# Anti-psychotics and anti-depressants go OTC - what happens?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-psychotics-and-anti-depressants-go-otc-what-happens/644995
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [December 24, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-psychotics-and-anti-depressants-go-otc-what-happens/644995 "2012-12-24T08:03:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
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### Author: ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-psychotics-and-anti-depressants-go-otc-what-happens/644995/5 "2012-12-24T16:32:03Z")

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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:

> [@Having laid low, the N.R.A. is fully prepped and rehearsed to control legislation. As usual.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/287):
>
> If everyone has their own shrink, meds will be handed out like M&Ms.

…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?

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