The cynic in me finally thinks that it simplifies to this:
Pills can make you feel good. You aren't supposed to just be able to feel good without doing some sort of "work" to "earn" it. So the pills are cheating. We'll give you a concession if your circumstances make you feel extra bad, but only until you reach the normal level of "feel-good" that should be afforded to you by your station in life.
The whole "war on drugs" exploits this involuntary tic in popular opinion.
It's all about "if somebody has something I don't, I'm worse off as a result". It's the same psychology that leads to people telling a lunch lady she can't make such good food because their kids' lunch-lady-prepared food isn't as good[1], so, therefore, their kids are worse off than they would be with everybody having crappy food. People try to justify it as "we should all be equal" or some garbage.
From the link: "Update: The day this article was published, it was announced that Eriksson will be able to continue baking her own bread and providing healthful vegetable options. The incident has been called a 'misunderstanding,' according to Swedish news source dt.se."
In general I agree with your sentiment, but not to the extent that you do. 40 people a day die from prescription painkiller overdoses. They are, in fact, addictive. And they can and will kill you if abused. (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20111101/4...)
I'm very much a libertarian kind of guy and part of me wants to say "well so, its their life, let them do what they want". But these deaths have serious societal repercussions: the removal of an otherwise productive body and the orphaning of children.
I don't like shades of gray, but this seems like the government overreacting to a problem. I don't think people should go to jail because of substance abuse, I do think that people in legitimate pain deserve to be relieved from that pain, but I also think the government has a legitimate role in regulating these drugs.
Pills can make you feel good. You aren't supposed to just be able to feel good without doing some sort of "work" to "earn" it. So the pills are cheating. We'll give you a concession if your circumstances make you feel extra bad, but only until you reach the normal level of "feel-good" that should be afforded to you by your station in life.
The whole "war on drugs" exploits this involuntary tic in popular opinion.