Dr. Drew on Nick Reiner
Changing Meds Was Wrong Move …
Cali Doesn’t Help Either

Published
January 8, 2026
1:43 PM PST

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Dr. Drew says doctors prescribing medication to Nick Reiner for his mental illness royally screwed up by changing his meds in the weeks leading up to his parents’ murders … but hindsight is 20/20, and there are all sorts of reasons why the meds get changed.

The good doc joined us on “TMZ Live” Thursday … and we asked him about something we uncovered in our new documentary, “TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” … Nick was stable on his meds for schizoaffective disorder a month before the killings, but then doctors decided to change things up.

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Dr. Drew says meds get changed all the time when patients stress about how they’re feeling or how their side effects are affecting them … but that doesn’t always make it the right move.

We’re told Nick went into a spiral after his meds were changed … and doctors did NOT attempt to place him under a psychiatric hold while they tried to adjust the meds and stabilize him, which may be key to his defense.

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Dr. Drew says California makes it extremely hard for doctors to get their patients on a psychiatric hold … breaking down the hurdles he and his colleagues face.

Catch the full interview on “TMZ Live” … and watch out for our new doc, airing Friday night on FOX at 8 PM ET … and dropping the next day on HULU.