April 30, 1999

Eric Harris was taking Luvox
(a Prozac-like drug) at the time of the Littleton murders

by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.

On April 29 the Washington Post confirmed that Eric Harris, the leader in
the Littleton tragedy, was taking the psychiatric drug Luvox at the time of
the murders. On April 30 the same newspaper published a story quoting
expert claims that Luvox is safe and has no association with causing
violence. In fact, Luvox and closely related drugs commonly produce manic
psychoses, aggression, and other behavioral abnormalities in children and
young people.

Luvox is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) that is approved
for children and youth (up to age 17) for use in the treatment of obsessive
compulsive disorder. However, doctors often give it for depression, since
it is in the same SSRI class as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil.

According to the manufacturer, Solvay, 4% of children and youth taking
Luvox developed mania during short-term controlled clinical trials. Mania
is a psychosis which can produce bizarre, grandiose, highly elaborated
destructive plans, including mass murder. Interestingly, in a recent
controlled clinical trial, Prozac produced mania in the same age group at a
rate of 6%. These are very high rates for drug-induced mania--much higher
than those produced in adults. Yet the risk will be even higher during
long-term clinical use where medical supervision, as in the case of Harris,
is much more lax than in controlled clinical trials. These drugs also
produce irritability, aggression or hostility, alienation, agitation, and
loss of empathy.

Reports suggest that Eric Harris may have had a relatively good family
life. If so, it adds to the probability that he was suffering from a
drug-induced manic reaction caused by Luvox. The phenomenon of drug-induced
manic reactions caused by antidepressants is so widely recognized that it
is discussed several times in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association and many times in
The Physicians' Desk Reference.

I have lectured widely and written extensively about violence in
association with taking SSRI antidepressants in Talking Back to Prozac (St.
Martin's Press, 1994) and Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry
(Springer Publishing Company, 1997).

I have testified as a medical expert in three teenage cases of murder in
which SSRIs were implicated in playing a role. In one case, a sixteen year
old committed murder and tried to set off multiple bombs and incendiary
devices at the same time. I have also testified in cases of adult murderers
who were under the influence of SSRIs, including one mass murder of twelve
people followed by suicide. The comparisons to Littleton are obvious.

Psychiatric drugs including Ritalin and Prozac have also been taken by at
least one other school murderer (Kip Kinkle). Psychiatric drug use is only
one of the contributing factors to the episodes of school violence.
However, it is one of the most easily prevented factors. There is strong
scientific evidence to support the view that SSRIs should not be given to
children and teenagers.

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by Peter R. Breggin, MD