MINDFREEDOM NEWS RELEASE - 18 April 2005
http://www.MindFreedom.org - IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     Advocates Protest the Drug Industry's
     "Take Over of the Mental Health System."

Representatives of mental health and
consumer advocacy groups from throughout the
USA will hold a peaceful protest and press
conference in front of the headquarters of
the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and
Researchers of America (PhRMA).

Protesters allege that, "The drug industry has
taken over the mental health system. And we
want it back."

MindFreedom International is sponsoring the
legal protest at 12 noon on Monday, May 2, 2005
at PhRMA; 1100 Fifteenth Street, NW;
Washington, DC, USA.

"Join us and tell PhRMA to stop supporting
forced psychiatric drugging! Tell PhRMA to be
truthful about the clinical trials and
side-effects of the medications that their
member companies are profiting from!" said
Krista Erickson, board member of MindFreedom
International.

Another protest speaker, attorney Jim
Gottstein of the Law Project for Psychiatric
Rights in Alaska, said, "PhRMA represents the
Big Lie of Big Pharma, which should be called
to account for its despicable sacrifice of
people on the altar of corporate profits."

~~~~~~~

   A COMPLETE INFO CENTER ON THE PhRMA PROTEST
   including downloadable news release, poster,
   background, and MindFreedom letter to PhRMA
   is now on web at http://www.MindFreedom.org

~~~~~~~

     WHY PROTEST PhRMA?

On March 3, 2005, MindFreedom International
wrote a letter to PhRMA with the following
five requests. PhRMA never responded.

1. Issue a public statement condemning the
involuntary administration of psychotropic
drugs to any person;

2. Issue a public statement that PhRMA and
its member companies will cease and desist
from misrepresenting the true nature of
research findings on psychotropic drugs and
covering up evidence of the harm they do and
the hazards they create;

3. Issue a public statement asking PhRMA's
member companies to cease and desist from
presenting advertisements that contain false
and misleading suggestions that psychotropic
drugs correct chemical imbalances in the
brain;

4. Issue a public statement asking PhRMA's
member companies to cease and desist from
providing financial support to organizations
that promote involuntary psychiatric
treatment, and;

5. Meet prior to March 31, 2005 with
representatives of our organization to
address these concerns.

     ADVOCATES FROM THROUGHOUT USA
     TO SPEAK AT PhRMA PROTEST

Following a news conference, protest
speakers at the MindFreedom 2 May 2005
protest of PhRMA include:

Leah Harris had what she calls, "A
psychiatrized childhood and adolescence," and
is the daughter of two parents diagnosed with
mental illness. She serves on the boards of
National Association for Rights Protection
and Advocacy and Mental Disability Rights
International, and has facilitated and
presented workshops at local and national
conferences. She lives in Washington, DC and
is currently writing a memoir entitled
_Generation Rx_.

Jim Gottstein has been practicing law in
Alaska for 25 years, including being an
attorney advocate for people labeled with
serious mental illness. Among many other
things, he served as plaintiffs' counsel in
the billion dollar litigation over Alaska's
theft of the one million acre Alaska Mental
Health Trust. Mr. Gottstein now devotes his
time pro bono to the Law Project for
Psychiatric Rights
(http://www.PsychRights.org) , whose mission
is to organize a serious, coordinated legal
effort around the country against forced
psychiatric drugging.

George Ebert writes, "I am a former
psychiatric system detainee, a survivor of
psychiatric atrocities, and am familiar with
the horrific effects of several psychiatric
drugs. I have worked as an advocate and
activist with the Mental Patients Liberation
Alliance (in New York State) for over 25
years. I have two children and four
grandchildren."

Krista Erickson of Illinois is a blind
cross-disability activist and psychiatric
survivor who serves on the board of
MindFreedom International, and is chair of
the Action Conference.

Larry Plumlee, MD is a graduate of Johns
Hopkins medical school, and served on the
faculty there in the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Sciences.

Al Galves, PhD, a licensed psychologist in
Colorado and on the board of MindFreedom
International.

Vince Boehm, psychiatric survivor advocate
from Delaware, is a veteran of the Fast for
Freedom hunger strike.

David Oaks is a psychiatric survivor and
director of MindFreedom International. This
is his 29th year working as an activist for
human rights in the mental health system. He
lives in Eugene, Oregon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information and to join MindFreedom
go to http://www.MindFreedom.org or phone
541-345-9106 or e-mail office@mindfreedom.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MindFreedom International is a non-profit
coalition uniting 100 grassroots groups
campaigning for human rights and alternatives
in the mental health system, and is accredited
by the United Nations as a Non Governmental
Organization with Consultative Roster Status.

MindFreedom is 100 percent independent with
no funding from government, mental health
systems, drug companies or religions.

MindFreedom is holding an Action Conference
29 April to 1 May 2005 at the American
University Washington College of Law.

NOTE: The deadline for registration for the
Action Conference is *this* Thur., 21 April 2005.

- end -

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