We need to be fully informed about the potential dangers of psychiatric drugs

While the psychiatric industry busily promotes dangerous drugs all over the world, discerning and responsible individuals and groups in the UK are working to alert the population about the dangers associated with the drugs.

Whenever psychiatric drugs hit the headlines, the issue of informed consent comes into question. If people were fully informed about the effects of the drugs, would they still take them? In Scotland, a leading expert in psychiatric drugs has said the growing prescription of antidepressants to teenagers is doing more harm than good.

Prof David Healy questioned why they were being given the medication when clinical trial results were so poor. Were the effects of the drugs explained by the prescriber, or were patients left to read the small print on the information leaflet?

It’s also been reported that Ireland is in the grip of a prescription drug crisis after it was found the number of prescriptions had exploded over the last decade. It begs the question; how many of those taking the drugs were allowed to make a fully informed choice?

In England, an urgent review was launched in January into prescription drugs. Relied on by one in ten Britons, antidepressants were included in the review, as they can cause crippling withdrawal effects. Did the prescribers explain those withdrawal effects so that the person could make an informed choice?

Whatever the country, being fully informed and having the opportunity to make an informed choice is a fundamental issue and a basic right.

When you consider the long lists of effects associated with the different categories of psychiatric drugs, it’s likely that those taking them are agreeing while remaining uninformed.

According to the NHS website, informed is defined as follows, “the person must be given all of the information in terms of what the treatment involves, including the benefitsand risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments, and what will happen if treatment doesn’t go ahead.”

Based on many of the abuse cases that CCHR receives, informed consent is not a regular occurrence. If it was, we would not be talking to people who are more damaged as a result of psychiatric drugs and we would not be talking to bereaved families who have lost their loved ones after psychiatric ‘treatment.’

Whether you’re the recipient of the drug or you’re a parent making a decision for your child, insist on being fully informed. You owe it to yourself and your children.

BRIAN DANIELS National Spokesperson, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (UK)