Thanks for this thoughtful reply. I should probably not have commented on frequency of meth prescriptions, my only reference point is that it's never been brought up to me by my doctor and don't know any friends who take it for ADHD.
Regarding withdrawal symptoms, it's again anecdotal on my end. I have been taking prescribed adderall for ADD since I was a teen. When I do go off it for a prolonged period of time, I don't notice withdrawal so much as a mood shift and a decline in productivity. I'm more or less comfortable being lethargic and lazy when I'm off it, but I take it because I think it makes me better at being a person (ability to focus for one, but also just taking the time to do menial but important every-day tasks I might otherwise let go by the wayside, for example).
I think this speaks to your point though, that in correct dosages the withdrawal in (pharmaceutical grade) drugs can be safely mitigated.
On a slight tangent, I'd like to point to the ongoing opioid crisis. I wonder if the reason it occurred was not only because doctors made the drug readily available, but because so many people were told by their doctor--a generally trusted authority--to take larger doses? If it were only accessibility that led to the crisis, there may be some truth to the idea that some drugs are true public health hazards.
Apologies for rambling a bit, I'm somewhat on the fence about this topic, and I know this is a complicated issue to unravel.