Stat
Gold Meritorious Patron
I just read this interesting article here:
Why Psychiatry Embraced Drugs: An Interview with Author Robert Whitaker
http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/5/...rugs-an-interview-with-author-robert-whitaker
The last Q@A was particularly interesting:
Kelly Bourdet:
"You mentioned Eli Lily and their response to data showing Prozac being associated with suicidal ideation,
and how scientology and its views on psychiatry entered the picture."
Robert Whitaker:
"I made a little joke in the book about psychiatry secretly funding scientology, but really, it couldn’t have worked out better for the pharmaceutical companies and biological psychiatry.
The reason is that, of course, it delegitimizes criticism. The fact that scientology is so visibly attacking biological psychiatry and attacking psychiatric drugs delegitimizes all criticism.
Scientologists clearly do have a cult-like status and they clearly do have an agenda. The fact that they’re so visible makes it very easy for psychiatry and pharmaceutical companies to say,
“This is just criticism coming from that crazy group.” Some of the stuff, they’ve gone into the data and they’ve brought out some information. Because it was scientology and CCHR
that was out front with the criticism and raising questions and raising accusations that these drugs were causing suicide and violence, just made it really easy for pharmaceutical industry and Eli Lily to have it dismissed.
If we didn’t have Scientology. Imagine it doesn’t exist and there’s no such group raising criticism. The questions around whether Prozac can stir violence or could cause someone to become suicidal or homicidal would have had a lot more traction."
I guess the point is - "Big pharma" is far from perfect, but scientology and its front groups/CCHR did enough self dead agenting to not be credible in public eyes, even when they report true facts or try to do good.
Cult think and other agenda. With all that in mind, I can see how scientology/CCHR, unintentionally ended up in a way aiding their nemesis. What a twist.
Please, share you thoughts.
Why Psychiatry Embraced Drugs: An Interview with Author Robert Whitaker
http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/5/...rugs-an-interview-with-author-robert-whitaker
The last Q@A was particularly interesting:
Kelly Bourdet:
"You mentioned Eli Lily and their response to data showing Prozac being associated with suicidal ideation,
and how scientology and its views on psychiatry entered the picture."
Robert Whitaker:
"I made a little joke in the book about psychiatry secretly funding scientology, but really, it couldn’t have worked out better for the pharmaceutical companies and biological psychiatry.
The reason is that, of course, it delegitimizes criticism. The fact that scientology is so visibly attacking biological psychiatry and attacking psychiatric drugs delegitimizes all criticism.
Scientologists clearly do have a cult-like status and they clearly do have an agenda. The fact that they’re so visible makes it very easy for psychiatry and pharmaceutical companies to say,
“This is just criticism coming from that crazy group.” Some of the stuff, they’ve gone into the data and they’ve brought out some information. Because it was scientology and CCHR
that was out front with the criticism and raising questions and raising accusations that these drugs were causing suicide and violence, just made it really easy for pharmaceutical industry and Eli Lily to have it dismissed.
If we didn’t have Scientology. Imagine it doesn’t exist and there’s no such group raising criticism. The questions around whether Prozac can stir violence or could cause someone to become suicidal or homicidal would have had a lot more traction."
I guess the point is - "Big pharma" is far from perfect, but scientology and its front groups/CCHR did enough self dead agenting to not be credible in public eyes, even when they report true facts or try to do good.
Cult think and other agenda. With all that in mind, I can see how scientology/CCHR, unintentionally ended up in a way aiding their nemesis. What a twist.
Please, share you thoughts.
Last edited: