Drug Quote by Kenneth Rexroth
“The dumping of the mentally ill, full of these new psychiatric drugs, into the streets is a scandal. It's been carried furthest in New York, where whole sections of the decayed Upper West Side are being filled with pensioners and psychotic patients on stelazine, lithium carbonate, and everything else under the sun. They can't diagnose the patient, so they give him the whole psychiatric pharmacopoeia at once, and he walks around in a psychotic trance beautifully painted all over with petrochemicals.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Scandal of Psychiatric Dumping”, 1975
Massive, indiscriminate prescribing of psychiatric drugs to the homeless creates a public health crisis, dehumanizing patients and worsening social decay.
In simple terms: Overprescribing drugs to the homeless worsens their plight.
Key Takeaway
Advocate for humane, individualized mental health care.
Themes
mental health
social justice
pharmaceutical ethics
Mood
concerned
urgent
Type
analytical
advocacy
When to use this quote
- homeless shelters
- urban policy
- clinical practice
- advocacy groups
Key Concepts
public policy
human rights
community health
Questions to Reflect On
- What policies could protect vulnerable patients?
- How can communities support humane treatment?
A Different Perspective
Complex systemic issues make reform difficult and slow.
![“[Psychiatric] drugs have so many side effects because using them to treat a complex psychiatric disorder is a bit like trying to change your engine oil by opening a can and pouring it all over the engine block. Some of it will dribble into the right place, but a lot of it will do more harm than good” quote by Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/689/suman-rai-785_facts_psychiatric-drugs-have-so-many-side-effe_763384.jpg)
