Violence and psychotropic drugs?

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Connection or not?
http://www.ladailypost.com/content/brie ... -murderers

If mass murderers are usually mentally unbalanced then they'll probably be on some psychotropic drugs. So, IMO, the problem is the usual "correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation."

I noticed the entry for Hinkley -- he likely took the valium to calm himself after he decided to try to kill Reagan. The two bank robbers in the L.A. North Hollywood shootout took phenobarbital likely for the same reason.

The article also misspells "amitriptyline."

I believe there is a correlation. The most common correlation to violence is street drugs, but some people do have bad reactions to prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics. Drug manufacturers who say otherwise are in all likelihood lying and well are of their lies. I don't have proof, this is just what I believe.

There is so much corruption and turnaround between the FDA & pharmaceutical industry it's hard to trust the effectiveness of psychotropic drugs. So many of them are poorly tested and grossly over prescribed.
So, yes there definitely could be a correlation.

Most of these drugs are basically PCP-variants. For many, they may work, but they have known side effects of making the patient much worse.

Under the influence of a PCP-type drug, the ability to distinguish between reality and dreaming becomes blurred. People with violent tendencies or fantasies can act them out in real life all the time thinking it's not really happening.

They are prescribed way too readily and not enough medical supervision is applied to those on the drugs to watch out for these known side effects.

It's the same way there's a lot of drugs for depression, and a known side effect is that they can make the patient worse and lead to suicide. Sounds like the drug should only be prescribed in the worst of cases, not as a way for anyone with depression to try and cope.

Maybe.But look at the lives that anti-depressants have saved.

By that logic, breathing and digestion are also linked to violent behavior.

Don't get me wrong--I'm perfectly aware that people can have catastrophic reactions to psychotropes, but this survey provides nothing like a meaningful review.

Everyone agrees that guns need some effective oversight. And people say the same thing about psychiatric medication.
But the pharmaceutical industry is much larger than the civilian gun market could ever be, and I think that its power prevents effective regulation of powerful psychiatric prescriptions.

You have to have a consultation and regular visits with a doctor (and maybe a pharmacist) to get prescription meds -- you don't need to check in with someone every 3 months to own a gun.

I say the mass shootings are all due to video games -- they all played them, so it's indisputable. The fact basically everyone now also play video games is of no relevance. [/sarcasm]

While there is some evidence that desensitization to violence can occur through games, they don't have physical side effects or create chemical dependencies.
I realize that psychiatric medications are ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean they're harmless.
And that "consultation" was kind of a joke in my personal experience.