appears to have little enthusiasm for addressing this issue openly and comprehensively.

It doesnt surprise me, but it is not good enough.

Many experts have been expressing deep concern about possible links between psychiatric drugs and violent crime for decades now, including psychiatrists Peter Breggin, David Healy and physician/researcher Peter Gotzche, co-founder of the highly respected Cochrane Collaboration.

But because mainstream psychiatry repeatedly “reassures” politicians and the public that such concerns are unfounded, this issue does not get properly investigated. It is high time that this changed.

Here is a link to a recent 4-minute TV interview with US psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin, one of the world’s foremost experts on psychiatry, psychiatric drugs and their adverse effects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feoLOs121bQ&feature=share

When it comes to properly investigating mass gun and other violence, the gun lobby may not be the only group with major vested interests.