Abusing illegal drugs can give rise to crime and violence, even if they are used in an allegedly positive way to 'open up' and 'free' the mind. Even overusing antibiotics, and insisting upon taking them even though one's disease is likely caused by a virus can cause a rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can impact general human health. However, refusing to take certain medical treatments, such as refusing to vaccinate one's child, can have negative social fallout, as can be seen in the increase of diseases that were once thought to be eradicated, such as mumps and measles. An untreated mental illness can have a profoundly deleterious effect for the sufferer and his or her family.
When antidepressants became popular during the 1990s, some questions were raised regarding the morality of taking them, as it was said that this could fundamentally change the personality, and even ran the risk of eradicating art and higher-level thinking, given how much despair had influenced great artists and philosophy. The imperfect effects of antidepressants, which some studies indicate are not nearly as effective as once thought, have silenced such criticisms. But according to David Karp, who took such medications and believes he must take them for the rest of his life to remain 'normal': "In contrast to other medications ... psychotropic drugs ... act on -- and perhaps even create-people's consciousness and, therefore, have profound effects on the nature of their identities" (Karp 2006: 12). Karp argues that the false sense that body is different than mind causes people to stigmatize the use of antidepressants more than other medications.
While this may be true, profound questions have arisen regarding the efficacy of treating mild depression with medication. According to Antonuccio (et al. 1999), the fact that so many...
Despite side effects and the potential for addiction, it is difficult to wish for a world without any drug use at all. The
argument that drugs such as lithium (used to treat bipolar illness) do not provide a cure could also be posed for drugs such as insulin, which many diabetics require to live a normal life.
Even
insulin is not problem-free, although diabetics would suffer invariable health consequences without it. Perhaps that is the true 'test' for when drug use is valid -- given that all drugs have side effects, the user and his or her medical team must ask the question if the side effects from NOT treating the illness outweigh the side effects from treating it. If the answer is yes, then
treatment should commence. If the answer is no, then drugs are likely not the solution. In the case of 'street drugs' like
heroin, the negative side effects always outweigh any potential perceived positives for the addict. Sometimes despite side effects treatment is necessary for the sufferer, to make his or her life worth living -- whether the
suffering is derived from a physical or a mental cause. However, drugs should always be taken seriously, and casual pill-popping to relieve minor conditions can have long-term, severe consequences for human health.
References
Antonuccio, David O., William G. Danton, Garland Y. DeNelsky, Roger P. Greenberg, James S.
Gordon. (1999). Raising questions about antidepressants. Psychotherapy Psychosomatic
68:3 -- 14. Retrieved May 15, 2011 at http://psychrights.org/Research/Digest/AntiDepressants/Questions.pdf
Berridge, Virginia. (1988). The origins of the English drug 'scene' 1899-1930.
Medical History,
32: 51-64. Retrieved May 15, 2011 at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1139817/pdf/medhist00064-0055.pdf
Huxley, Aldous. (1990). The doors of
perception and heaven and hell. Perennial.
Karp, David. (2006). Is it me or my meds? Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
