Depression Drug Illegally Marketed to Kids, Kickbacks Paid, FDA Approved Anyway

Derek Markham — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:24:05 +0000

A five year probe of Forest Laboratories by the U.S. Justice Department into illegal marketing of Lexapro to children has an ironic twist to it: The FDA just approved the use of Lexapro for depression in children.

“Federal health care programs have paid thousands of false and fraudulent claims for Celexa and Lexapro prescriptions that were not covered for off-label pediatric use and/or were ineligible for payment as a result of illegal kickbacks paid by Forest.”

Fish on Prozac: This is Your Ocean on Drugs

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:11:09 +0000

More than 200 million prescriptions for antidepressants are taken each year in the US, many of which end up in our ground water through patients’ excrement or from the pills being flushed down the toilet. According to Discover Magazine:

The concentrations of antidepressants in the water—billionths of a gram per liter—aren’t enough to affect larger species, but they are enough to make small fish and fish babies feel woozy. Researcher Meghan McGee tested the effect of antidepressants on young minnows by exposing unhatched and newly-hatched minnows to levels of antidepressants commonly found downstream of water treatment plants. The drugged minnows appeared lethargic and took twice as long to react to stimulus, making them much more vulnerable to predators.

Larger fish feed on the smaller fish and then…

Image: The Jamoker on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Green Options » antidepressants

Depression Drug Illegally Marketed to Kids, Kickbacks Paid, FDA Approved Anyway

Fish on Prozac: This is Your Ocean on Drugs