The accidental addict...a documentary

http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/the-accidental-addict-a-news-documentary/

this is a google video with my commentary...

Hello Gianna,

Great documentary!

You asked, "Why in hell are doctors still handing this crap out like candy?"

I have read several resources regarding that question. I am sure there are others........

1) The Age of Anxiety: A History of America's Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers. by Andrea Tone

2) Your Drug May Be Your Problem....How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications, Fully revised and updated editon 2007 by Peter Breggin, M.D. (Dr. Breggin is a Psychiatrist)

3) The Benzo Book, getting safely off tranquilizers. 2006 by Jack Hobson-Dupont

Andrea Tone.......states that this all started with a drug called Miltown in the 1950's

Peter Breggin,M.D.....Page 174."The existence of unpleasant withdrawal reactions reflects negatively on a drug. For economic and political reasons, drug manufacturers, regulatory agencies, researchers, and individual doctors tend to downplay, ignore, or deny information about a popular drug's withdrawal effects. They will sometimes do so even after convincing evidence has become available for all to see. The resistance and denial have been documented in years past- notably, with respect to the benzodiazepines, the barbituates, the stimulants, and even the opiates. Yet these very drugs are today considered "classically addictive."

Jack Hobson-Dupont..........Page 49. "In 1960, the Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, Roche, brought a new class of tranquilizer to market with their product, Librium. This was to be the first of many benzodiazepines approved for medical use. Librium had been developed by a senior research chemist, Dr. Leo Sternbach, who worked for Roche's American branch............In 1954, Sternbach was charged with finding a drug Roche could use to compete with Miltown, a tranquilizer from a rival pharmaceutical firm, Wallace Pharmaceuticals."

Page 50. "The first was Librium. It was found to have fewer side effects than Miltown, and became a successful competitor. Three years later, Sternbach and his associates had developed Valium, which was more potent- and less bitter- than Librium. The Age of American Tranquilizers had begun."

"Valium was the single most prescribed drug in the country from 1969 until 1982, and was, according to a press release from Roche, "the largest-selling pharmaceutical in the world."

Page 51. "In 1979, a United States Senate investigation was convened under the sobriquet, USE AND MISUSE OF BENZODIAZEPINES, where Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts announced at its opening that "EXCLUDING ALCOHOL, DIAZEPAM IS THE NUMBER ONE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE U.S. TODAY."

"But then something curious happened. Just as Valium was earning a reputation as a dangerous and over prescribed drug and its use began to diminish drastically, other variations of the benzodiazepine compound were unceremoniously introduced into the medical marketplace. These other formulations were distinguished by their seemingly unique attributes, most of which were a function of how quickly or slowly their effects were felt. And thus, some, such as Dalmane and Restoril, were touted as sleeping pills and others were offered as anti-seizure treatments or muscle relaxants, all this in addition to new preparations targeting anxiety, much as Valium had done. What is peculiar is that these drugs were basically the same thing as Valium; so if Valium were excoriated, why wasn't that happening to these new drugs? It is akin to someone recognizing that beer can lead to health problems, but somehow believe that vodka, whiskey, gin, and rum were okay. There is an intellectual disconnect in the acceptance that met the later benzodiazepines and it is still in force today. Pharmacies fill prescriptions for Xanax, Klopopin, and Ativan and all the rest without raising an eyebrow, but grow suspicious if a customer hands them a prescription for Valium."

I hope this is helpful.

Summer

thanks for sharing all the above info...

here is another good piece on benzos and how things got covered up:

The Revival of the Market for Benzodiazepines — By Robert Whitaker

http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/the-revival-of-the-market-for-benzodiazepines/

I have more on benzos and some of the history here too:

http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/benzos/