Which is worse for America: Alcohol or Prescription Meds?

Both alcohol and prescription meds are harming the majority of people in this country every day.Alcohol can be an extremely harmful drug, and causes many deaths, dui's, spousal abuse, child abuse, other violent outbursts, and hardcore addiction, yet it is legal, and as easy to find as a pack of gum.

Prescription meds are now everwhere. Kids are selling their doctor prescribed ritalin and adderol at school. Young children are being diagnosed left and right for various problems supposedly requiring medication, and parents give them to their kids without hesitating. Parents are also popping pills left and right. The majority of people I know take something. All take them legally as well, and think it's perfectly fine since their doctors gave it to them. We now have a large portion of this country legally abusing painkillers, opiates, uppers, downers, and other drugs on a daily basis.

It seems to me a very large percentage of our society is legally self medicating, on a daily basis, whether it's pills, or alcohol every night, and almost no one talks about it! It's largely ignored. It's dangerous. All these people with addictions, and needing a crutch to get through everyday life, are oblivious to the dangers because our government has made it readily available to everyone. Of course some people need their meds, but many more are getting hooked, and abusing. I'm nervous about where society is heading. On top of everything else going on, it seems over half the population is loopy and somewhat out of it on a daily basis through legal addictions.

reply to post by MysticPearl


Yet weed is illegal.
HO-RAH!

well sence iv never had a alchaholic beverage that tasted like people took their time and cared about what they wer selling me and i believe they give kids pills so they zone out and their parents can touch them and they wont complain thats both are bad but their is no one to stop them we just have to keep on hateing

prescription medication is definitely the bigger issue. as you addressed, nearly everyone is on something. most people can avoid alcohol with something as simple as personal choice. not everyone believes that to be the case when a doctor suggests they take a pill,they just do it.

but surely no one is abusing patients' trust in a doctor's advice. right?

reply to post by MysticPearl


In this world I guess it's good that I don't have any medical insurance.
I was made to take drugs by the state when I did have med ins, They said I was bipolar, lmao, they haven't seen bipolar I have and I sure as hell aint it. I never took the meds they also forced my son on adderol (the school) guess what hahaha I flushed them down the toilet and he acted worse on the dang drugs!!!!

That's like asking, "Which is more painful: Cutting your arm with a steak knife or cutting your arm with a razor blade?"

. You did not "strike a nerve" you showed yer arse ,big difference.
As for the OP IMO the most dangerous drugs out now are the new age psych drugs like prozac etal. But really both are about equal overall. with illegal drugs way behind statistically
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reply to post by MysticPearl


hands down alcohol is the most abused treat in America. it is available in most homes. towns with any population usually have a liquor store and or a bar. worse comes to worse, an alcoholic in need can smash a storefront window and make off with a two or three day supply of alcohol.

Many Americans tend to not raise their children to maturely use and respect alcohol as Europeans do. Instead of small glasses of wine at dinner and supervised alcohol use by adults, a lot of american youngsters can't wait to hit a magic birthday number to go out exploring the world of alcohol abuse and drunk driving. The resulting death and destruction is reported in newspapers across the country every day.

i think prescription medication is no where as abused as you do my OP friend. the bulk of prescription medication is in the hands of responsible adults who use them correctly. and most of those medications are helping those who need them. you certainly are entitled to your opinion, many people feel the bulk of American citizens are on prescription medication unnecessarily.

there are a lot of people i know who take meds because they do not eat a proper diet, exercise, or give a damn about themselves in any way. still, their Doctor has to address their wellness. it's not unusual for people to not listen to their doctors advice. meanwhile, the blood pressure is not going to come down by itself, cholesterol levels are not going to correct themselves to a safe level, etcetera.

adults and adults who are parents or guardians of underage children have the choice of whether or not they purchase and consume prescription medication. just like people who pick their poison from the liquor store shelves have a choice with how they spend their money, what they consume, and how they take care of themselves.

IMHO the panic over medication in America is blown out of proportion. there are many people who live better and longer lives thanks to modern science and medicine. and there are many people who could leave medication behind if they stopped consuming a white trash junk food/snack/fast food/soda daily diet, ate properly, and took a daily walk.

If a professional tells you you're a bipolar, and you tell me you aren't, who do you think I believe...?

I'm getting frustrated by topics like this. People on ATS act like they know everything about psychology and medication while they haven't got a clue what they're talking about. It's like criticizing a musician while you're deaf. Now I'm not saying there are no bad sides to medication, big pharma does exist, but as an ex professional (previous study) in psychiatry, I can tell you that medication (even most prescription, although they have side effects) is a blessing.


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Originally posted by WeZet
If a professional tells you you're a bipolar, and you tell me you aren't, who do you think I believe...?

I'm getting frustrated by topics like this. People on ATS act like they know everything about psychology and medication while they haven't got a clue what they're talking about. It's like criticizing a musician while you're deaf. Now I'm not saying there are no bad sides to medication, big pharma does exist, but as an ex professional (previous study) in psychiatry, I can tell you that medication (even most prescription, although they have side effects) is a blessing.

