Mental Health Inc

by Art Levine

  27 devastating independent: Jeffrey A. Lieberman et al., “Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs in Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia,” New England Journal of Medicine, 353 (September 22, 2005): 1209–1223, http://www.nejm.org.

  28 essentially rigged: Whitaker, Mad in America, 253–286; Shankar Vendantam, “Comparison of Schizophrenia Drugs Often Favors Firm Funding Study,” Washington Post, April 12, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com.

  28 two to five times: Peter C. Gotzsche, Deadly Psychiatry and Organised Denial (Copenhagen: People’s Press, 2015), Kindle ed., chapter 11.

  28 higher risk of suicide: Jonathan Mahler, “The Antidepressant Dilemma,” New York Times Magazine, November 21, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com; Benedict Carey, “Antidepressant Paxil Is Unsafe for Teenagers, New Analysis Says,” New York Times, September 16, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com.

  28 well-hidden: Simone Pisano et al., “Update on the Safety of Second Generation Antipsychotics in Youths: A Call for Collaboration Among Pediatricians and Child Psychiatrists,” Italian Journal of Pediatrics 42 (May 21, 2016): 5, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; Duff Wilson, “Side Effects May Include Lawsuits,” New York Times, October 2, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com.

  28 the $711 billion in global net profits: Almashat et al., “Twenty-Five Years.”

  29 dramatic new evidence: Anissa Abi-Dargham et al., “Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia,” Biological Psychiatry 8, no. 1 (January 1, 2017), http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com; “The Emergence of a New Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia,” press release, Elsevier, January 2, 2017, http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/pb/assets.

  29 lack the tools: Thomas Insel, “Rethinking Schizophrenia,” Nature 468 (November 2010): 187–193, http://www.nature.com.

  29 debunked this theory: Jeffrey Lacasse and Jonathan Leo, “Challenging the Narrative of Chemical Imbalance: A Look at the Evidence,” in B. Probst, editor, Critical Thinking in Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis (New York: Springer, 2015), 275–282, online at http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora.

  30 almost anyone with problems: Maia Szalavitz, “Antipsychotic Prescriptions in Children Have Skyrocketed: Study,” Time, August 9, 2012, http://healthland.time.com.

  30 after nearly ninety reported on-site teen deaths in the last fifteen years: Jesse Hyde, “Life and Death in a Troubled Teen Boot Camp,” Rolling Stone, November 12, 2015, http://www.rollingstone.com; Victims, Wiki Fornits, updated through October 2016, https://wiki.fornits.com.

  30 $2 billion in settlements: Katie Thomas, “J.&J. to Pay $2.2 Billion in Risperdal Settlement,” New York Times, November 4, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com.

  31 a $158 million settlement: Janet Elliott, “Johnson and Johnson Settles Texas Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit for $158 Million,” Dallas Morning News, January 2012, http://www.dallasnews.com.

  31 too disabled to work: NAMI, “Road to Recovery: Employment and Mental Illness,” July 2014, https://www.nami.org.

  31 receiving treatment: Testimony of Dr. Joseph Parks, Examining SAMHSA’s Role in Delivering Services to the Severely Mentally Ill, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 113th Cong. (May 22, 2013), 91–93, https://www.gpo.gov.

  31 sixteen million adults and children: NAMI, “Prevalence of Mental Illness.”

  32 more than 40,000: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury/Mortality, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm.

  32 soared to its highest level in thirty years: Sabrina Tavernise, “U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High,” New York Times, April 22, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com.

  32 largest psychiatric facility: Renee Montagne, “Inside the Nation’s Largest Mental Institution,” NPR, August 13, 2008, http://www.npr.org.

  32 Over 20 percent of its 17,000 inmates: Los Angeles County’s Sheriff’s Department, “Custody Division Year End Review, 2015,” updated June 16, 2016, http://www.la-sheriff.org.

  32 death of an inmate, Unique Moore: Art Levine, “Why Did L.A. County Inmate Unique Moore Die?” HuffPost, February 29, 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine.

  33 jumping off of a Dallas bridge: Miles Moffeit, “Danger in the Psych Ward,” Dallas Morning News, March 18, 2016, http://interactives.dallasnews.com.

  33 compromised by drug money: Ken Silverstein, “Prozac.org,” Mother Jones, November/December 1999, http://www.motherjones.com; email statements from NAMI and Mental Health America, August 2016, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  Chapter 1: Drugging Our Kids

  35 maltreatment of children: Jeanne Lenzer, “Whistleblower Charges Medical Oversight Bureau With Corruption,” BMJ 329 (2004): 69, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; Mark Scolforo, “Drug Makers Accused of Aiding in Deaths,” Associated Press, July 6, 2004, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/.

