Event

Psychiatric Drug Safety Day

Psychiatric Drug Safety Day was established to help people understand the risks of taking psychiatric drugs, which will help them make informed choices about use. Most of the discussion during the day will be about SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressants, which are only effective about 15% of the time.

There will be three parts to the event:

1. 10:30 to 11:30am – Public Discussion about Preventing SSRI Tragedies
2. 5 to 6:30pm – Screening of documentary Medicating Normal
3. 7 to 9pm – Screening of documentary Letters from Generation Rx

People can attend one or all three parts. Registration will not be required.

David Carmichael is the facilitator of Psychiatric Drug Safety Day, which can be held on any day in any city. David experienced psychosis shortly after starting the SSRI antidepressant Paxil in July 2004 and took the life of his 11-year-old son, Ian, in Canada. David was then charged with first-degree murder, judged not criminally responsible, and institutionalized. He received an absolute discharge from the Ontario Review Board in December 2009.

SSRI Antidepressants

For decades, SSRI antidepressants have been promoted based on the false claim that they correct a chemical imbalance in the brain, and pharmaceutical companies have fraudulently concealed that SSRIs can cause suicide, violence and homicide, and may be connected to school shootings, which is discussed in this 5-minute video.

In some cases, pharmaceutical companies conceal the truth by buying silence. The victims of the Joseph Wesbecker 1989 mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, for example, were secretly paid $20 million by Eli Lilly in 1994 to help ensure a verdict that would exonerate the company of any liability. He had been on the SSRI Prozac for about a month when he killed 9 and wounded 12 of his former co-workers at a print shop before killing himself. The settlement amount was exposed publicly for the first time in 2019 when two of the victims spoke out.

Part 1 – 10:30 to 11:30am – Public Discussion about Preventing SSRI Tragedies

Before each discussion begins, David will be delivering the 20-minute presentation How SSRI Antidepressants Cause Suicide, Violence and Homicide. During the presentation, David provides insight into his homicidal psychotic episode, which includes this 1-minute BBC Panorama clip showing his calm behaviour after he was arrested, which is how a lot of people have described the normal appearance of loved ones just before they died by suicide. His calmness is also like the behavior of many mass shooters. 

Part 2 – 5 to 6:30pm – Screening of Medicating Normal

One in five Americans take psychiatric drugs daily, often for a lifetime. Medicating Normal follows five high-functioning people whose doctors prescribed pills to help with common problems – stress, insomnia, anxiety, and grief – with devastating impacts on their lives. The film relays critical information for patients and doctors about the potential risks of taking or prescribing psychiatric drugs.

Part 3 – 7 to 9pm – Screening of Letters from Generation Rx

The deadly side effects of psychiatric drugs are exposed in this documentary, which weaves together accounts of lives destroyed by medicines intended to health them. Challenging the belief that medication is the best solution for mental health problems, this powerful film explores the science behind SSRI antidepressants and the horrific experiences endured by patients and their loved ones.

Contact David Carmichael at david@knowyourdrugs.org if you would like to have a Psychiatric Drug Safety Day in your city.