Rotten Tomatoes reports that "Side Effects" is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose entire world unravels when a new drug which is prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law), which isintended to treat anxiety, has unexpected side effects. Emily’s former therapist, Dr. Victoria Siebert, suggests that she try a new wonder drug, the fictional Ablixa. This is after she was already put on a menu of psychotropic drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft. As noted in a New York Post review of this movie, “Side Effects’’ appears initially to be a sharply caustic satire of America’s prescription-drug culture where everybody’s taking some sort of mood stabilizer. This movie raises a hot issue about these drugs as seen in a review of a recent Science Daily article on March 15, 2013, Rapid Rise in Antipsychotic Treatment of Medicaid-Insured Children.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has written, "Psychotropic drugs are increasingly being exposed as chemical toxins with the power to kill. Psychiatrists claim their drugs save lives, but according to their own studies, psychotropic drugs can double the risk of suicide." These drugs have also been associated with an increase in murders. Jan Eastage, President of the CCHR, has written, "The trouble is that their worldwide propaganda on the subject of children and education has thoroughly duped well-meaning parents, teachers and politicians alike, that “normal”—there’s that word again—childhood behavior is no longer normal; that it is a mental illness. And further, that only by continuous, heavy drugging from a very early age, can the “afflicted” child possibly make it through life’s worst."
Jim Gottstein, JD and PsychRights have written, "Currently, due to the massive growth in psychiatric drugging of children and youth and the current targeting of them for even more psychiatric drugging, PsychRights has made attacking this problem a priority." The use of antipsychotics in children with Medicaid coverage has been about five times that of children in the private sector, which is a disparity which is in need of greater study. These facts lead to a serious consideration of another comment by Jan Eastage, "Contrary to psychiatric opinion, children are not “experimental animals.” They are human beings who have every right to expect protection, care, love and the chance to reach their full potential in life. A chance denied them by psychiatry’s labels and chemical straitjackets." It appears the film "Side Effects" will help to raise an awareness of these issues.
The Harold Mandel, MD Natural Mental Health Care Reform Association
