There are more than 300,000 elderly nursing home residents in the US suffering from dementia who are being subjected of an overuse of anti-psychotic medication. These drugs have potentially fatal side-effects and have proven to be ineffective at treating the symptoms of dementia. In fact, recent FDA studies have shown that the use of anti-psychotics can result in the inability to speak, the loss of pleasure, social withdrawal, and an increased likelihood of death.
In 1987 Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act, which prohibits the use of Anti-psychotics that aren't medically necessary such as in cased of dementia. Consequently, we must urge the government to allocate the resources necessary to enforce this regulation.