Are psychoactive drugs safe?
Just as placebo effects accompany all substances prescribed by physicians, so also do side effects. It has been known for many years that some of the widely used anti-psychotic drugs (neuroleptics), such as Thorazine, cause neurological damage, even in small doses, if they are administered regularly (Cohen, 1997). It is possible that all psychoactive drugs, including the mildest tranquilizers, have potent side effects. The side effects, unlike drug effectiveness, have not received enough direct research attention. Since the actions of most psychoactive drugs are complex and not understood, patients receiving them are being experimented on. There are now many studies that demonstrate adverse effects of psychoactive drugs in a sizeable minority of patients. Tardive dyskinesia, alluded to above, is caused by Thorazine and other similar neuroleptics. If administered for as little as three months, even in low dosages, these medications will sooner or later cause severe neurological damage,
