Citizens Commission on Human Rights Calls for Alternative Mental Health Treatment Options for Veterans

CLEARWATER, Fla., April 12, 2018 -- The Florida Chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog founded by the Church of Scientology and which is dedicated to the restoration of rights in the mental health industry, is calling for lawmakers to legislate safer mental health treatment for veterans.

According to a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans account for 18% of all suicides in the United States, with 20 veterans each day committing suicide¹. Moreover, 1 in 6 American service members takes at least one psychiatric drug, while many veterans are prescribed dangerous combinations of up to 28 different psychiatric medications — culminating in addiction — such as a Navy veteran who committed suicide as a direct result².

Over the last 10 years, the U.S. government has spent more than $4.5 billion dollars solely on medicating soldiers and veterans³. Yet, according to CCHR Florida, over 27 international drug-regulatory agencies warn that psychiatric drugs cause alarming behavioral side effects: violent behavior, mania, psychosis, and homicidal thoughts; and 49 warnings directly link suicidal thoughts.

“We came to the realization that integrative treatment is the treatment of choice for people who have been in combat. The medications that they’ve been giving our troops, both at the VA and in combat, are ineffective and cause what the black box warning states,” said Dr. Bart Billings, retired Army psychologist and Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army⁴.

“Our military and valued veterans deserve access to alternative treatments and to be properly informed about the documented risks of the drugs they are so freely prescribed,” said Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida.

Full information about the risks of psychiatric drugs can be found at CCHR's Psychiatric Drug Side Effects Search Engine which includes the data on
286 drug regulatory warnings, 278 studies, and over 400,000 adverse-reaction reports on psychiatric drugs filed with the U.S. FDA.

About CCHR: Founded by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections.  It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world.  In March 1969, he said, “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed.  All in the name of ‘mental health.’” For more information visit, www.cchrflorida.org

1.  https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2016/07/07/new-va-study-finds-20-veterans-commit-suicide-each-day/
2.  https://www.cchrint.org/2013/07/03/navy-veteran-kelli-grese-a-victim-of-deadly-military-drugging/ 
3.  https://www.cchrint.org/issues/the-hidden-enemy/
4.  https://www.cchrint.org/issues/the-hidden-enemy/veteransandmilitarydeservesupportnotdrugs/

Media Contact:
Diane Stein
President, CCHR Florida
727-442-8820
[email protected]
www.cchrflorida.org