Nationwide Evaluation of New Psychiatric Drugs is Urgent Need

In this testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Gorman explains to the budget committee that several new tranquilizing drugs (reserpine and chlorpromazine) might revolutionize psychiatry and alleviate overcrowding in mental hospitals. However, no controlled studies had been done to assess the drugs' physiological effects, or their suitability for various psychiatric disorders. Only the National Institute of Mental Health was equipped to do such a large-scale evaluation, and only Congress could authorize the funding for it.