I am in my usual position of not being able to make FULL agreement, but have to pick the side closest to mine. I apologize in advance, because I know already this is going to be a long response.

In the Soviet Union, a person did not have to have a prescription to get medicine. Anyone could walk into a pharmacy and buy any drug they wanted. The only problem THEY had was that many drugs were simply not available, but then, neither was toilet paper. Anyway, the thinking behind it was that a smart person would go to the doctor when they had a new ailment or some such... But if you did not and it went bad for you... Well that is your responsibility.
However, if you need some drug that has been recommended by a doctor at some time, it works for you, is the same medicine you needed last month, last year, whatever... Then you do not necessarily need to go spending money and time at a doctor every month getting prescriptions renewed. Imagine that. The government actually expecting people to take personal responsibility for their health. What could those silly old commies have been thinking?

Did this lead to widespread drug abuse in the USSR? Not of pharmaceuticals it didn't. The drug of choice in the USSR, just as in America, is alcohol.

Generally speaking, if you were to ask if I think self-medication is usually a good idea.. I would say no. If anyone has much sense, they will see a doctor about any medical issues they are not 100% informed about. However, I still think self-medication can be reasonable under the right circumstances, and should, in fact, be our Right.

Every month, I have to spend money to go see the doctor to get my pain pills renewed... $600 a year just to go in, say "Hi doc, I am here to get my script", and the doctor spends all of 30 seconds on the visit. I have had to take them for years now, and will have to take them the rest of my life if I am to be able to function at all. I understand it is a narcotic. I understand the health risks of overdosage. I understand it can be habit forming, but since I have to take them for the rest of my life anyway, barring some major medical breakthrough, what do I care?

One last point, regarding drug use by adults. I think that so long as you cause no harm to others, an adult should be able to take any drug they want to. If you hurt someone as a result, you should be prosecuted the same as you would any other time you harmed someone. I feel this way because of a simple, basic principal... Property rights. When you have property rights, that means you have the right to use or dispose of that property in any fashion you choose, so long as it does not violate the rights of others as well. So, what property am I referring to? Your body. Who owns that... Do you? If you do not have the right to make such decisions regarding your own body... And someone else, such as the government, has the right to make such decisions regarding what you can or cannot put in your body... Then you do not own your body, they do... And you are, by definition, a slave.

 It is better to take one pill than to drive everyone around you crazy whining about how much pain/how sick you are!

 Self medication really good for our health. Aside for it is the simplest and easiest way to relax, it also help us to mediate, to forget first the bad thing and think for the good thing that will help us to relax

 I self med... But I'm a med student and I know how bad it is for people to do it with out knowing what they really are doing

 I don't have health insurance any more I have to self medicate. I have GERD, IBS, Ulcers, Bipolar disorder, OCD, the list goes on.... Besides a lot of the good music wouldn't exist if people didn't self medicate lol.

 Self medication is more than alright.. It should be imposed ... All of the people who cant get what they need through a doctor should have every right to medicate themselves, doctor prescriptions are a joke and normally people as a whole are misdiagnosed most of the time... If anything give people a list of things they "might" have and let them go to town until they find what works for them... Then we can all finally get some peace from the crazies or the whiners or the overly depressed or whatever else you pill heads are suffering from... Have at it!

 The debate explanation is a little vague. Most prescription meds are good for one year and may be used for a recurring condition. Many are prescribed only to be used when a certain condition flares up.

Self-medicating is more like using a medication prescribed for something or someone else. Even using otc drugs and so-called "natural" remedies can be considered self- medication and can be dangerous.

 I don't see anything wrong with self medication. Health Care is a serious issue in the US and causes people to flock to Mexico to pick up prescription drugs without a prescription. If you know what you have, know what you need and follow proper dosage... I don't see anything wrong with it. Drug abuse is a different story as well as trying new medications because you're a hypochondriac or you've seen commercials that lead you to believe you need that med.

 If they know what they have got!

 Self medication is fine, if that is what it actually is. Drug abuse is totally different. Are we not self medicating when we take cold medicine or a pain reliever? When a woman eats chocolate to elevate here mood? Animals do it too, they eat particular leaves or grasses when they are ill. It is in our nature to seek to make ourselves feel better, the problem is when feeling better means you HAVE to have the drug.