Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) featured its new traveling exhibit in Seattle, informing the public about abuses in the psychiatric industry including the massive psychiatric drugging of children
A one-of-a-kind exhibit just completed the Seattle leg of its American tour in September. Displays
and films of Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Exhibit document the
results of 40 years of investigation into the psychiatric industry and its human rights abuses. They expose the devastating results of psychiatric drugging of children and the stark relationship between psychiatric drugs and mass shootings. They reveal the effects of electroshock treatment inflicted on an estimated 100,000 Americans each year. They give visitors a glimpse behind the scenes of the degradation of physical restraints, solitary confinement and involuntary commitment.
Of particular interest during National Suicide Prevention Month, the exhibit raised awareness of the dire consequences to children of drugging them with substances whose side effects are known to increase violence and suicidality.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry warns that high doses of ADHD drugs, particularly amphetamines like Adderall and Vyvanse, can increase the risk of psychosis or mania by more than five times. Dr. Lauren Moran, the study’s lead researcher, emphasizes the need for stronger warning labels to alert the public to these dangers. With over 3 million children in the U.S. currently prescribed these drugs, the potential for harm is significant, especially given that Adderall prescriptions in the U.S. soared 27 percent from 2019 to 2022.
CCHR states that the current FDA warnings are insufficient and calls for stronger protections and the removal of these drugs from the market, especially for children, adolescents and other vulnerable populations. CCHR’s report, Psychotropic Drugs Create Violence and Suicide, details numerous cases where children and young adults prescribed ADHD medications engaged in acts of violence.
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services reported in its Behavioral Health Treatment Needs and Outcomes among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Washington State that 222,678 young people were identified with mental health needs in 2021. Of these, 136,668 received a mental health diagnosis and 78,982 of those diagnosed were on psychiatric drugs.
“The CCHR Traveling Exhibit highlights what is a growing concern in our state and others regarding the number of vulnerable youth being put on psychiatric drugs,” said CCHR Seattle’s director. “During the exhibit’s tour in Seattle, individuals who had been put on psychiatric drugs when they were children told us of the devastating side effects they had to endure; others volunteered to work with CCHR to help get the word out about psychiatry’s human rights violations.”
The work of Citizens Commission on Human Rights is inspired by visionary, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who urged Scientologists to expose and help abolish any and all physically damaging practices in the field of mental health, help clean up and keep clean the field of mental health and bring about an atmosphere of safety and security in the field of mental health by eradicating its abuses and brutality.
For more information, visit the CCHR website, or watch documentaries on the work of CCHR volunteers in countries around the world and the film Psychiatry: An Industry of Death on the Scientology Network.