  35 overdrugging death: Benedict Carey, “Debate Over Children and Psychiatric Drugs,” New York Times, February 15, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com.

  36 intensive lobbying: Brill, “America’s Most Admired Lawbreaker.”

  36 kiddie diagnoses: Art Levine, “Feds Pay for Drug Fraud: 92 Percent of Foster Care, Poor Kids Prescribed Antipsychotics Get Them for Unaccepted Uses,” HuffPost, April 30, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.

  36 doubled among children: Lisa Rapaport, “Antipsychotic Use Rising Among Teens and Young Adults,” Reuters, July 10, 2015, http://www.reuters.com.

  36 already paid billions: Lena Groeger, “Big Pharma’s Big Fines,” ProPublica, February 24, 2014, http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/bigpharma.

  36 without the approval: DHHS, OIG, “Second-Generation Antipsychotic Drug Use Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children: Quality-of-Care Concerns,” March 2015, https://oig.hhs.gov.

  36 all ages without question: Eric P. Slade, Ph.D. and Linda Simoni-Wastila, “Forecasting Medicaid Expenditures for Antipsychotic Medications,” Psychiatric Services 66, no. 7 (July 1, 2015): 713–718, http://ps.psychiatryonline.org.

  37 most dangerous: Roni Jacobsen, “Should Children Take Antipsychotic Drugs?” Scientific American, March 1, 2014, https://www.scientificamerican.com.

  37 one in five: Ryan D’Agostino, “The Drugging of the American Boy,” Esquire, April 2014, http://www.esquire.com.

  37 off-label uses: Mark Olfson et al., “Treatment of Young People With Antipsychotic Medications in the United States,” JAMA Psychiatry 72, no. 9 (September 2015): 867–874, http://jamanetwork.com.

  37 corrupting influence: Duff Wilson, “Side Effects May Include Lawsuits,” New York Times, October 2, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com.

  37 free speech lawsuit: “Penn Psychiatrist Files Whistleblower Lawsuit—Investigation Confirms Medicare Chief Lied,” Philadelphia Daily News, July 7, 2004, online at http://ahrp.org.

  37 mounting concerns: Rob Waters, “Medicating Amanda,” Mother Jones, May/June 2005, http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/05/medicating-amanda; Lenzer, “Whistleblower Charges.”

  38 Kruszewski’s report: Kruszewski v. Gorton, Second Amended Complaint, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, December 2005, https://www.scribd.com.

  38 endangered clients: Evelyn Pringle, “Makers of Zyprexa Risperdal and Seroquel Under Fire,” Lawyers and Settlements, March 9, 2007, https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com.

  38 settled a lawsuit in 2007: “Psychiatrist Is Awarded Settlement After Fraud Allegations,” BMJ 335, no. 7614 (August 11, 2007): 267, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  38 legal actions: Debra Erdley, “Psychiatric Hospital in Washington County Pays $150,000 to Settle Suit Alleging Abuse, Fraud,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 20, 2009, http://triblive.com.

  38 new antipsychotic product: Kenney Egan et al., “Pfizer Pays a Record Amount to Settle Federal and State Fraud Investigations Into Illegal Off-Label Marketing Practices,” PR NewsWire, September 2, 2009, http://www.prnewswire.com.

  39 secretly file: Kruszewski et al. v. Pfizer, Inc., First Amended Complaint, U.S. District Court for th
e Eastern District of Pennsylvania, case no. 07-CV, 4106, 2007, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  39 huge federal settlements: Jim Edwards, “Behind Two Big Drug Company Settlements: Professional Whistleblowers,” CBS Moneywatch, April 28, 2010, http://www.cbsnews.com.

  39 uncovered a campaign: John W. Whitehead, “A Lone Wolf Takes on the Drug Leviathan: An Interview With Allen Jones,” Rutherford Institute, October 13, 2005, https://www.rutherford.org.

  40 was forced to resign: Ben Wallace-Wells, “Bitter Pill,” Rolling Stone, February 5, 2009, online at http://www.narpa.org/bitterpill.htm.

  40 whistleblower lawsuit: Janet Elliott, “Johnson & Johnson Settles Texas Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit for $158 Million,” Dallas Morning News, January 2012, http://www.dallasnews.com.

  41 researchers-for-hire: Penny Sarchet, “Harvard Scientists Disciplined for Not Declaring Ties to Drug Companies,” Nature, news blog, July 4, 2011, http://blogs.nature.com/news.

