A new study published in the journal World Psychiatry (June 1st) found that several classes of prescription medications — including antidepressant drugs, tranquilizers and anti-inflammatory painkillers — markedly increased the chances of someone murdering another human being.
This link has long been suspect in antidepressants, which have been repeatedly linked to mass school shootings in the United States.
“I think that these chemical substances affect the impulse control of the person,” Dr. Jari Tiihonen, lead author and a professor, told Medical Daily. “The only surprising result was that painkillers also increase the risk.”
According to the study’s findings:
• Antidepressant drugs increased the risk of committing homicide by 31%.
• Tranquilizers increased the risk of committing homicide by 45%.
• Opioid pain relievers increased the risk of committing homicide by 92%.
• Anti-inflammatory painkillers increased the risk of committing homicide by 200%.
For years, the New Media / Independent Media has been warning about the dangers of psychiatric drugs causing violence. The mainstream media, which now receives as much as 70% of its advertising revenue from drug companies, has all but censored this story, largely ignoring the mass deaths taking place right in our local communities.
America is presently experiencing a massive crime wave, with gangs running loose in the streets of cities like Baltimore and Chicago. The number of shootings that took place in Baltimore over just the Memorial Day weekend — 32 — is larger than the total number of shootings that take place in an entire year in many other countries.
In the month of May alone, there were 300 shootings in Chicago, with 35 deaths.
Here’s the question of the day: How many people in Baltimore and Chicago are on antidepressant drugs? How many are taking anti-inflammatory painkillers? How many people who participated in the recent riots were operating with medicated brains? What role does medication play in the escalating violence now spiraling out of control across many of America’s cities? (A medicated population is not a rational population… where will this lead next?)
Gun control advocates point to firearms as the cause of such violence, but the logic doesn’t pan out. Guns don’t shoot by themselves. (I tried it with a magic wand over and over, and I could never get my rifle to fire unless I deliberately pulled the trigger.) Firearms require a person to make a decision in order to unleash a high-velocity bullet in the direction of an intended target. That decision-making process is precisely what’s compromised by mind-altering medications. SSRIs can push some people over the edge, causing them to illegally use a firearm in a way its manufacturer never intended. In much the same way, someone can drink a lot of alcohol and use a vehicle to commit mass homicide, too. Both of these are chemically induced homicides using mechanical tools (cars or guns) which were never meant to kill innocent people.
What they both have in common is inhibited cognitive function caused by chemicals. “Medicated driving” is just as dangerous as “drunk driving…” and possibly even more so.