Chris Cornell’s Family Files Lawsuit for ‘Dangerous, Mind-Altering’ Prescription Drugs that Led to Suicide

 Last year, rock fans worldwide were shocked and saddened to hear that  the legendary Soundgarden singer, Chris Cornell, had killed himself. “Chris’s death is a loss that escapes words and has created an  emptiness in my heart that will never be filled. 

As everyone who knew  him commented, Chris was a devoted father and husband. He was my best  friend,” Cornell’s wife, Vicky Cornell, wrote following the death of her  husband. According to authorities, Chris Cornell died by hanging himself in  his MGM Grand Detroit hotel room after a concert at the Fox Theatre. But, why, many are asking, would a man who was worshiped by his fans,  had a beautiful family and successful career, take his own life. Well,  his wife and family attorney have come forward with a potential reason. Chris Cornell was taking Ativan, a psychoactive drug in the  Benzodiazepines class. 

Now, a lawsuit filed by the family is going after  Cornell’s doctor, Dr. Robert Koblin, for “negligently and repeatedly”  prescribing “dangerous mind-altering controlled substances” that impaired Cornell and “caused him to engage in dangerous impulsive behaviors that he was unable to control, costing him his life.” 

Benzodiazepines, sometimes called “benzos,” are a class of  psychoactive drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a  benzene ring and a diazepine ring. The drug works by enhancing the  effect of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) at the  GABA receptor in the brain, producing a hypnotic effect. 

The drug, which  was accidentally discovered in 1955 by Leo Sternbach, helps some people  with high-anxiety. 

However, it can also be detrimental to one’s  well-being. Hallucinations, insomnia, psychosis, excitability, irritability,  aggressive behavior, agitation, hostility, anxiety, vivid dreams,  hyperactivity, organic disinhibition, depersonalization, apathy,  excitement, feeling mad, illusion, nightmares, sleep disorders, suicide ideation, and rage are just a few of the side effects caused by benzos. 

“Yet, at no time during this period did Dr. Koblin conduct a medical  examination of Mr. Cornell, perform any laboratory studies, obtain an  interim history or do any type of clinical assessment of Mr. Cornell,”  the suit states. Koblin’s attorney denies the allegations and said the prescriptions were appropriate. “

Dr. Koblin is a competent and conscientious doctor who enjoyed an  excellent physician/patient relationship with Mr. Cornell and other  members of his family,” James Kjar said in a statement Thursday evening,  according to CNN.

 “The experts I have consulted with believe Dr.  Koblin’s treatment was within the standard of care in this community and  were not a substantial factor in causing Mr. Cornell to commit  suicide.” 

When Chris last spoke to his wife before the show, she explained that  her husband sounded normal and was making plans for their upcoming  vacation. He did not sound like he wanted to be dead. “His world revolved around his family first and, of course, his music  second. He flew home for Mother’s Day to spend time with our family. He  flew out mid-day Wednesday, the day of the show, after spending time  with the children. When we spoke before the show, we discussed plans for  a vacation over Memorial Day and other things we wanted to do.” 

However, when they spoke after the show, just before he took his own  life, Vicky notes, all that changed after he took an Ativan. 

“When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words;  he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or  two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him,” she  continued. 

“What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further  medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved  our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own  life.” 

As Rolling Stone reported at  the time, an attorney for the Cornell family, Kirk Pasich, reiterated  Vicky’s belief that an extra dosage of Ativan — an anxiety medication  often employed by recovering addicts — altered Chris Cornell’s mental  faculties after the Detroit show. Pasich added that the Cornell family  is “disturbed at inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally took  his life.” Cornell’s fate is, unfortunately, not an isolated one. 

Before Cornell took his own life, the suicide rate in the United  States reached record levels, according to a federal analysis. Even more  worrisome is a study from this year that shows an “alarming” rise in  children being hospitalized with suicidal thoughts or actions. 

The study concluded that  the number of children and adolescents admitted to children’s hospitals  for thoughts of suicide or self-harm more than doubled during the last  decade. While this latest study stopped short of attempting to locate the  cause for this spike in suicide, it is important to point out the  elephant in the living room. 

There have been 150 studies in 17 countries on antidepressant-induced side effects. There have been 134 drug regulatory agency warnings from 11 countries, and the EU warning about the dangerous side effects of antidepressants. Suicide, birth defects, heart problems, hostility, violence,  aggression, hallucinations, self-harm, delusional thinking, homicidal  ideation, and death are just a few of the side effects caused by  psychiatric medication. 

Despite the deadly laundry list of potential reactions to these medications, the use of antidepressants has skyrocketed by 400% since 1988.  Currently, 11 percent of all Americans 12 years of age and over take antidepressant medication. This is a higher rate than all other countries in the world. While the skyrocketing use of psychiatric drugs in adults is certainly worrisome, the exponential increase of use in children is downright scary. Currently, over 1 million babies and toddlers, from 0 to 5-years-old,  are on psychiatric drugs. 

This massive number of prescriptions exists  in spite of the glaring lack of information showing the efficacy of such  drugs on such young children. But starting them young does keep them on the pills as they get older. The number of kids taking psychiatric drugs quadruples once those  children turn 6. There are currently over 4 million children ages 6-12  currently taking these drugs. Another 4.5 million kids, aged 0-17, are taking ADHD drugs and over 2  million children are on antidepressants. As for the drug Cornell was  on, Ativan, there are over 2 million children taking benzos as well. 

Aside from the known side-effects, there are incidents of the drug  companies deliberately falsifying the safety data and allowing a known  dangerous drug to be given to children. For years, GlaxoSmithKline was  illegally persuading doctors to prescribe paroxetine, sold under the  brand name Paxil, as an antidepressant for children and teenagers. GSK used contrived data, known as Study 329, which was conducted and funded by the drug company and published in 2001, to  convince the doctors to write scripts. 

The study made the claim that  Paxil is “well tolerated and effective” for kids. Their bolstered claims  worked, and in 2002 alone, doctors wrote two million Paxil prescriptions for children and adolescents. However, a study published in the British Medical Journal this year suggests that not only was Paxil ineffective but it was causing grave side-effects such as self-harm and suicide. Let that sink in. 

Not only are doctors handing out psychoactive drugs like candy at  the behest of their drug sales reps, but the drug manufacturers are  lying about the dangers.

We have no way of knowing the long-term societal impact of millions  of children being irresponsibly given potentially dangerous psychoactive  medication, as this is a relatively new path Americans have embarked  upon. 

The website SSRIstories.org does,  however, provide a potential glimpse into the future of a country  hellbent on medicating infants with psychiatric drugs. The database is a  collection of over 6,000 stories that have appeared in the media  (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) in which prescription drugs were  mentioned and in which the drugs may be linked to a variety of adverse outcomes including violence. 

As the Free Thought Project reported this week, mass murderer Dylann Roof was on antidepressants when he went on a mass killing spree. But it’s not all doom and gloom, there is the good news. All of this  over-medication, all of the drugs being given to children, all of it is  voluntary — for now anyway. This entire massive over-medication epidemic  could and should stop overnight through simply spreading the  information. 

The mother who allows her 8-month-old child to be prescribed  antidepressants only does so out of ignorance. We can only better  ourselves as humans and as individuals through seeking a lesser  ignorance. And now, thanks to Chris Cornell’s brave wife, Vickie, this issue is being forced into the mainstream. Arguably one of the greatest ROCK singers of all time wasn’t killed by cocaine or heroin — but, likely, an FDA approved drug that causes suicide. Please share this article with your friends and family to empower  them with knowledge while at the same time exposing such a dangerous  practice. In his death, Cornell can still help keep others alive.