Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest and most profitable BigPharma companies, is being sued for illegally promoting the use of Risperdal, an antipsychotic with dangerous side effects, in children as young as two years old. J & J isn't the only one doing it, though. Why are they doing it? Profits, pure and simple. As I've written elsewhere, anti-psychotics are now the most prescribed class of drugs in the United States. It's not because there's been an epidemic of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. BigPharma has aggressively marketed these medications as the answer for a variety of ills for which they were never intended. More importantly, there is growing evidence that these drugs have very significant side effects in long term use with both adults and children. There has also been no serious investigation into the effects of these drugs on the developing brain. In addition to the harm done patients (see my previous post on PTSD in combat veterans) the overprescription of these medications contributes to our burgeoning health care costs. We spend more money on health care than any other developed country but are in the middle of the pack at best with respect to most important health outcome measures. One of the reasons is Big Pharma's pursuit of profits at any cost in patient well-being, aided and abetted by a medical and psychiatric profession corrupted by incentives and rewards for prescribing the desired drugs.
