It is disturbingly hypocritical that society, as a general unit, looks down upon those who use drugs recreationally, when medical doctors, therapists, psychologists, and parents are passing out pharmaceuticals like candy. The mother who shuns her son for smoking pot and eating shrooms should take a look in her own medicine cabinet first.

New medical drugs are being formulated and produced daily to quick fix this and that, because people have been bred out of the patience and cognitive ability to correct situations on their own, or to (heaven forbid) live with it. The world has survived for thousands upon thousands of years without relying on Lipitor, Celebrex, Cymbalta, Seroquel, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Lexapro, et cetera - so why are we so dependent upon them now? And why are these drugs socially acceptable, but street drugs are not?

Prescription medication can be just as physically and psychologically damaging and addictive as heroin, acid, or meth. Developers are too eager to get their new product out on the market before testing it’s long term effects on the body and brain. And therapists are too eager to get their pay bonus for diagnosing you with depression or attention deficit disorder before they are sure of problem.

The fact is, pharmaceuticals equal big bucks, and doctors are pushing for prescriptions to be filled so they can line their pockets with gold. The problem is, society is too trusting of these professionals to stop and consider the effects these chemicals are having on their bodies. If the government could profit from cocaine and marijuana sales, no one would question their use.

My husband was diagnosed ADD when he was eight years old, and was prescribed Adderall. His parents faithfully ensured that he took his medication every day. When he was nineteen, it was discovered that he was never ADD at all, and that he had been needlessly ingesting synthetic cocaine for eleven years. What would the difference be if he had been snorting coke recreationally as a teenager of his own accord and occasion? The answer is: none.

Both Adderall and cocaine have the same chemical properties, and in turn, the same physical and mental effects. If he had been doing coke on the streets, at least it would have been of his own free will, and with knowledge of the effects it would be having on his body, instead of blindly trusting his parents and physician to know what’s best for him.

Society views teens who use street drugs as wreckless, foolish, and pissing their future away, yet at the same time are prescribing these very youths to Vicodin and Zoloft. What better way to inform your child of the dangers of drugs by making sure he takes his Ritalin in the morning? The epidemic of teen drug abuse is one we have created ourselves through our hypocrisy and the availability of over-the-counter narcotics.