Evidence Against Forced Medication

Harrow M, Jobe TH, Tong L. (2021). Twenty-year effects of antipsychotics in schizophrenia and affective psychotic disorders. Psychological Medicine, 1–11.
This is a particularly damning study against the use of forced medication. This study investigated, over a 20-year period, the effect of antipsychotic medication upon a large number of patients suffering schizophrenia. The particularly damning finding is that schizophrenics not treated by antipsychotics fared significantly better than their counterparts who were treated by antipsychotic medication. More specifically, the absence of antipsychotics, over a 20-year period, predicted a higher probability of recovery and a lower probability of rehospitalisation when compared to the use of antipsychotics for schizophrenics. This means that the consistent use of antipsychotics on a long-term basis leads to poorer outcomes and is ineffective as a long term and permanent path to recovery.

Whitaker R: The Case Against Antipsychotics: A Review of TheirLong-Term Side Effects. Cambridge, Mass, Mad in AmericaFoundation, 2016
The research paper collects and reviews the predominant literature since 1980 on first- and second-generation antipsychotics. The article demonstrates that these drugs increase the chronicity of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and impair functional recovery as well. The drugs may provide a short-term benefit, and it is clear that once patients are on the medications, there is an increased risk of relapse, for some period of time, when discontinuing the medication. The paper also asserts several other adverse correlations to antipsychotic medication, including the finding that these drugs fail over time and can induce deleterious cognitive effects on brain volume. 

Leucht S, Leucht C, Huhn M, et al (2017). Sixty Years of Placebo-Controlled Antipsychotic Drug Trials in Acute Schizophrenia: Systematic Review, Bayesian Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression of Efficacy Predictors. American Journal of Psychiatry Volume 174, Issue 10.
This paper suggests that small effects of antipsychotics on depressive symptoms might also be a consequence of the reduction of positive symptoms and associated psychological distress. Nevertheless, some second-generation antipsychotics have proven efficacy in major depressive disorder. The results also suggest a small to medium benefit of antipsychotics in quality of life even in the short term. So, clinicians can expect that approximately two times more patients improve when treated with antipsychotics compared with placebo, but only a minority will experience a good response in the short term.

Five-year cumulative exposure to antipsychotic medication after first-episode psychosis and its associations with 19-year outcome  
A five to 19 year longitudinal study, testing the effects of antipsychotic medication. Their study reported that increased, cumulative and long term exposure to antipsychotics during the first 5 years following onset were more likely to be continuously prescribed antipsychotic medication and to be receiving ongoing psychiatric treatment and disability reimbursements, over the 15 year period following. Exposure to antipsychotics within the first 5 years of the first psychotic experience, was associated with higher risks of adverse outcomes; as compared to low or zero exposure to antipsychotics. 

Whitaker R: The Case Against Antipsychotics: A Review of Their Long-Term Side Effects. Cambridge, Mass, Mad in America Foundation, 2016
A long and detailed review of the arguments, throughout the scientific literature, against the use of antipsychotic medication. While this paper does not come to a concrete conclusion as to whether antipsychotic medication is a viable medical option to schizophrenia, it does well to showcase the list of arguments and the wide range of research which reveal the side effects of anti-psychotic medication and their long medical history of ills.

Extra Resources:

MAD IN AMERICA
Psychiatry website for more in depth information. Focusing on the American experience, primarily.

SCI-HUB
A useful tool for accessing inaccessible articles.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S HEALTH NETWORK
Tools for monitoring the adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs 

FINAL REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION INTO AGED CARE
Royal commission into the mistreatment and poor medical practices found in elder homes. Pay attention to the misuse of antipsychotic medication against elders.

ABC ARTICLE: CHEMICAL RESTRAINT ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS WIDESPREAD IN AGED CARE
Further information on how antipsychotic medication is used in practice. 

SIDE EFFECT CHECKLIST
A checklist for the potential side effects of psychiatric drugs