From: rmm@baldwin.ipac.caltech.edu (Mike Melnyk)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Scientologists and Prozac
Keywords: Prozac
Message-ID: <1991Sep2.001258.27664@cco.caltech.edu>
Date: 2 Sep 91 00:12:58 GMT
References: <1991Aug31.165532.335918@locus.com> <1991Sep1.200141.15975@cs.UAlberta.CA>
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I was talking with a friend of mine about Prozac, a new anti-depressant
that has helped a number of people. He knows quite a lot about 
psychiatric drugs; he claims that Prozac has gotten a bad reputation lately
due to a smear campaign by the Scientologists. 

As I recall, the claim made (not necessarily by Scientologists)
is that some who have taken Prozac have died as a result,
i.e., Prozac is directly responsible for their deaths, therefore
Prozac should be taken off the market. Another friend
told me that the medical literature that comes with the
medicine includes a rebuttal of sorts: two people have died, but one
person who died took something like 10 - 100 the recommended dosage, while
the other had quite a lot to drink (in general, anti-depressants and
alcohol together is a no-no). Thus my bias is that is not as dangerous
as rumors suggest.

My questions to all follow:

(1) Have the Scientologists mounted a campaign against Prozac?

(2) If so, why? 

(3) What is the church's opinion on modern psychiatric methods?
    (I know there's no consensus among psychiatrists on
     how to treat neurosis, personality disorders, etc., but
     what, if anything, do the Scientologists object to?)

n.b. I am not making libelous statements about the Scientologists,
     so don't waste time posting caustic responses to me. I am
     merely looking for informed responses to the questions 
     above. I am not interested in besmirching the Church of 
     Scientology.

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Mike Melnyk                                         rmm@ipac.caltech.edu
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center             
JPL/Caltech