RFK Jr. spoke about his heroin addiction in a speech about SSRI use.
Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at a MAHA Institute event focused on drug treatment of mental health disorders.
WASHINGTON – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke candidly about his past struggle with addiction in a speech to the MAHA congregation on Monday, May 4th.
At the MAHA Institute’s Mental Health and Overmedicalization Summit in the nation’s capital, the Secretary of Health and Human Services compared the experience of heroin withdrawal to a family member’s withdrawal from an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), a type of antidepressant.
“I happen to be a real expert on this subject, because I was addicted to heroin for 14 years. I didn’t want to be. I got off heroin all the time and got back on it. And I probably went through cold turkey withdrawal over 100 times. “So I know what it’s like, and it’s not fun.” He added, “But I’ve seen people come off SSRIs, and it’s incomparable.”
He said he has seen family members become suicidal after stopping using SSRIs after several years of use.
This is not the first time President Kennedy has shared this comparison. He said as much at his confirmation hearing in January 2025.
“She woke up every morning and said, ‘I don’t want to live.’ And she said, ‘The only reason I’m alive is because of you.’ “It’s heartbreaking to hear this story from one family member, and I’ve heard it over and over again from hundreds of others,” he said.
Experts rebel against RFK Jr.
Some experts dispute RFK Jr.’s comments. For example, Sean Leonard, a psychiatric nurse who focuses on addiction treatment, previously told USA TODAY that he disagrees with any comparisons between SSRIs and heroin.
“Serotonin receptor sites and opiate receptor sites remain the same day and night,” Leonard says. “It’s very hard to get off opiates. Your brain wants opiates, your body wants opiates, and you don’t have as much serotonin.”
Stopping taking SSRIs is called a “withdrawal process,” but it’s “not like opiates,” Leonard said.
Psychiatric drug side effects and withdrawal were a major topic at the event, with many panelists and attendees having a personal connection to the issue and calling for changes such as black box warning labels, better informed consent, and more non-drug treatment options.
For example, antidepressant-induced suicide is a rare but “legitimate phenomenon,” according to research.
For example, non-drug treatments for depression include psychotherapy (such as cognitive behavioral therapy), art therapy, social support, improved sleep hygiene, exercise, and lifestyle changes such as diet. But while antidepressants can be lifesaving for people suffering from depression, OCD, anxiety, and other mental health conditions when alternative treatments like talk therapy aren’t enough, antidepressants always require close monitoring by a doctor.
“If you’re taking psychiatric medication, I’m not going to tell you to stop taking it.”
In his speech, President Kennedy promised actions such as new data on prescribing trends and formal clinical guidelines on drug reduction.
He also said that “for the first time,” HHS administrations will train health care providers at more than 1,400 federally qualified community health centers nationwide this summer on how to taper doses under medical supervision.
Some experts are calling for physicians to properly warn patients about withdrawal symptoms before starting SSRIs and to conduct more reproducible studies of antidepressant withdrawal to inform future guidelines.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms are more likely to occur if you suddenly stop taking the drug (rather than tapering the dose), if you take the drug for years, or if you take a high dose.
According to the UK NHS and the American Academy of Family Physicians, withdrawal symptoms usually begin within five days of stopping the drug, last one to two weeks, and are usually mild. However, for some people, severe withdrawal symptoms can last for several months or longer. One study shows these symptoms can last up to a year, while another study shows that 2% of people who experience discontinuation symptoms have symptoms lasting more than three years, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
To explosive applause from the audience, Kennedy added that the Centers for Health, Medicaid and Medicare Services is issuing billing guidance that will “enable clinicians to get paid for their deprescription work for the first time.”
Kennedy added in clear words: “To be clear, if you are taking psychiatric medication, we are not going to tell you to stop taking it.”
“We’re making sure you and your clinician have the information and support to make the right decisions,” he said.
Contributors: Alyssa Goldberg and Hanna Yasharoff
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