The St. Petersburg Times published an article headlined, “The 'atypical' [new] dilemma: Skyrocketing numbers of kids are prescribed powerful anti-psychotic drugs. Is it safe? Nobody knows.” [CCHR Florida worked on an investigation into child psychiatric drugging in their state and provided data to the newspaper.] The article reported, “In the past seven years, the number of Florida children prescribed such [anti-psychotic] drugs has increased some 250 percent. Last year, more than 18,000 state kids on Medicaid [federal insurance for the poor] were given prescriptions for anti-psychotic drugs—including children as young as 3 years old. Last year, 1,100 Medicaid children under 6 were prescribed anti-psychotics; a practice so risky that state regulators say it should be used only in extreme cases….Initially billed as wonder drugs with few significant side effects, evidence is mounting that they can cause rapid weight gain, diabetes, even death.

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