The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is calling for increased accountability following legal actions in the United States and Sweden that have exposed practices involving questionable Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessments, diagnoses, and the promotion of stimulant drugs. The cases have resulted in convictions, settlements, and business closures, and CCHR says they illustrate the risks of a diagnostic system it describes as lacking objective scientific foundation.
In Sweden this year, the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate banned an ADHD online diagnostic company from operating after finding "a clear and serious risk to patients' health, safety and lives." An appellate court ordered the company closed. The company marketed a "diagnosis or your money back" policy, requiring patients to pay the full fee upfront and guaranteeing a refund only if they did not receive an ADHD diagnosis. The owner stated that refunds occurred in roughly 1 out of every 500 cases, meaning the company kept the money in 499 out of 500 assessments. Revenue reached roughly $5.5 million in 2024 before the shutdown.
In October 2026, a U.S. federal jury convicted a physician of conspiracy and multiple counts of illegally distributing controlled substances through an ADHD telehealth platform. More than two million stimulant pills were distributed without examining patients. The case is part of a broader federal prosecution involving the illegal distribution of more than 37 million ADHD stimulant pills nationwide as part of a $100 million drug distribution and health care fraud scheme.
CCHR says these cases demonstrate regulatory and law-enforcement responses to practices involving ADHD diagnoses and aggressive promotion of stimulant drugs. The group argues such practices are enabled by the subjective nature of the ADHD label itself, noting there is no blood work, scan, or biomarker to confirm any malfunction of the brain. Diagnosis depends entirely on reported behaviors, many of which CCHR says are indistinguishable from normal human tendencies.
According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), children 16 and under must meet six out of nine behaviors such as running around, climbing on furniture, missing assignments, disorganized bedrooms, not paying attention, interrupting teachers, or engaging in risky play. Adults 17 and older must meet only five out of nine behaviors. Critics note that nearly every human being exhibits these behaviors at some point, yet millions are labeled with ADHD and placed on powerful, addictive stimulants.
The risks of the drugs prescribed are well documented. The Food and Drug Administration acknowledges that ADHD stimulants can cause addiction, even when taken exactly as prescribed. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classifies ADHD stimulants in the same category of highly addictive substances as OxyContin and fentanyl, warning that they can lead to "severe psychological dependence." A September 2024 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that patients taking higher doses of ADHD drugs were more than five times as likely to develop psychosis or mania. In 2025, drug regulatory agency alerts from Australia and Germany warned that atomoxetine, a widely prescribed "non-stimulant" ADHD drug, can cause homicidal ideation, as detailed in a CCHR report on the regulatory warnings.
Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, states: "The entire ADHD diagnostic and drug industry needs an overhaul. Any diagnosis that cannot be medically and scientifically proven should be dismissed. Parents and patients remain largely unaware that online and other ADHD assessments rest on no objective scientific foundation—only checklists of ordinary behaviors, with no blood test, brain scan, or biomarker to confirm any underlying disease. Far greater accountability is needed for diagnostic practices that function more like sales pipelines than medical evaluation."
The implications for parents, patients, and the broader healthcare industry are significant. As online assessments and telehealth platforms expand access to ADHD diagnoses and stimulant prescriptions, the Swedish and U.S. cases underscore the potential for financial incentives to override clinical safeguards. CCHR, a mental health industry watchdog established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, says it has achieved hundreds of laws worldwide increasing protections, including a federal U.S. law that bans schools from forcing children onto psychotropic drugs to remain in class. The group's Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is urging greater scrutiny of diagnostic practices that it says lack medical and scientific proof.
