I&#x27;ve been thinking about this topic a lot recently, as I&#x27;ve been self-medicating depression and anxiety with Kratom leaf powder.<p>In my opinion, the line between self-medication and proper medication is ethically blurry. Yes, clearly it&#x27;s better to have a doctor supervising your treatment, but it&#x27;s also important to find relief from debilitating psychic pain. It can be incredibly frustrating when the best psychiatry has to offer simply isn&#x27;t good enough.<p>If someone is dependent on &quot;recreational&quot; drugs to soothe their pain, it&#x27;s labelled a &quot;crutch&quot; and seen as a weakness. If someone is dependent on prescribed drugs (SSRIs, etc.) then it&#x27;s just considered proper psychiatric treatment.<p>I agree that if someone is keeping themselves &quot;buzzed&quot; to mitigate dysfunction, there is definitely a problem. The solution, however, is often unclear. Could this person find relief &quot;naturally&quot; (exercise, diet, therapy, etc.)? Could a regular regimen of a different drug help, and if so, which one would be best? Would a drug that&#x27;s currently illegal help more than drugs which are currently legal?<p>The state of medicine in 2016 is clearly strong, but psychiatry has a long way to go. I applaud the work MAPS is doing to promote the medicinal application of psychedelics, I&#x27;m encouraged by the research being done with Ketamine, and I&#x27;m eagerly watching the development of ALKS-5461, an antidepressant that incorporates Buprenorphine (an opioid).