A few years ago I was hired by the FAA to defend the agency against a suit brought by a pilot who wanted to fly while taking a prescription antidepressant. I helped the FAA formulate its defense of the agency's ban on pilots using antidepressants and, as a result, the ban remained in effect. Pilots remained unable to fly while taking antidepressants, including the newer ones such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro and Effexor.
The FAA says it wants to help remove the stigma surrounding mental illness and antidepressant medication by allowing pilots to take the medications. So now the FAA wants to join the campaign for the marketing of psychiatry and psychiatric drugs? Where is that written into its legislative mandate? And should we be encouraged to believe that it's safe for depressed individuals to pilot airplanes--with or without the added risk of their taking potent and highly unpredictable psychoactive substances?
HUFFINGTON POSTTONY DIGIROLAMO- THIS IS A FLASHBACK ALERT!
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