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VA Secretary briefing veteran service organization leaders regarding the VA's decision to implement written informed consent at VA Central Office on June 15, 2026. (Photo credit: Derek Blumke, Irreverent Warriors) After months of pressure from more than 30 veterans organizations and Congress, the VA will require written informed consent before prescribing high-risk psychiatric medications — but the reforms stop short of what the data, and the coalition, are asking for. Septem

IW members are featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal... Wall Street Journal, Page 1, July 31, 2025 9:00 pm ET, By Shalini Ramachandran and Betsy McKay "Hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD have been prescribed simultaneous doses of powerful psychiatric drugs. The practice, known as “polypharmacy,” can tranquilize patients to the point of numbness, cause weight gain and increase suicidal thoughts when it involves pharmaceuticals that target the central n

The Overmedication of America’s Veterans Too many of our nation’s veterans are being medicated instead of truly helped. By some estimates, the vast majority of veterans seeking care through the VA end up on psychiatric drugs. For example, a VA analysis found that around 80% of veterans diagnosed with PTSD were prescribed psychiatric medications (nearly 9 in 10 of those received antidepressants, and about one-third were even given antipsychotics)(veterans.senate.gov). And for