  41 cleared by a grand jury: John P. Kelly, “Cleared by Grand Jury, Riley Psychiatrist Wants to Practice Medicine Again,” Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), July 2, 2009, http://www.patriotledger.com/; Testimony by Dr. Kifuji in Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Carolyn Riley, Plymouth Superior Court, docket no. 07-00147, Brockton, MA, January 25–26, 2010, online at Art Levine Mental Health, Inc., https://www.scribd.com and https://www.scribd.com-trial-day-2.

  41 settled a related civil malpractice lawsuit: Patricia Wen, “Tufts Settles Suit Against Doctor in Girls Death for $2.5m,” Boston Globe, January 25, 2011, http://archive.boston.com.

  41 has been denounced: “Expert or Shill,” editorial, New York Times, November 29, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com.

  42 forty-fold increase: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “Rates of Bipolar Diagnosis in Youth Rapidly Climbing, Treatment Patterns Similar to Adults,” September 3, 2007, https://www.nimh.nih.gov.

  42 no capacity to monitor: Children’s Rights, “Massachusetts Fails to Ensure the Safe Administration of Psychotropic Medications to Children in Foster Care,” October 3, 2012, http://www.childrensrights.org; DHHS Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare Information Gateway, “Reform Based on Litigation,” https://www.childwelfare.gov.

  42 have leveled off: Stephen Crystal et al., “Rapid Growth of Antipsychotic Prescriptions for Children Who Are Publicly Insured Has Ceased, but Concerns Remain,” Health Affairs 35, no. 6 (June 2016): 974–82, http://content.healthaffairs.org.

  42 tough new state legislation: Elaine Korry, “California Moves to Stop Misuse of Psychiatric Meds in Foster Care,” NPR, September 2, 2015, http://www.npr.org.

  42 spurred by: Karen da Sá, “Drugging Our Kids,” Mercury News, August 24, 2014, http://extras.mercurynews.com/druggedkids.

  42 won new approval: Fran Lowry, “FDA Expert Panel Approves Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs in Kids,” Medscape, June 11, 2009, http://www.medscape.com.

  43 prescribed the off-label medications: Carol Marbin Miller, “Broward Psychiatrist Gets Harsh Letter from FDA,” Miami Herald, March 15, 2010, online at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com.

  43 guinea pigs for Pfizer: Marbin Miller, “Broward Psychiatrist.”

  43 according to a 2009 lawsuit: Carol Marbin Miller, “Mother’s Lawsuit Against Doctor, Hospital Links Mental-Health Drugs to Child’s 2003 Death,” Miami Herald, June 5, 2009, online at https://gabrielmyers.wordpress.com.

  43 for the deaths or overdoses: Michael LaForgia, “Troubled Doctors Hired to Treat Kids in State Custody,” Palm Beach Post, June 19, 2011, online at https://www.pressreader.com; Carol Marbin Miller and Diana Moskowitz, “Boy’s County Psychiatrist Has Other Issues,” Miami Herald, April 23, 2011, online at http://www.thelizlibrary.org.

  43 enormous amounts: Joel Engelhardt, “State Vows Better Monitoring of Antipsychotics in Juvenile Jails,” Palm Beach Post, February 27, 2013, http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com.

  43 were lavished with: Fred Grimm, “In Florida, Zombie Pills for Kids Are an Old Scandal,” Miami Herald, September 25, 2015, http://www.miamiherald.com.

  43 prescribing remains roughly the same: Information request reply from Amanda Fortuna, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), email, December 12, 2015; Florida DJJ, “Use of Psychotropic Medication in DJJ Residential Commitment Programs, Final Draft,” October 2015, https://www.scribd.com/document.

  44 for stimulants and antipsychotics: Office of Child Welfare Data Reporting Unit, Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), “Psychotropic Medications Report for Children in Out-of-Home Care…,” September 1, 2016, http://www.dcf.state.fl.us.

  44 expanded official approval: Evelyn Pringle, “FDA Throws Lifeline to Antipsychotic Pushers,” CounterPunch, June 12, 2009, http://www.counterpunch.org.

  44 illegal marketing: Almashat et al., “Twenty-Five Years.”

  44 criminal and civil allegations: “Eli Lilly Fined Nearly $1.5B in Drug Marketing Case,” CNN Money, January 15, 2009, http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/15/news/companies/eli_lilly/.

  44 fraudulent marketing: Gardiner Harris, “Pfizer Pays $2.3 Billion to Settle Marketing Case,” New York Times, September 2, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com.

  44 fraudulently selling: DOJ, “AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million.”

  44 young as ten: Martha Rosenberg, “Seroquel, Zyprexa and Geodon for Kids? You Bet Says FDA Panel,”Dissident Voice, June 13, 2009, http://dissidentvoice.org.

  45 prescribed Seroquel: Statement of Liza Ortiz, FDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Psychopharmacologic Drugs, Advisory Committee Meeting, transcript, June 9, 2009, 387–389, https://www.fda.gov/downloads.

