CCHR Hosting Month-Long Open House for Depression and Mental Health Screening Month

CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 21, 2017 -- Alarmed by the fact that there are over 78 millionⁱ people taking psychiatric drugs, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog organization established by the Church of Scientology in 1969 and  dedicated to the protection of children, is hosting an open house for National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, which is observed annually in October. The open house will educate visitors on the dangerous side effects of psychiatric drugs.

The public is invited to visit the CCHR center at 109 N. Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater for a tour of the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death museum – tours are free and the center is open seven days a week. 

According to reports, more than one‐in‐five adults were on at least one psychiatric drug in 2010, an increase of 22 percent from the year 2000 while more than a quarter of the adult female population is taking at least one psychiatric drug in the United States.ⁱⁱ

“The general public does not know the risks associated with taking antidepressants or that fact that it is known that these dangerous drugs can lead to,” said Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida. 

Americans, in comparison to other developed countries, use more medicines overall and rank first in the use of antipsychotics.ⁱⁱⁱ  In the South Atlantic area of the country, which includes Florida, almost 18%^iv of the population is on at least one psychiatric drug and a report released in 2011^v from a two-year long investigation found that foster children in Florida were prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates 2.7 to 4.5 times higher than other children in Medicaid in 2008.^vi

The CCHR National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month Open House runs for the entire month of October and individuals are encouraged to visit the center to learn more about the dangers associated with psychiatric drugs as well as alternatives to medication. To learn more, please call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org.

About CCHR:
Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world.  In March 1969, he said, “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed.  All in the name of ‘mental health.’”

ⁱ https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-drugs/people-taking-psychiatric-drugs/

ⁱⁱ http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s19032en/s19032en.pdf

ⁱⁱⁱ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/americans-spend-much-pharmaceuticals/

^iv http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s19032en/s19032en.pdf

^v http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d12270t.pdf

^vi http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/12/01/143017520/foster-kids-even-infants-more-likely-to-be-given-psychotropic-drugs

Media Contact:
Diane Stein
President, CCHR Florida
727-442-8820
[email protected]
www.cchrflorida.org