Should some medications be engineered to be addictive to ensure compliance where!
Question:
Should some medications be engineered to be addictive to ensure compliance where it benefits patient & society
Answers:
That is a bad idea.
1) I avoid addictions, therefore, I would never take such a medication for bipolar disorder. Everyone I know also is worried about addictions, very much!!! Are you going to FORCE people to take the pills? Forced treatment is an absolute last resort, and should be, too.
2) Some drugs have really bad side effects, even death (liver failure, heart attack, heat stroke). Most psychiatric drugs are very risky in this way, but they are prescribed because that is all there is nowadays. If a test showed your liver was failing, then you have to deal with your mental illness relapse due to drug discontinuance PLUS withdrawal? And what if you relapse from your addiction problems and start taking that drug again?
3) some drugs just don't work and it takes awhile to know that. Too late! Addicted!! Some drugs work great, and after a couple years, they fail. Whatchagonnado?
Better to have supportive housing and consumer programs (programs for people with mental illness run by people with mental illness) and then people are more likely to take their meds because they are in a group that doesn't stigmatize them.
PLUS then you'd have to make Lipitor addictive too, since patients have a 50% discontinuation rate on pills like that that have very few side effects, but for people with mental illness, the discontinuation rate is 40% and those pills have really really bad uncomfortable side effects.