Psychiatric Medications and School Shootings Peter Langman, Ph.D. There is a widespread belief that an “epidemic” of psychiatric It is true that psychiatric medications, like all drugs, can have medications is causing an “epidemic” of violence, particularly side effects. I worked for over ten years in a psychiatric hospi- in students. Some who hold this belief also believe that there is tal for children and adolescents and have seen this first-hand. a conspiracy to hide the connection between medications and There were clients whose medications made them drowsy, gave murder from the public. Those accused of conspiracy range them tics, tremors, rashes, or weight-gain, or had other negative from pharmaceutical companies to the government to the me- effects. Medications can also have withdrawal effects, meaning dia. One website proclaims, “It is nearly synonymous that every that people have adverse reactions when they stop taking the school shooting or mass killing of some type is lucidly linked medication, particularly if they stop suddenly. to the shooter taking antidepressants, but our precious lap dog What is the evidence supporting the link between psychiatric media rarely if ever mentions this connection.”1 drugs and school shootings? This article examines the issue Another site states: from two perspectives: the societal and the individual. The societal perspective considers the overall claim that the rise in Every young, male shooter that has gone on a killing spree medication use has caused a rise in violence, and the individual in the United States also has a history of treatment with perspective examines claims about specific shooters going on psychotropic drugs… It was only after psychiatric medicine rampages due to medications. started targeting young people with mind-altering medica- tions that we witnessed this explosion in violence.”2 Another site contains an article with the headline, “Violence THE INCREASING USE OF in Schools? It’s the Prozac and Ritalin Stupid!”3 Yet another site PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATIONS has an article titled, “Antidepressant Drugs Causing Epidemic of Mania, Mayhem and Murder: America’s addiction to dangerous The use of psychiatric medications in this country has indeed SSRI’s hits crisis levels.”4 (SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin increased significantly since the 1980s. Between 1987 and 1996 Reuptake Inhibitors, a class of antidepressant medications.) the use of psycho-stimulants such as Ritalin increased nearly The general argument is that in the last two decades the use four-fold and the use of antidepressants by adolescents ages 15 to of psychiatric medications, particularly among young people, 18 increased over four-fold.6 Similarly, there was a 75% increase has increased drastically, resulting in a dramatic increase in in the use of antidepressants from 1996 to 2005.7 There is no youth violence, including school shootings. This view is ex- question that the use of psychiatric medications has grown pressed by the following passage: substantially in the last twenty-five years. It is abundantly clear that the epidemic of craziness and The problem with the argument blaming medications for violence we are witnessing in America . is being fueled by murder, however, is that though there has been a significant dangerous psychotropic drugs . that are causing normally increase in the use of psychiatric medications, there has not sane people to fly off the hook and act out with insane acts been a corresponding increase in violence. In fact, just the op- of mania or violence.5 posite has occurred. Violent crime has decreased dramatically. WWW.SCHOOLSHOOTERS.INFO Copyright © 2012–2015 by Peter Langman, Ph.D. Version 3.5 (3 February 2016) 1 As noted in an article in 2012: Graph 3: Homicide Rates Among Persons Ages 10 to 24 Years, by Sex, United States, 1991–200711 The last time the crime rate for serious crime — murder, rape, robbery, assault — fell to these levels, gasoline cost 3030 29 cents a gallon and the average income for a working 25 25 American was $5,807. That was 1963.8 2020 Male In other words, through the very decades when there was a 15 15 dramatic increase in the use of psychiatric medications, there Males 10-­‐24 10 was a dramatic decrease in violent crime, including murder in 10 Females 10-­‐24 Female general and homicides by youths in particular. For example, 5 5 Graph 1 shows the decrease in violent crime in the United States 00 for the twenty years from 1991 through 2010. 