Medicines Out Of Control?: Antidepressants And The Conspiracy Of Goodwill

Medicines Out of Control focuses on a drug crisis that is still in the making: the control and consumption of mood-regulating drugs, such as Prozac and other antidepressants and a much wider problem: continuing human dependence on corporate and professional power. Medawar and Hardon describe the moments and events that led to the establishment of a government inquiry in The Netherlands on the risks of drug-induced dependence and suicidal behavior with antidepressants. The study provides context for the findings of this inquiry, and reviews the limitations of a drug safety system in which the regulators routinely investigate what others might conclude to be their mistakes. The authors explain the situation as "history repeating itself": from barbiturates to tranquilizers and now antidepressants. Medawar and Hardon expect that the unfolding of the antidepressant crisis will reveal the need for "a complete re-think about medicinal drug utilization and its adverse effects on health." They anticipate that this crisis may prove to be a watershed in drug control, as was thalidomide. This is a unique and penetrating discourse on the safety of medicines and the ethos of pharmaceutical medic