  45 staff report: Rob Waters, “FDA Was Urged to Limit Kids’ Antidepressants,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2004, http://www.sfgate.com; Thomas Laughren, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com.

  46 agreement with DOJ: DOJ, “Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History,” news release on Pfizer, September 2, 2009, https://www.justice.gov.

  46 whistleblower fraud lawsuit: Booker et al. vs. Pfizer, Inc., U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, no.1:10-CV-11166-DPW, Fifth Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial, October 2012, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  46 rejected the lawsuit: Brian Amaral, “Pfizer Beats FCA Suit Over Geodon Marketing,” Law 360, May 24, 2016, https://www.law360.com; Booker v. Pfizer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 16-1805, Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, January 30, 2017, http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov.

  47 worst prescription-monitoring: Mark Abdelmalek et al., “New Study Shows U.S. Government Fails to Oversee Treatment of Foster Children With Mind-Altering Drugs,” ABC News, November 30, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com.

  47 drugging “parameters”: Department of Family and Protective Services and The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, “Psychotropic Medication Utilization Parameters for Foster Children Texas,” December 2010, https://www.dfps.state.tx.us.

  48 awash in J&J money: Janet Elliott and Mark Curriden, “Texas AG Suit Over the Drug Risperdal Goes to Trial Monday,” Dallas Morning News, January 8, 2012, https://www.dallasnews.com; Allen Jones et al. v. Jannsen Pharmaceutica et al., “False Claims Act Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial,” U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, March 25, 2004, online at http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/miracleindustry.

  48 troubled eleven-year-old girl: Michael Barajas, “Big Pharma’s Troubling History of Pushing Drugs on Foster Kids,” San Antonio Current, April 9, 2013, http://www.sacurrent.com; DOJ, Pfizer Plea Agreement, August 31, 2009, https://www.justice.gov.

  49 paid by J&J: Craig Malislow, “Down the Hatch,” Houston Press, December 14, 2011, http://www.houstonpress.

  49 ghostwritten: Allen Jones et al., “False Claims Act Complaint,” March 2004; Dr. Roy Poses, “The Texas TMAP Trial as Illustration of a Systematic Stealth Marketing Campaign,” Health Care Renewal, February 10, 2012, http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com; David Rothman, Expert Witness
Report, October 15, 2010, Jones v. Jannsen, online at http://psychrights.org.

  49 pro-Risperdal schizophrenia guidelines: Paula J. Kaplan, “Diagnosisgate: Conflict of Interest at the Top of the Psychiatric Apparatus,” Aporia: The Nursing Journal 7, no. 1 (January 2015), 30–41, http://www.oa.uottawa.ca; Expert Witness Report, David Rothman, 14–21; Allen Frances, “‘Diagnosisgate’ Deconstructed and Debunked,” HuffPost, March 6, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com.

  49 teenage boys: Ed Silverman, “J&J Sees Male Breasts and Quickly Settles Risperdal Suit,” Forbes, September 11, 2012, http://www.forbes.com; David Crow, “J&J’s legal costs surge in wave of product lawsuits,” Financial Times, March 7, 2017, https://www.ft.com; Highlights of Prescribing Information, Risperdal, February 2017, page 6 cites gynecomastia, https://www.janssenmd.com.

  Chapter 2: Drugging Our Seniors to Death

  53 arrest in 2009: California Attorney General’s Press Office, “Brown Announces Arrests of Nursing Home Employees Who Drugged Patients for Staff’s Convenience,” February 18, 2009, https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases.

  53 after being convicted: Jason Kotowski, “Former Nursing Director Sentenced to 3 Years for Inappropriately Medicating Patients,” Bakersfield Californian, January 9, 2013, http://www.bakersfield.com.

  53 abetted in her crimes: Kotowski, “Former Nursing Director”; People of the State of California v. Gwen Hughes et al., Declaration in Support of Arrest Warrant and Felony, Sup. Ct. of Calif., County of Kern, AG docket no. FR2007100234, 2009, online at https://www.scribd.com/document/343149802.

  53 finally unmasked: DOJ, “Johnson & Johnson to Pay More Than $2.2 Billion to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations,” news release, November 4, 2013, https://www.justice.gov.

  53 nearly 300,000: Ina Jaffe and Robert Benincasa, “Old and Overmedicated: The Real Drug Problem in Nursing Homes,” NPR, December 8, 2014, http://www.npr.org.

  54 90 percent of the drugs: Center for Medical Advocacy, “Misuse of Antipsychotic Drugs in Nursing Homes: Are We Making Any Progress?” 2013, http://www.medicareadvocacy.org.