LOS ANGELES, Calif. /CitizenWire/ -- On March 24, National Adverse Drug Event Awareness Day spotlighted a preventable public health crisis: adverse drug events (ADEs)-injuries, side effects, and errors from medication use, including psychiatric drugs-are estimated to cause more than 250,000 deaths each year in the United States. This would make ADEs the third leading cause of death, ahead of stroke and respiratory disease. However, these deaths are not shown as a single category in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rankings because ADEs are not coded as one unified cause. Established in 2021 by the American Society of Pharmacovigilance (ASP), the awareness day highlights this issue and calls for national action.[1] For more than five decades, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) has maintained a public awareness campaign on psychotropic drug risks.
In 2013, CCHR launched a Psychiatric Drugs Side Effects online database to help consumers access information on adverse reactions and withdrawal effects. The organization also files Freedom of Information Act requests for state-level psychiatric prescription data under Medicaid.
CCHR obtained IQVia Total Patient Tracker data and campaigns for stronger FDA Medication Guides (MedGuides)-fact sheets providing essential safety information in plain language. Pharmacists must distribute these for certain prescriptions, but CCHR is calling for this requirement to extend to prescribing doctors, with patients required to sign acknowledgment of receipt.
A 2021 study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found deaths in which psychotropic drugs played a contributing-though not underlying-role have risen. Analyzing U.S. mortality data from 1999 to 2019, researchers identified 51,446 psychotropic-drug-implicated deaths, divided into medical deaths (33,885) from natural causes where drugs contributed, and external deaths (17,561) from accidents or injuries linked to impairment.[2]
The annual rate of medical psychotropic-drug-implicated deaths increased 2.5-fold (from 0.31 to 0.78 per 100,000), while external deaths rose fivefold (from 0.12 to 0.58 per 100,000). Increases include psychostimulants and benzodiazepines.
The FDA's MedWatch system encourages reporting of adverse events, which can lead to labeling changes, Black Box warnings, or other protections. However, a 2006 systematic review found up to 94% of adverse drug reactions go unreported, delaying safety signal detection and risk assessment.[3]
Compounding the crisis, national mortality data show benzodiazepine-involved overdose deaths increased approximately 7.6-fold from 1999 to 2024. Researchers from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the University of British Columbia noted 50% more deaths annually from psychiatric drugs than from heroin.[4]
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse reported overdose deaths involving antidepressants rose from 1,749 in 1999 to 5,863 in 2022 and remained steady in 2023 with 5,783 deaths.[5] In the UK, a review of nearly 8,000 coroners' inquests found 2,718 deaths by hanging, 933 involving overdose, and 979 suicides, concluding antidepressants are "ineffective for many people."
IQVia 2020 data reveals 76,940,157 Americans were taking prescription psychotropic drugs, including 6.1 million aged 0-17, of whom 418,425 were aged five or younger.
Antidepressants were used by 45,204,771 people of all ages, including 2,154,118 aged 0-17 and 35,216 aged 0-5. Side effects include suicidality, aggression, psychosis, cardiac arrhythmias, serotonin syndrome, sexual dysfunction, and emotional blunting.[6] Withdrawal affects approximately 56% of users and is often mistaken for relapse.[7] Symptoms include "brain zaps," cognitive impairment, anxiety, irritability, emotional blunting, and akathisia-a severe restlessness linked to potential violence.[8]
Antipsychotics were prescribed to 11,154,803 people of all ages, including 829,372 aged 0-17 and 30,632 aged 0-5. These drugs have serious and often irreversible risks, including diabetes, cardiovascular complications, hormonal and sexual dysfunction, agitation, aggression, emotional instability, social withdrawal, suicidal ideation, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (which can also occur during withdrawal). Severe long-term effects include tardive dyskinesia (TD), affecting 20-50% of long-term users, and tardive psychosis.[9] Withdrawal effects include nausea, tremors, anxiety, agitation, irritability, aggression, sleep disturbances, and decreased concentration.[10]
ADHD/Stimulant Drugs were used by 9,585,203 people of all ages, including 3,155,441 aged 0-17 and 58,091 aged 0-5. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) has a mode of action similar to amphetamine and cocaine. Side effects include addiction, new-onset mania, hallucinations, delusions, aggression, hostility, suicidal thoughts, behavioral dysregulation, and misuse, abuse, and dependence potential.[11] Homicidal ideation has been reported with atomoxetine (Strattera), including in 2025 safety updates.[12] Withdrawal effects include depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, agitation, psychomotor slowing, vivid dreams, and increased suicide risk.[13]
Anti-anxiety Drugs (including Sedatives and Benzodiazepines) were taken by 31,229,150 people of all ages, including 1,153,351 aged 0-17 and 233,125 aged 0-5. Benzodiazepines should not be taken longer than four weeks due to rapid dependence risk.[14] They are associated with serious neurological and behavioral side effects, including memory impairment, confusion, disorientation, disinhibition, and suicidal ideation. Paradoxical reactions-agitation, hostility, aggression, or hallucinations-may occur.[15] Withdrawal can begin within 3-6 weeks and includes perceptual disturbances, depersonalization, paranoia, irritability, and aggression. Symptoms can last for years.[16]
CCHR, a non-profit mental health industry watchdog, demands immediate reforms to protect vulnerable populations, especially children and veterans, from preventable harm. Lives depend on moving from psychotropic pills to prevention and safer mental health care. Established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Thomas Szasz, CCHR is dedicated to exposing psychiatric abuse and protecting patient rights.
To learn more, visit: https://www.cchrint.org/2026/03/27/psychotropic-pill-epidemic-national-adverse-drug-event-awareness-day/
Sources:
[1] https://stopadr.org/blog/predicting-adverse-drug-event-prevalence-a-data-driven-approach;
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8355085/
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16689555/; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37277678/
[4] CDC WONDER Multiple Cause of Death database (1999, 2024), queried by year using ICD-10 code T42.4 (Benzodiazepines) and restricted to overdose deaths, https://wonder.cdc.gov/
[5] https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#Fig10
[6] https://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com/publication/antidepressant-induced-emotional-blunting-diagnosis-mechanisms-and-management-2/
[7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460318308347
[8] https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-truth-about-ssri-antidepressants?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=748806&post_id=184750716&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=18l5a7&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5472076/
[10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853222000165?via%3Dihub
[11] "Methylphenidate (A Background Paper)," U.S. DEA, Oct. 1995; "Concerta (methylphenidate HCl)," Drug Label, FDA
[12] Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, "Product Information safety updates - April 2025," 22 May 2025; "Atomoxetine: New warnings about serotonin syndrome and homicidal thoughts," Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, 7 Feb. 2025
[13] DSM-III-R (APA, Washington, DC, 1987), p. 136
[14] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-66589042
[15] https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2016/017794s044lbl.pdf; https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262809#side-effects; https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychiatric-bulletin/article/benzodiazepines-and-disinhibition-a-review/421AF197362B55EDF004700452BF3BC6
[16] http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm; https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/benzo-withdrawal
Learn More: https://www.cchr.org/
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