3 ms·

"For some reason, other people think that it is their business what you put into your body, even when it's medicine." Let's say we had a legal regime in which

"For some reason, other people think that it is their business what you put into your body, even when it's medicine." Let's say we had a legal regime in which you could go to a pharmacy with a prescription your wrote yourself and get it filled. Opioids, stimulants, cannabis, ketamine, whatever. Wouldn't you still advise a friend that they should find a credentialed doctor and ask them to write a prescription before taking some of the more powerful substances? It's important to be able to get the advice of an expert, particularly when that advice goes against your intuitions.

Scoundreller 5y ago
Issue is that your pharmacy is pretty much standardized. Walk into 100 pharmacies and ask for the same thing and you’ll walk out with the same thing from each one. Same inputs = same outputs. Credentialed doctors are all over the place. Go see 100 psychiatrists with the same issue and you’ll get as many treatments.
- netizen-936824 5y ago
  This is because there is a disconnect between medication and our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving mental health issues
Aerroon 5y ago
I think that this a bit of a separate topic. I wasn't advocating for making all drugs freely available, but rather wanted to caution that there are already plenty of doctors who try to not prescribe drugs based on some moral feelings (or fear). However, on this topic I do think that there should be fewer restrictions on what you can buy. I have asthma. I would like to have an emergency inhaler for those rare situations where I have trouble breathing properly. But I can't have one, because asthma medications are prescription only here and I do not have health insurance. I am uncertain whether it's worth spending the likely €100-200 it would cost out of pocket to see the doctors and do the tests to get the prescription. So I make do with caffeine, wet blankets and sleeping upright on the rare occasion that I have a problem. I can afford the medicine, but the mandatory doctors visits are too much. As I said though, this is a bit of a different issue.

Scoundreller 5y ago

Issue is that your pharmacy is pretty much standardized. Walk into 100 pharmacies and ask for the same thing and you’ll walk out with the same thing from each one. Same inputs = same outputs. Credentialed doctors are all over the place. Go see 100 psychiatrists with the same issue and you’ll get as many treatments.

netizen-936824 5y ago
This is because there is a disconnect between medication and our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving mental health issues

Aerroon 5y ago

I think that this a bit of a separate topic. I wasn't advocating for making all drugs freely available, but rather wanted to caution that there are already plenty of doctors who try to not prescribe drugs based on some moral feelings (or fear). However, on this topic I do think that there should be fewer restrictions on what you can buy. I have asthma. I would like to have an emergency inhaler for those rare situations where I have trouble breathing properly. But I can't have one, because asthma medications are prescription only here and I do not have health insurance. I am uncertain whether it's worth spending the likely €100-200 it would cost out of pocket to see the doctors and do the tests to get the prescription. So I make do with caffeine, wet blankets and sleeping upright on the rare occasion that I have a problem. I can afford the medicine, but the mandatory doctors visits are too much. As I said though, this is a bit of a different issue.