Tag Archives: hostility

Prozac is now a defense for murder, writes Australian Member of Parliament Martin Whitely

FIRST it was ADHD drugs, then organ donation, now WA Labor MP Martin Whitely is hoping to get some action on the fatal risks of antidepressant drugs, such as Prozac, to children. Anti-depressant manufacturers warn that products such as Prozac should not be given to children, because of the potentially tragic consequences, but they are prescribed every day to Australian kids. This is what happened, with fatal results, in the case of a 16-year-old boy in Canada who stabbed a friend to death.

For the first time in criminal history, a murder was attributed to an anti-depressant drug.

Can Prozac Cause Kids to Kill? A Canadian Judge Has Ruled it Can

A Winnipeg judge’s ruling that a teenage boy murdered his friend because of the effects of Prozac will not be appealed, confirming an apparent North American first and reviving debate around the widespread prescription of anti-depressants to young people. Justice Robert Heinrichs concluded the 15-year-old boy was under the influence of the medication when he thrust a nine-inch kitchen knife into the chest of Seth Ottenbreit, a close friend.

Justice Robert Heinrichs concluded the 15-year-old boy was under the influence of the medication when he thrust a nine-inch kitchen knife into the chest of Seth Ottenbreit, a close friend.

Psychiatric News — Antidepressants/Antismoking Drugs Linked to Violent Behavior

A link between several types of psychotropic medications and violent behavior toward others has been documented in a recent study.

The medications most strongly linked to violent behavior were the smoking-cessation aid varenicline and antidepressants, regardless of class.In a study published in the December 15, 2010, PloS One, the researchers used 2004 to 2009 data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System. They found that during the study period, 780,169 serious adverse events of one kind or another had been reported for 484 drugs, and that of those serious adverse events, 1,937 had been acts of violence. They defined a violent event as any case report containing one or more of the following items: homicide, physical assault, physical abuse, homicidal ideation, or violence-related symptom, but not more ambiguous descriptions such as crime, aggression, belligerence, or hostility.

Carrollton Mother In Murders-Suicide Took Depression Meds

The Carroll County coroner said a woman who police said killed her two young children before taking her own life on Wednesday had been taking medication for depression. Coroner Mandal Haas said Thursday that 24-year-old Madison Hallett hadn’t given any indication that she would kill her children. Police said Hallett first shot and killed her 6-year-old daughter, Natalya Marie Carosiellie, while the girl was in bed. Hallett then went to another bedroom, where police said she shot and killed her 18-month-old son, Drayden W. Hallett-Warnick, while he was sleeping in his crib. Police said Hallett then turned the gun on herself, and her body was found next to her son’s crib.