1991 1993 1995 1992 1997 1996 1999 1998 1994 2001 2003 2005 2002 2007 2006 2004 2000 Graph 1: Violent Crime Rate in the U.S. per 100,000 Inhabitants9 These graphs document a remarkable trend. The violent 800 800800 crime rate declined 47% from 1991 through 2010. The ho- 700 700700 micide rate across all ages decreased 51% from 1991 through 600 600600 2010. Most strikingly, youths between the ages 10 and 24, the 500 500 500 z population that includes the children and adolescents who had 400 four-fold increases in particular psychiatric medications, had 400400 300 a 40% decrease in the male homicide rate and a 51% decrease 300 300 200 in the female homicide rate. 200200 100 Thus, the dramatic increase in psychiatric medications co- 100 100 0 incided with a dramatic decrease in homicide and other violent 0 0 crimes. Perhaps the medications resulted in decreased violence; 1991 1993 1995 1992 1997 1996 1999 1998 1994 2010 2001 2003 2005 2002 2007 2009 2006 2008 2004 perhaps there is no connection between the medications and 2000 decreased violence. Either way, the claim of epidemic violence as The next graph shows the decline in the murder rate in the a result of the increased use of psychiatric medications simply United States from 1991 through 2010. is not supported by the data. There is no “epidemic of mania, mayhem, and murder.” Graph 2: Murder Rate in the U.S. per 100,000 Inhabitants10 12 12 12 WHO WAS TAKING MEDICATIONS? 10 10 10 8 8 According to writer Jim Marrs, “Nearly every school shooter in 8 6 6 this country can be shown to have been involved with psycho- 6 tropic drugs — either taking them at the time of the shootings, 4 4 or what can be even worse, coming off them.”12 Many websites 4 2 2 list school shooters and the drugs they allegedly were taking at 2 the time of their attacks. Here are excerpts from one such list, 0 0 0 a list that appears in identical or similar form on multiple sites: 1991 1993 1995 1992 1997 1996 1999 1998 1994 2001 2010 2003 2005 2002 2007 2006 2009 2008 2004 2000 Fifteen year old Kip Kinkel (Prozac and RITALIN) shot his parents while they slept then went to school and opened Not only was there a decline in overall homicides, but also a fire killing 2 classmates and injuring 22 shortly after begin- decrease in homicides by youth ages 10 to 24. This is seen ning Prozac treatment. in data from the Centers for Disease Control, presented in Graph 3. The numbers on the graph are the homicide rates Luke Woodham aged 16 (Prozac) killed his mother and then per 100,000 people. killed two students, wounding six others. Michael Carneal (Ritalin) a 14-year-old opened fire on stu- dents at a high school prayer meeting in West Paducah, Kentucky. Three teenagers were killed, five others were wounded, one of whom was paralyzed. WWW.SCHOOLSHOOTERS.INFO Copyright © 2012–2015 by Peter Langman, Ph.D. Version 3.5 (3 February 2016) 2 Andrew Golden, aged 11, (Ritalin) and Mitchell Johnson, The same problematic reporting occurs with older shooters, aged 14, (Ritalin) shot 15 people killing four students, one too. For example, there are many who claim that Seung Hui teacher, and wounding 10 others.13 Cho (Virginia Tech) was on psychiatric medication at the time of his attack. One person declared, “The fact is that the cultural Based on my research, this list is wrong in many ways. Kip brainwashing of violent video games and psychotropic drugs Kinkel (Thurston High School) did not murder his parents as directly contributed, as it does in all these cases, to the carnage they slept and he had not just begun treatment with Prozac. Kin- at Virginia Tech.”18 Another writer stated, “The psychiatric- kel first shot his father while he was talking on the telephone, pharmaceutical cartel is working at a frenzied pace, deflecting and then shot his mother after helping her bring in groceries media and government attention away from the facts: Cho . from the car. More importantly, Kinkel was not on any medica- was reported to have been prescribed ‘depression’ drugs.”19 Yet tion when he went on his rampage. He had taken Prozac and another writer stated, “Initial reports stated that ‘depression Ritalin in the past but not anywhere near the time of his attack medication’ was found among Cho’s belongings. But neither (details will be discussed below). his toxicology reports, nor his recent medical history were ever Regarding Luke Woodham (Pearl High School), I have not released to find out whether Cho had been in withdrawal from found any reliable source that states he was on Prozac. I have psychiatric medication.”20 read books, book chapters, and many articles about Woodham What can be said in response to these claims? Several points and not found any mention of Prozac. The coverage by The New can be made. “Initial reports” about school shootings are notori- York Times and many other sources don’t mention it. Even in ously inaccurate and the case of Virginia Tech is no exception. his court cases where he appealed his sentence on numerous No antidepressant medications were found in Cho’s belongings.