Originally Posted by
Cherybaby66 
I'm genuinely curious too, as to why you would not define this person as drug addicted?
Is there a concrete definition?
I don't think this qualifies as drug dependence, especially when they are taking two pain prescriptions at a time, 40 pills or more...and they are gone in two weeks time.
That sounds pretty addicted to me. But, who knows.
That's simply not how it is viewed here. If you're taking drugs simply to alter your mental state, barring any pre-existing mental or physical illness you may be self-medicating, you're not considered a drug addict here, but a sick person in need of medicine. If drugs negatively impact your life, you're an addict, if they make it better, you're not, basically.
Remember we have no DEA Gestapo or equivalent harassing individuals and doctors in Canada. The medical system is not "for private profit", either, unless you elect to pay a private institution of your own volition, which is not really necessary since the public system is fine.
Originally Posted by
lillie If you suffer from withdrawal when you quit taking a substance, you are addicted to it, period.
Usually a line is drawn between physical dependence that virtually anyone taking a wide-range of medications will be left with and the psychological obsession of addiction. By this definition an ungodly chunk of the US and Canadian population are antidepressant addicts.