In my state, tough sentencing has put many of the dealers in prison. Physicians have had their licenses yanked, and many of the "pain clinics" have been shut down. The "clinics" also advertised about the dangers of "stress". Still, Florida is not without pill mills. And prescription drug abuse remains the most serious substance abuse problem in the country; I would put alcohol right beside pills myself.
A 26 year old man taking amphetamines and tranquilizers, LEGALLY, remains a drug user. the unusual defense of this man, and the heated defense of his drug use, is yet another sign of a nationwide drug problem.
I take pain relievers when I need them, and sedatives. I do not drive when I take them, I do not take them unless I need them. Our government is so worried about pain relievers that you can no longer get them at the local clinics, you must go through a more expensive primary care physician some of whom will not see new clients at all. Due to that, pain relievers are at a premium and we have been robbed of our pain relievers, having to refill the prescription at our own cost because the insurance company doesn't accept "they were stolen" as an excuse. No, I didn't file a police report, they wouldn't have done anything anyway. I was surprised to find the doctor wasn't surprised that the pain killers were stolen out of our house and nothing else was missing. He said it was common and that the pharmacy that filled our prescriptions had been fined for tossing them (the paper prescriptions which are required for our painkillers, the doctors can't just call those in) without shredding them and people had picked them out of the trash to find addresses and where to get certain drugs. I do not think prescription drugs are a problem unless someone is taking them illegally, not if they are taking them AS PRESCRIBED!!!!
You'll find there are people with disabilities that ca become violent without their medications, would you advise them not to take them because YOU think they are a problem?
I would be more concerned about any illegal drugs involved rather than those that are prescribed.