America's heavy reliance on prescription drugs is being framed as a national crisis, bad news for the drug industry and for a public that increasingly depends on pills for basic daily functions.

• Almost every ordinary human activity in the US — sleeping, sex, focus — now leans on some pharmaceutical product.
• People on SSRIs, benzos like Valium and Xanax, or stimulants like Adderall are arguably not fully themselves, much like someone who has been drinking.
• A whole population under the influence adds up to a different, less human country than the one that existed before.
• The pattern looks deliberate enough to raise the question of whether the damage is intentional.
• The blame does not sit only with drug companies — people are willing participants and could stop.

Outlook: Expect more political pressure on the drug industry and louder calls to cut back on everyday prescriptions.