RFK Jr. plans to curb antidepressants, which he falsely compares to heroin
war on drugs
Kennedy has made—and continues to make—many false claims about SSRIs.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, on March 27, 2026. Credit: Getty | Leandro Lozada
In a brief appearance at a Make America Healthy Again Institute event Monday, anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new federal initiatives to curb prescribing of antidepressants, which he has long attacked with false and dangerous claims. Mental health experts have previously condemned his rhetoric and are already pushing back on his new efforts.
The MAHA event was focused on “overmedicalization,” with participants broadly alleging—without evidence—that too many Americans, particularly youths, are overprescribed antidepressants in the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. This class includes common medications such as Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, and Lexapro, which are used to treat depression, anxiety, and...
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