Why aren't pharmaceuticals illegal? *now with words!*

If recreational drugs such as marijuana and herion are illegal due to how dangerous they are, I ask why pharmaceutical drugs aren't illegal as well?

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drugs.htm

Therapeutic Drug Use
(Data are for U.S. for year indicated)

Percent of persons using at least one prescription drug in the past month: 45 (1999-2002)

Physician office visits
Number of drugs ordered or provided: 2.0 billion
Percent of visits involving drug therapy: 71
Average number of drugs ordered or provided per visit: 2.1
Most frequently prescribed therapeutic class: Antidepressants

Hospital outpatient department visits
Number of drugs ordered or provided: 194.6 million
Percent of visits involving drug therapy: 73
Number of drugs ordered or provided per visit: 2.2
Most frequently prescribed therapeutic class: antidepressants

Hospital emergency department visits
Number of drugs ordered or provided: 204.8 million
Percent of visits involving drug therapy: 77
Number of drugs ordered or provided per visit: 1.8
Most frequently prescribed therapeutic class: narcotic analgesics

Versus

Illegal Drug Use
(Data are for U.S. for year indicated)
Prevalence
Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with any illicit drug use in the past month: 8.1 (2005)
Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with marijuana use in the past month: 6.0 (2005)
Percent of persons 12 years of age and over with any nonmedical use of a psychotherapeutic drug in the past month: 2.6 (2005)

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm

Yearly deaths

Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs 32,000
All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect 17,000

So if pharmaceuticals are being abused with more frequency than illegal drugs, are easier to get than illegal drugs and are killing more people than illegal drugs, why are they still legal while the illegal drugs are illegal?

C.

Hmmm... Interesting debate... Then, I am one to think that someone should find a way to tax the current illegal drugs and make them legal...

Well the drugs that are illeagal are not only illegal because of them being dangerous. There are different reasons to them being illegal. One being that they have no medical use. pharmaceutical drugs are illegal if taken wrongly. You can be punished for having a perscription that doesn't belong to you.

Quoting amberwithryan:“ Well the drugs that are illeagal are not only illegal because of them being dangerous. There are different ... [snip!] ... pharmaceutical drugs are illegal if taken wrongly. You can be punished for having a perscription that doesn't belong to you.”

Most illegal drugs have medicinal use.

Oxycontin differs little from heroin, except that oxycontin is a synthetic form, basically.

C.

Quoting God:“ Most illegal drugs have medicinal use. Oxycontin differs little from heroin, except that oxycontin is a synthetic form, basically. C.”

Like i said there are a bunch of different reasons to why illegal drugs are illegal. Most of them started out as a drug drs perscribed to people. Then different things happened for the drugs for them to become illegal. For example cocain was used for an antidepressant. later they found it had some bad effects but it was still legal. Then in the south people were saying that black people would get high on cocain and rape white woman. The south outlawed the drug. from there it progressed to it being completely illegal.
exstacy before the 80s was called empathy or mdma. This was used by psychologists to treat couples. Both the couples would take the drug and they would feel great about their relationship again. This is where the drug got its name the "love drug". They found out later that it had bad affects. Some of this drug is still legal. What makes it extasy and ileagal is the other stuff that people add to it.

I guess it is because those other drugs are prescribed.
but it is illegal if you use certain drugs without a prescription.
because you can go to jail for destributing those drugs without prescriptions...and for possession of them without prescriptions.

B/c I love my Rx drugs..silly. Now don't give them any ideas.

Quoting God:“ If recreational drugs such as marijuana and herion are illegal due to how dangerous they are, I ask why ... [snip!] ... illegal drugs and are killing more people than illegal drugs, why are they still legal while the illegal drugs are illegal? C.”

Will you marry me, C?

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ Will you marry me, C?”

Sure but I think we'll have to move to Utah for that.

C.

Quoting God:“ If recreational drugs such as marijuana and herion are illegal due to how dangerous they are, I ask why ... [snip!] ... illegal drugs and are killing more people than illegal drugs, why are they still legal while the illegal drugs are illegal? C.”

What exactly is the difference between "using" and "abusing?"You used the word abusing when describing the users of prescription medicine.

Since someone who uses a prescribed drugis rarely labeled an abuser, I'm guessing it's just government semantics to legitamize the use of prescription drug use. But why is someone using an illegal drug to help manage life in one way or another any different than someone who uses a prescription antidepressant or sleeping pill? I don't see a difference, really. If the reason is the possession of the prescription, then you could argue that a doctor might write the prescription for an illegal drug if it weren't illegal.

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ What exactly is the difference between "using" and "abusing?"You used the word abusing when describing ... [snip!] ... of the prescription, then you could argue that a doctor might write the prescription for an illegal drug if it weren't illegal.”

You got me, heh.

I imagine your right, that legally prescribed drug users are rarely called abusers, which is strange because pharms are abused way more than illegal drugs are (used or abused).

C.

There's no reason for any of it to be illegal if it's not used in an illegal way. The illegality of this, that or the other comes down to the politics behind it.

The legitimacy of pharmaceuticals is making too many people in the right places too much money to change the status quo.

The illegitimacy of cocaine is making too many people in the right places too much money to change the status quo.

Quoting God:“ If recreational drugs such as marijuana and herion are illegal due to how dangerous they are, I ask why ... [snip!] ... illegal drugs and are killing more people than illegal drugs, why are they still legal while the illegal drugs are illegal? C.”

Drug use is yet another victimless crime--I've never seen the point to making any drug illegal. Legalized drugs allows for regulation, and as you point out in another post, most illegal drugs have medicinal uses.

THANK YOU! I totally agree 100%. I have tried to bring up this point before but people automatically think illegal drugs are worse simply because the government says they are.
People should do some research on why pot became illegal in the US in the first place because it wasn't because they tried it out by prescribing it and it went bad that's for sure.
Look into the beginning of the "drug war" and how pot was just used as a vice basically.

I have seen what some of the prescriptions like uh Xanax for example can do, and I can't believe that is still legal. and Oxycontin is like insane!

All drugs that are illegal, including LSD, Heroin, and Ecstacy were at one point legal and used for medicinal purposes. It wasnt until they discovered the side affects that they became illegal. Marijuana is partially legal in many states. It is also legal if prescribed, just like any other pain medication. Personally, even though I do not smoke weed, I really cannot see why it is looked down upon the way it is. I grew up in Alaska, and everyone smokes there and most function just fine. Its just like alcohol; some can handle it while others cannot.