It’s not a gun control debate, or at least that absolutely was not my intent. It was, however, prompted by a post in a gun control thread, namely:
…and it occurred to me, what if they were handed out like M&Ms? What if anyone who thought they might need them or had a sufficiently concerned and persuasive family member could easily get them. One common argument against all-out drug legalization is an increase in the number of addicts and damage to the moral fabric of society or something. Is that a concern for these classes of drugs? Are there anti-depressants that give a Ritalin-like boost, to be abused by study-minded high school and college students?
If not the drug legalization issue, suppose there was a dramatic effort to increase the number of American mental health care professionals, as the launch of Sputnik increased the call for more scientists and engineers. Would that help destigmatize mental health issues to the point where going to see a psychiatrist is like going to see a dentist?