Furious Seasons

September 24, 2009

Zoloft Defense Fails In NY Assault Case

Last month, I wrote about a Long Island man who was allowed to use the Zoloft defense--an unusual move by a judge--in an assault/domestic violence case. The man had beat up his girlfriend and he was arguing that going off Zoloft a few days before had made him do it. As I noted then, I wasn't particularly sympathetic to his situation, because as real as withdrawal problems can be, I just can't develop sympathy for anyone who beats up his girlfriend. Period.

Yesterday, he was found guilty of felony assault, attempted assault and second-degree harassment charges. So the Zoloft defense did not sway a jury.

Oddly, Newsday notes:

"The FDA has not blamed such drugs for violent behavior."

That's kind of a BS line of thought since the FDA has never examined, as far as I know, that issue outside of the context of suicidality. The paper also reports that Pfizer paid an unnamed Harvard professor $7,500 a day to be an expert witness for the prosecution. The man was being prosecuted by the State of New York, so what the hell is a pharma company doing paying for an outside expert? That's just odd.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at September 24, 2009 12:01 AM

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Actually, the FDA looked briefly at SSRIs [Prozac - the only SSRI on the market at the time] in 1991. They made Eli Lilly add the following statement which, of course, is in their insert and in the PDR.

http://www.ssristories.com/show.php?item=3654

Last paragraph reads: "In May 1990, in a part of Prozac's package literature called post- introduction reports, which states, "Voluntary reports of adverse events temporarily associated with Prozac that have been received since market introduction and which may have no causal relationship with the drug include the following," the company added the terms "suicidal ideation and violent behavior."

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/timesdispatch/access/616135451.html?dids=616135451:616135451&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+05%2C+1991&author=Susan+Winiecki&pub=Richmond+Times+-+Dispatch&desc=HAILED+PROZAC+BECOMES+BITTER+PILL+OF+CONTROVERSY&pqatl=google

HAILED PROZAC BECOMES BITTER PILL OF CONTROVERSY
Richmond Times - Dispatch - Richmond, Va.
Author: Susan Winiecki
Date: May 5, 1991
Start Page: A-8
Section: Other
Text Word Count: 812
Abstract (Document Summary)

Posted by: Rosie at September 24, 2009 10:43 AM

The New York Law Journal reports in its 9/11/09, 9/21/09, and 9/24/09 issues that the prosecution's expert witness was Dr. Douglas Jacobs, an associate clinical professor at Harvard, who testified that there was no scientific evidence linking Zoloft withdrawal to increased aggression; that he was paid $7,500 by Pfizer and that in his estimate he had made $60,000 on the case by 9/21/09; that Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney, said in a statement that without an expert, the prosecution's case would be "substantially weakened" and rather than use "significant taxpayer resources to defend the drug, we chose to let Pfizer defend its drug."
If Pfizer foots the bill, he added, "we can continue to fight on behalf of the victim and we don't put the public in the position of defending this drug company with their finite taxpayer resources"; and that the defense witness was Dr. Stefan Kruszewski of Harrisburg, PA (Harvard-trained like Jacobs), who testified that a "small minority of individuals who take Zoloft could experience certain side effects and that includes violent acting out."

Posted by: alex at September 24, 2009 05:48 PM