Here on the Documentaries Page you’ll find a series of unique, highly credible and hard-hitting films about the reality of taking benzodiazepine prescriptions such as Valium, Xanax etc. exactly as medically prescribed.

As Prescribed

by Holly Hardman

Please watch and share this eye opening film

As Prescribed can make a difference! The film opens eyes to the terrible plight of benzodiazepine victims, making a persuasive argument for awareness and change that can reach beyond only those directly affected and into the wider public domain.

As Prescribed premiered on Saturday, June 4 at the Berkshire International Film Festival (also see BIFF Facebook page). The film crew were honored to have been chosen — only 24 documentary features were invited.

Holly’s interview with BIFF can be read here.

As Prescribed also screened at the Sheffield International Film Festival (Sheffield DocFest 23 – 28 Jun 2022) – one of the world’s largest documentary film festivals.

The film will travel the film festival circuit. There will also be screenings in independent theaters and public exhibition spaces across the country so that communities everywhere can learn about the benzodiazepine scourge in a setting that supports discourse and action.

As Prescribed will be available on multiple screening platforms (Amazon, iTunes, etc.) and formats (including a downloadable version and DVDs).

We can also distribute the film to doctors and healthcare providers. Perhaps they are they ones who most need to learn about the horrors of the “benzo beast,” and to be presented with positive methods for creating positive change within the medical culture.

There are also plans to partner with a dynamic distribution company for international television broadcast. There is already a letter of commitment from a highly-respected distribution company.

See the As Prescribed Facebook page for updates and viewer information.

Watch and share the short 4-minute trailer

View the short trailer below (also available on YouTube)

The Benzodiazepine Medical Disaster

by Shane Kenny

View the full film (52:13) below (also available on YouTube)

Watch and share this unique film featuring the world’s top two leading experts

This documentary tells the hidden story of how benzodiazepines can both maim and kill. The serious crippling physical side effects of these drugs can last for years after the medication is stopped, possibly permanently. Renowned expert Professor Heather Ashton compares it to the Thalidomide scandal.

Shane says,

It features the only in depth interview ever made with Heather, and there will be no other. And no similar extended interview with Prof Lader has ever been broadcast. The documentary was featured on RTE television last January and it contains the British Medical Association’s statement to mark the first World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD).

The documentary was the subject of a presentation at the International Symposium on Benzodiazepines in Bend, Oregon, USA September 15-17, 2017, with a viewing of the film.

The British Medical Association (BMA) approved a statement for the documentary marking the first W-BAD in 2016:

Benzodiazepines can cause short and long term harm to patients when their prescription and withdrawal is not carefully managed. Not enough is known about the levels of dependence and withdrawal and the level of harm that is being caused. There is also too little research about the long term effects of these drugs.

En francais: Benzodiazepines, le désastre médical 2016

More Information

You can learn more about Producer, Journalist and Broadcaster Shane Kenny, his story of prescribed benzodiazepines and this unique film at the links below.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tranquillisers-drove-me-to-the-brink-of-suicide-z23npq76r

https://rts.org.uk/article/event-report-shane-kenny-and-benzodiazepine-medical-disaster

The Crime of the Century (2021)

Official Trailer | HBO

The Crime of the Century is a 2 part documentary, which gives an insight into how the industrial pharmaceutical complex has become so powerful through drug profits that they now influence government policies, medical research and education with devastating consequences for public health and society. It also shows how the current medical culture of medical gaslighting and negligence has entered the health sector with the devising of bogus diagnostic terms to shift accountability and ruthless patient blaming to protect sales and profit margins.

See HBO for full video and details

Watch at Hulu

Watch at Divicast

The Pharmacist

The Pharmacist gives a personal account of the same tragic story in The Crime of the Century above.

After his son’s tragic death, a Louisiana pharmacist goes to extremes to expose the rampant corruption behind the opioid addiction crisis (the same dynamics and factors apply to the benzodiazepine scourge that has been allowed to continue unabated for decades at the cost of unimaginable human suffering and to the detriment of society).

Episode 1: Justice for Danny
Episode 2: A Mission from God
Episode 3: Dope Dealers with White Lab Coats
Episode 4: Tunnel of Hope

See Netflix for full video and details

Watch at Divicast

See newspaper review by The Guardian: The Pharmacist review – when doctors become drug dealers

Older Documentaries

Click the drop down toggles below to view documentaries exposing the dangers of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.

Please be advised that rapid tapers are no longer considered to be a humane method of withdrawal.
Please also be advised that these documentaries are quite old, so please excuse the use of inappropriate drug abuse and addiction language used by the narrator and even the patients in the following films, because there was even less awareness of the distinction between an addiction and a dependency when the films were made. See: Addiction vs. Dependency.

The stories told feature real people experiencing BWS, dependence, tolerance, and even interdose withdrawal, and the struggles they faced with validation and cooperation from their healthcare providers.

Awareness has been attempted through eduction in this format for decades now – here is the proof. No one is sure why the problem has not been addressed to date; however, there is speculation that part of the reason why no major progress has been made is because of the confusion associated with the use of inaccurate language in describing the problem: inaccurately associating it with addiction and drug abuse. While BZDs can be abused, the major problems are with dependency and the withdrawal syndrome in people without a substance use disorder.

To view more documentaries, click here.

(Please note that some of the documentaries listed at the above hyperlink use inaccurate ‘addiction terminology’ to describe iatrogenic physical dependence and some of the listed films contain information about other psychotropic drugs, like SSRI antidepressants. For the important distinction between addiction and dependency, go here.)