Posted by med_empowered on September 15, 2008, at 22:59:31
In reply to Re: class a drugs » seldomseen, posted by Phillipa on September 15, 2008, at 20:17:43
I'm pretty much of the opinion that the world would be a much happier place if we made any and all drugs available w/o a prescription. The job of the gov't could then be limited to controlling manufacture (to make sure the stuff is pure) and taxing the products (to help fund treatment programs, just like we do with big tobacco).
Plus, I'm pretty sure getting rid of the prescription system and the drug laws would drive down the price of pharmaceuticals dramatically. One reason people pay hundreds per month for minimally effective psychiatric drugs w/ lots of side effects is b/c...it's illegal to take what really works, and nobody wants to go to jail.
Also, the prescription system and drug mess up what should ideally be a free market system. Then again..I don't think pdocs would be happy if their (former) patients spent their $$$ on cheap OTC benzos, uppers, and heroin (I imagine the free market would also make the fun drugs cheap b/c of competition), nor would Big Pharma be pleased if people were getting "high" off of old, cheap drugs (many of which were once "meds"), instead of getting "treatment" w/ the newest pharmie miracles.
You'll notice that even in the RX world, once something newer and more expensive comes along, the older meds are painted as dangerous and/or addictive.
Example: For a long time barbiturates were considered relatively safe. Then benzos came along. Although barbiturates were still RX'd through the 60s and 70s, their use became less routine (even though they were cheap and effective, while benzos were then kind of expensive) b/c barbiturates were painted as "dangerous" and "addictive".
The benzos were touted as "effective" and "safe." Then the SSRIs and "atypical" antipsychotics hit the scene...now benzos are portrayed as "addictive" and "dangerous," while antidepressants and antipsychotics are considered "safe treatments" (despite their costs and side-effects).
poster:med_empowered
thread:852089
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080915/msgs/852209.html