 

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Yeah, you sound like a ex-professional who use to get kickbacks for handing out meds like candy. Psychiatrists who appear oblivious to the abuse and addiction occuring every day in this country, like yourself it seems, are a huge part of the problem.

Reply to post by MysticPearl

I didn't hand out medication. I did the social work so to speak. There goes your defense (no offense). However, I did study a lot about medication (effect on behaviour/compared to untreated mental diseases, side effects etc.) And psycology and disorders itself. Did you? I also learned a lot in the field itself. Did you? And I quit because I became a musician, I wasn't fired for "giving out candy". Why those insults? We've got pills for those frustrations! No really, get your facts straight, please. You don't know what you're talking about.


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Originally posted by WeZet
If a professional tells you you're a bipolar, and you tell me you aren't, who do you think I believe...?

I'm getting frustrated by topics like this. People on ATS act like they know everything about psychology and medication while they haven't got a clue what they're talking about. It's like criticizing a musician while you're deaf. Now I'm not saying there are no bad sides to medication, big pharma does exist, but as an ex professional (previous study) in psychiatry, I can tell you that medication (even most prescription, although they have side effects) is a blessing.

 

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So is it ex-professional or previous study? important as I have some pretty extensive previous study and think like another poster that your attitude is a major part of the problem and that any population in need of so many "drugs" to function is either being strung out by a dealer or is seriously screwed up and in an unhealthy social environment. Either is unacceptable to a reasonable person.
A final point it is all to easy to make assumptions about a posters background or education that are ridiculously wrong. That you think "people on ATS" may not be far more educated than your "previous study" is in fact ludicrous. But back on topic. Defend Abilify, Avandia,Celebrex and my favorite, Thalidomide for nausea during pregnancy using all the previous or present study you can muster and I will respond how even alcohol is safer ,on paper,and that is no endorsement of alcohol. The sad reality is that even most illegal hard drugs are less dangerous than both from a medical standpoint as far as actual physical harm in less than compulsive overdose users. Even OTC drugs have worse statistics than illegal drugs, But alcohol being accessible,acceptable and pervasive coupled with it's pharmacokinetics make it likely the most dangerous drug of all.
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Originally posted by WeZet
Reply to post by MysticPearl

 

I didn't hand out medication. I did the social work so to speak. There goes your defense (no offense). However, I did study a lot about medication (effect on behaviour/compared to untreated mental diseases, side effects etc.) And psycology and disorders itself. Did you? I also learned a lot in the field itself. Did you? And I quit because I became a musician, I wasn't fired for "giving out candy". Why those insults? We've got pills for those frustrations! No really, get your facts straight, please. You don't know what you're talking about.

 

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Oh please. Don't give me that crap. Get my facts straight? First, what facts did I try to present? Look at the title. I ASKED a question. Second, what facts did you actually present? You only assumed that you have studied this stuff, and I haven't.

When you say something such as "you don't know what you're talking about", YOU'RE the one who needs to back that up with facts. I asked a question, and you come in in saying I don't have a clue, yet present nothing. Great argument there.

Take a look around. I live in reality, where I've seen how medication negatively affects friends, family, and coworkers. Do you simply hide in your textbook, and ignore reality, and your surroundings? That's how it sounds. You haven't said anything besides you can read a psycology book. You haven't actually related any of it to reality and every day life. Only personal attacks. Still waiting for you to offer something.....

Originally posted by WeZet
Reply to post by MysticPearl

 

I didn't hand out medication. I did the social work so to speak. There goes your defense (no offense). However, I did study a lot about medication (effect on behaviour/compared to untreated mental diseases, side effects etc.) And psycology and disorders itself. Did you? I also learned a lot in the field itself. Did you? And I quit because I became a musician, I wasn't fired for "giving out candy". Why those insults? We've got pills for those frustrations! No really, get your facts straight, please. You don't know what you're talking about.

 

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I have studied the chemistry and pharmacokinetics of many of these drugs, have you?
I have seen the patients as they live there daily lives while using and withdrawing from these drugs, not just the face they wear when seeing the "Dr" , have you?
Since your intent on a pissing contest, they have drugs for that too
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Legal drugs or alcohol...how 'bout making a choice between neither one.

Legal drugs have never cured a sickness and they never will...their only purpose is to numb the ones that have
been prescribed them until they die...Alcohol...unlike legal drugs is a personal choice...and many doctors refer to it as "self medicating" when someone uses alcohol because they are sad and drink to elevate their spirits...or to forget...and if possible the same doctor will pump ya full of drugs to get ya to quitdrinking, just to fill you full of pills that will serve the same purpose as the alcohol.

Get off the merry-go-round...say NO to both...Cannabis on the other hand...well that's another story, and the majority of society is so lost in their "legal" logistics that they are too blind to see what a gift they are throwing away.