In an interview with Josephine Johnston, associate for law and bioethics at the Hastings Center, a nonpartisan research institute, TIME magazine posed the question of whether antidepressants such as Prozac should be readily available over the counter like many other drugs. As the most frequently prescribed class of drugs in the United States, antidepressants make up about 5% of all prescription medication recorded in outpatient files, according to 2005 figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The question raised is then, if the demand for antidepressants is so high and the pills are so readily dispensed (with the side effects now reasonably well known), would life be easier for many Americans if antidepressants were just available at the drug store?
On one side of the fence, proponents of dispensing antidepressants over the counter argue that people should be free to treat their own problems. Antidepressants are not that dangerous. And even if they are, in America, an argument about autonomy and people making their own choices can end up trumping anything else.
On the other side, opponents of free dispensal argue that antidepressants work best when they're used in conjunction with other kinds of treatment. If you use antidepressants under the supervision of a physician, you can also talk to the physician about how to address some of the underlying problems which have led you to the depressed state. By providing such medication over the counter is to decouple them from an important part of the treatment, and to risk undermining or taking valuable resources away from more intensive treatment that involves therapy or communication.
I can honestly see both sides of the argument in this debate. However, as I think about it, I appear to leaning more towards the side of allowing antidepressants to be provided over the counter in drug stores. Americans have the freedom to choose how they wish to interact with many other forms of "dangerous" items, including alcohol, guns, and even vehicles. To limit their interaction with such things due to the danger possibility would be to take away a fundamental American right of autonomy. There are many similarities between antidepressants and liquor, both of which are used by many Americans to deal with issues of unhappiness and distress in their lives. If Americans have the freedom to obtain liquor without a prescription, shouldn't they have the same freedom of access to antidepressants as well?
Article at: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1809504,00.html
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3 comments:
I'm not sure what side of the debate I stand on here. The thing that stands out to me the most is how over-prescribed anti-depressants, as well as a lot of other medications, are. The other huge example I immediately think of is Adderrall. It seems anyone can walk into a doctor's office these days, complain about not being able to concentrate, and voila! They have ADD. I know many people who regularly receive adderall, who admit they don't really need it but use it to study, or stay awake. While I'm not as familiar with anti-depressants, I'm sure the problem is much the same.
While I am not sure what overdiagnosis means in terms of the debate whether medication should be over the counter (if anyone can get it relatively easily, why make it Rx? Or conversely, even though everyone gets the medication easily now, if we open it up further, it will be abused worse), I need we need to take a cold hard look at our diagnoses and practices and determine if we are really "helping" by giving drugs out so easily.
While I do not know much about the science of anti-depressents or their effects if abused, I just think anti-depressants should be available by perscription only. If people can get the over the counter, they would be less likely to seek mental health care. A pill cannot solve all problems. People already hesitate to seek mental health care and this would exasperate the problem.
I agree Marisa. I think the point that the prescription requires individuals to go out and seek and receive help in person is a very strong one. The benefit of human interaction and counseling I think is often exactly what depressed people need. The pill alone isn't the answer.
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