Ben Hansen wrote:
> This article was accepted for publication in the Spring 2007 newsletter of
> the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (
> www.icspp.org).  I'll have more details to add very soon.  -- Ben

> Michigan Lawsuit Uncovers Psychiatry's Dark Secret:

> *Drug-Induced Movement Disorders in Young Children*

> by Ben Hansen

> Last month the New York Times exposed yet another example of unethical
> marketing practices by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. The front page story,
> *In Some States, Maker Oversees Use of Its Drug*, focused on Lilly's efforts
> to coerce Medicaid officials into placing Zyprexa on preferred drug lists in
> at least 25 states. Eli Lilly was caught in broad daylight with its hands in
> the "Medicaid cookie jar," yet the story behind the scenes is deeper than
> that.

> For over a year I've been investigating Eli Lilly's subversion of Michigan's
> Medicaid program, and through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit I
> obtained nearly a thousand pages of documents showing how Medicaid is being
> milked like a huge cash cow by the pharmaceutical industry. In July 2006 I
> alerted the New York Times to Lilly's antics in Michigan. I provided several
> key documents and solid leads to the reporter covering the story, Stephanie
> Saul. Overall I was pleased by the way Ms. Saul reported the Lilly/Medicaid
> scandal, but there's another part of the story the Times didn't mention.

> The purpose of my FOIA lawsuit in Michigan is not simply to embarrass one
> pharmaceutical manufacturer -- my aim is to gain access to data that will
> blow the lid off the entire psychiatric drug industry. This may be why the
> State of Michigan has fought me every step of the way, beginning with my
> first FOIA request in November 2005. Instead of joining my attempt to shed
> light on Michigan's corrupt Medicaid system, the state attorney general's
> office has tried to block the release of the documents I've requested, even
> filing a motion to have my lawsuit thrown out of court.

> Thankfully, a respected attorney has taken my case pro bono, and we're
> mapping a strategy to outmaneuver our opponents. The lawsuit, "Ben Hansen
> vs. State of Michigan Department of Community Health," boils down to a fight
> over the release of records which show a list of each patient's psychotropic
> drugs by drug NAME, not just by drug CLASS. For example, we know at least
> one Michigan Medicaid patient is currently on a total of 17 different
> psychiatric drugs, but the State of Michigan doesn't want us to know the
> names of the drugs in the 17-drug cocktail!

> By the time the next ICSPP newsletter is published, I hope to report a
> successful outcome to this ongoing legal battle. For now I wish to share a
> sampling of the psychiatric prescribing data I've obtained so far. The
> numbers speak for themselves.

> During a 10-month period from January 2006 to October 2006,
> MichiganMedicaid statistics show:

> *100% increase in children under age 18 on 3 or more mood stabilizers.*

> *100% increase in children age 6-17 on 4 or more psychiatric drugs.*

> *79% increase in adults on 5 or more psychiatric drugs.*

> *67% increase in adults on 3 or more psychiatric drugs.*

> *49% increase in adults on 2 or more insomnia agents.*

> *45% increase in children under age 18 on a benzodiazepine for at least 60
> days.*

> *45% increase in children under age 18 on 2 or more antipsychotics.*

> According to Michigan Medicaid records from 2005, the top 5 psychiatric drug
> classes prescribed to *children under 5 years old* were:

> 1. Anxiolytics/Sedative Hypnotics (1,265 patients under age 5).

> 2. Antidyskinetics (972 patients under age 5).

> 3. Anticonvulsants/Mood Stabilizers (933 patients under age 5).

> 4. Sympathomimetics/Stimulants (408 patients under age 5).

> 5. Atypical Antipsychotics (322 patients under age 5).

> The most recent data on children under age 5, from February to December
> 2005, shows a 100% increase in children under 5 prescribed antidyskinetics
> (also called antiparkinsonians) for movement disorders such as dystonia,
> dyskinesia, tics, and tremors. This is perhaps the most disturbing statistic
> I've uncovered so far. If the same trend continued through 2006, it would
> mean the prescribing of antidyskinetics to children under 5 years old has *
> quadrupled* in the last two years!

> If the increased prescribing of antidyskinetics is the direct result of an
> increase in the diagnosis and treatment of "mental disorders" in American
> toddlers, then we could be witnessing a public health disaster of monumental
> proportions. Drug-induced movement disorders in very young children are
> increasing at an astonishing rate, yet little if any mention of this is
> reported in the news. Certainly this is not something the pharmaceutical
> industry and its servant, the American Psychiatric Association, wishes to
> see publicized. It is the urgent task of organizations like ICSPP to uncover
> this dark secret and shine a light on it for the world to see.

> *******

> Ben Hansen is a psychiatric survivor and activist who serves on the
> MichiganDepartment of Community Health Recipient Rights Advisory
> Committee. A member
> of ICSPP and co-founder of MindFreedom Michigan, Ben is also founder and
> president of the wickedly satirical Bonkers Institute for Nearly Genuine
> Research. Visit his brilliant web site: www.bonkersinstitute.org