They tried to put me on drugs but my parents would have none of it... my grandfather was a veterinarian who specialized in developing vaccines and medications and he summed it up by saying " its the same stuff they use to dope up racehorses"
Im very much against using drugs to control anyone other than yourself...
I think any drug should be legal for anyone choosing to use ot along with realistic pros and cons, instructions, warnings, contradictions and such... that way it levels the playing field... i feel that this would go a long way in solving many of the problems associated especially with the "bad ones" that cause the most harm to the users... people wouldnt be consuming adulturants or wildly varying potencys or have to settle for whatever your guy has, because its better than nothing...
Im not suggesting doctors are unneccesary but in this age of internet, i feel the average person can do an hour or so of research online be more informed about the likely causes and be able to identify their specific symptoms and in fact be more likely to correctly diagnose the ailment than a doctor that spends about 5 minutes glossing over the basic general questions about symptoms then thinking about the possibilities for a second before choosing either;
A standard OTC product for "mild to moderate" symptoms... even when youve already told them you tried them and if they had worked you wouldnt be there, but they raise the dosage (like 800mg of motrin when you said youve already tried otc motrin) or conversely you list a few things youve tried (like asprin, aleve and motrin and they reccomend tylenol)
A standard antibiotic for anything that appears to be an infection (usually some amoxycillin or cephalexin)
A standard nsaid/analgesic compond for general "moderate to severe" pain issues (usually vicodin) and commonly a muscle relaxant for mucular/skeletal injuries (usually flexiril, skelaxin or soma)
Benzos are passed out like candy for anyone complaining of anxiety and are also common for insomnia and other mental disorders
Children are prescribed ADHD drugs based almost solely on "diagnosis" by their school teachers... the parents dont usually like the idea of drugging their kid everyday but its explained that "theres millions who have taken it and statistics show performance improvements, bettergrades, and are "much better students" because of it... then the doctor answers their questions about the drug and what it does and how it works in a carefully worded sales pitch...
Usually its something like "smarter children often have trouble staying focused because their brains work faster than average and they are more prone to being distracted from the task at hand, they get bored faster because they dont recieve enough stimuli compared to normal children... these medications arent to slow them down or "dumb them down" they simply provide a little extra stimulation that makes up for their precieved defecit... (my favorite is this part) caffiene is a stimulant that does the same thing, gives you a little extra stimulation and energy to dedicate to your task, and males you better at your task than you would be without it"
They ignore topics of dependency and abuse potential because your dosing your kid so it isnt an issue, they also avoid likening it to amphetamine and use the brand names instead of the drug name especially with (adderal = amphetamine salts / dexedrine = dextro-amphetamine / desoxyn = methamphetamine) they usually start with ritalin but rarely stick with it... i feel this is so that they can be less deceptice about it without worrying about the parents objecting to "amphetamines" methylphenidate doesnt sound anything like amphetamine so there wont be any "im not giving amphetamine to my kid" issues... then next time there will be less likelyhood of questioning as they just say its similar to ritalin chemically..
Ive talked to parents that had no idea they were giving their kids amps and were rather upset that their doctor mentioned nothing of the sort when they asked about what it was and did...
If everything was legal and equally available OTC to everyone, most people could better diagnose and better treat these problems than their doctor can... let the doctors handle all the real issues that people cant diagnose or treat on their own... cancer, surgeries, diseases, and stuff...
My opinion is that most doctors are just glorified drug dealers... and the legal status of drugs is not for our safety but to keep doctors and pharmaceutical companies in control of the market and create an illusion that drugs are bad, except ours...