Researchers Injected Black and Brown Boys with Banned Drug to Study Violence Risk

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

In the 1990s, researchers at top New York institutions injected grade-school boys who were Black or Hispanic with fenfluramine, a banned diet drug, to study their risk of developing disruptive behaviors. The families received less than $200 for the procedures, and the true purpose of the study was obscured in the recruitment materials. This controversial experiment was never properly addressed by the mental health profession, even though it perpetuated a history of pathologizing and controlling marginalized communities.

Why it matters

This study exemplifies how the mental health field has a long history of pathologizing and controlling Black, Latinx, and other marginalized communities, rather than addressing the structural racism and violence they face. It is part of a broader pattern of forced medical experimentation on people of color and the use of psychiatry as a tool of social control.

The details

Researchers at top New York institutions injected 34 Black and Hispanic boys between the ages of 6 and 10 with fenfluramine, a drug later banned by the FDA due to health risks. The boys were younger brothers of convicted delinquents, and the researchers had breached confidentiality to access their juvenile court records. The families were told the study was about "what keeps children out of trouble," when in reality it was exploring whether serotonin levels correlated with risk factors for aggressive behavior. The researchers were never sanctioned, and their findings were published in top journals.

• In the mid-1990s, the fenfluramine study was conducted.
• In December 1997, Disability Advocates filed an official complaint against the study on behalf of the children and families affected.
• In 1998, a Village Voice investigation contended that the researchers had deliberately obscured the study's true purpose from parents.

What they’re saying