[Editorial] The right medicines for the right reasons

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr has suggested that antidepressants are more addictive than heroin and may contribute to school shootings—allegations repeatedly rejected as false. Given this history, the announcement in May, 2026 of a new Make America Healthy Again Action Plan to Curb Psychiatric Overprescribing was met with alarm in many health circles. HHS officials have stressed that they aim to address “overmedicalization”, not ban certain antidepressants altogether, with a focus on reducing long-term medication use when no longer beneficial in improving patient outcomes.