Sure, I can understand that point of view, although I don't quite agree.
But I probably should have mentioned somewhere in my comment that I believe pretty much all drugs should be legal, even just for people who want to get high -- so of course I advocate individual choice for drugs that demonstrate benefits that can actually improve one's quality of life (beyond simple recreation).
Ever heard about Thalidomide? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide
I think there are good reasons why we are careful with prescribing drugs.
Take cocaine for example. Before 1900 they used it a lot. Even on children. But cocaine addiction caused a lot of troubles.
Are Ritalin and Thalidomide in the same reference classes, that it makes any sense to compare them? Specifically, one drug was offered for less than 3 years or so, and then withdrawn due to horrible unexpected side-effects that were suspected within a year or two. And another drug has been publicly prescribed for roughly 50 years and has been investigated in detail with a long list of pretty well-understood side-effects. (You tell me which is which.)
But I probably should have mentioned somewhere in my comment that I believe pretty much all drugs should be legal, even just for people who want to get high -- so of course I advocate individual choice for drugs that demonstrate benefits that can actually improve one's quality of life (beyond simple recreation).