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Have to say that almost every psychotropic drug is dangerous. While I don't have hard numbers, I would not be surprised if 1 in 4 people were on them. Now it extends into elementary school, with Ritalin.
It is very troubling. If you remove the pain of anxiety, you remove the desire to fix the solution of anxiety.

Have to say that almost every psychotropic drug is dangerous.

Have to say that every drug that requires a prescription is potentially hazardous. That's why they're not distributed over the counter. For that matter, a little Tylenol and a little alcohol and you can kiss your liver goodbye. Psychotropic drugs, used appropriately, save lives, jobs and families. There is a big difference between a little healthy anxiety and a true anxiety disorder. Or maybe you've never had a panic attack while driving 65 mph on the freeway?

If you remove the pain of anxiety, you remove the desire to fix the solution of anxiety.

Exactly. Just as the pain you feel when you place your hand too close to the stove warns you that it's time to move your hand, emotional pain warns you that it's time to re-examine your beliefs or thinking patterns.

I'm of the opinion that the "mood enhancing" pharmaceutical drugs are merely socially-accepted forms of escapism, and, at their essence, they aren't truly better "solutions" than alcohol or heroin. They treat the symptom, not the underlying problem. And worse still, they mask the underlying problem and allow the patient to avoid dealing with it. If you have a bone sticking out of your arm, you can probably mask the pain with enough morphine... but that's not going to help you much in the long run.

I find the whole trend of "fixing" emotional pain with drugs to be very disturbing. Life always gives us the lessons we need, and spiritual growth always involves some pain -- the fact that this new breed of doctor tells their patient to simply avoid the lesson altogether is counter-productive to individual growth.