Psychiatric drug unsafe, ineffective

To the editor:I cannot believe the lengths to which the psycho-pharmaceutical cartel will go in order to line their pockets with blood money (April 18 AP story on benefits versus risks for children on anti-depressants).

I was dismayed to see the misinformation carried in the Missourian just prior to the most recent and most deadly school shooting tragedy. In every instance in which records have been made public about the school shooters, it has been found that they were under psychiatric treatment and either on mind-numbing drugs or withdrawing from them. These drugs have black-box warnings for a reason.

Psychiatric drugs are neither safe nor effective. The occurrence of depression/suicide ideation is rare in children (a minuscule fraction of 1 percent), but when you don't add psych drugs into the mix, you at least don't get a mass murderer. By its very nature, depression is a state of apathy. But with psych drugs, something snaps and the person suddenly has a burning need to see blood -- and death. Additionally, in the studies I've read about, those taking placebos were more inclined to shake their depressive slump than those on the drugs. These contrary stats beg the question of who was funding the study and what was the definition of "improved."

From 1997 to 2006, there have been 26 different studies that I am aware of which have all issued general warnings on this category of drugs. An additional seven studies issued warnings on specific such drugs. This does not indicate to me that the benefits trump the risks of taking these drugs.

STEPHEN FORNEY, Overland, Mo.