The difference between drugs you buy on the street and drugs you get from pharmaceutical companies is that you take the prescribed drugs for a purpose.
People take street drugs for a purpose too, whether it's just to get high and feel good, or a "deeper purpose" like attempting to have a spiritual experience while on psilocybin or mescalin. You can also take pharmaceutical drugs just to get high, which explains why thousands of kids are constantly raiding their parents' medicine cabinets to steal vicodins, percocets, oxy's, etc...
Of course they have similar effects to street drugs! They're working on the brain messenger systems. The reason street drugs are illegal is that they are taken for the mind altering effects and for recreational use, and they are not needed by the person who is taking them.
Who is to say that pharmaceutical drugs are always "needed?" Every kid that is on ritalin "needs" it? Every person on anti-depressants "needs" them? Every person who goes to their doc and asks for some viagra so they can last longer in bed "needs" it? If drugs were only prescribed when absolutely necessary, they'd be leaving a hell of a lot of money on the table.
And speaking of heroin addicts, when they are going through massive withdrawal, can you honestly say their body does not "need" heroin at that moment for them to feel better? Isn't this "need" the reason doctors prescribe methodone (another opiate), which gives them a similar feeling?
They have no clinical use. The person's brain is perfectly normal and they are altering it for the high.
If GHB has no clinical use, why do doctors prescribe xyrem?
If marajuana has no clinical use, why do doctors precribe marinol?
If methamphetamine (responsible for the USA's biggest drug epidemic in history) has no clinical use, why do doctors prescribe desoxyn?
I could go on and on...
Prescribed drugs, and I'm using drugs that work on the brain here, because they can be compared to street drugs, are prescribed because the person who needs them needs some system in their brain to be altered so that a dysfunction will be fixed.
That's just a theory which many researchers still disagree with. Prozac, for instance, doesnt start officially working until approx. 2 weeks after being on the drug, yet some people experience a change in their mood almost instantly. How is this possible? Never overlook the power of the placebo effect.
I don't understand how you can compare street drugs and legal drugs, it seems completely obvious to me that the people taking the prescribed drugs need them because they have a problem, and street drugs are taken so people can get high.
As I already pointed out, this is not always the case. You could go to one doctor who might tell you you're fine and that you don't need drugs, while a second doctor might write you ten prescriptions. How do you know which doctor has correctly diagnosed you?
I'm not defending the money-grabbing capitalist pharmaceutical industry at all, but saying that "There is no difference in what you are doing then those people that go on the streets to take some drugs"...well I disagree.
There's not much difference.
Really? I think there's a huge difference. People who are prescribed medication are taking it because they need it. Granted, there are probably lots of people who abuse their prescription drugs but most of the people on prescription drugs use them responsibly. And guess what? Medications can actually help people.
And they can also hurt people, even when taken exactly as prescribed.
No it's not being hypocritical. Personally, I think that there are quite a few drugs that should be made legal, marijuana being one of them. Have you ever met a heroin addict? It's scary stuff to be addicted to heroin. Have you met someone who is taking anti-depressants responsibly? How can you even compare the two?
I've seen people on anti-depressants turn into total zombies, with no ability to enjoy sex or feel human emotions. Does this happen to everyone? Doubtful. But people still need to educate themselves about these possible consequences.
I can't believe I'm even bothering with this post, it just reeks of stupidity.
Wouldn't it be more stupid to blindly trust a doctor (who gets compensated for how many drugs he prescribes) simply because he has a good reason for giving you a drug? If Jim Jones passed you the kool-aid, would you suspend your critical judgment and think, "Well.... he must have a good reason for giving this to me. Bottoms up."
The point is... don't blindly listen to anyone, including me, when it comes to putting drugs in your body. Do your own research and make your own decisions.
