Hello Darren, and if you are new, welcome. You specifically asked for a
response, indicating that your questions are not merely rhetorical. You
didn't say from whom, so I am taking the liberty of responding. I am
speaking for myself, not for Dr. Szasz nor for the list-owner.

> Do you agree with him that drugs should be legalized?

I agree with Dr. Szasz that drug prohibition is an infringement on
personal liberty.

> What would he say about all the people who die from
> drinking and driving accidents?

What is your real question here? Whether Dr. Szasz approves of laws
against driving after consuming alcohol? I don't know.

If you are looking for the thoughts of someone who opposes such laws, I
recommend you check out libertarian websites, for instance this one:
http://www.libertarian.co.uk/news/nr032.htm . Note that I am not
suggesting such viewpoints confer with Dr. Szasz's.

> I am not sure how I would handle a suicidal
> patient.

What is "a suicidal patient"?

As I man the MeTZelf (www.metzelf.nl) phone line, I occasionally receive
calls from people who tell me they wish to commit suicide. Sometimes
they even ask me to help them. I tell them that they are responsible for
their own lives. If they are looking for someone to take this
responsibility off their shoulders, they can call MHS, but they will pay
for it dearly in loss of liberty and control over themselves. They
cannot expect others (certainly not me) to endorse or facilitate their
wishes.

> In addition, many physiological disorders, in particular, endocrine
> disorders are not diagnosed based on tissue damage; instead, they are
> based on high and lows, that is, statistical norms. Further,
> migraines cannot always be detected via EEG's, but the person still
> SUFFERS (which suffices for a disease in the view of Ron Pies).

Does Ron Pies propose that psychiatry's unscientific methods are
justified because much of the theory behind somatic medicine is sloppy too?

Dr. Szasz's wonderfully witty aphorism applies here: "Two wrongs don't
make a right, but they make a good excuse." You can read more of those
pearls in his books The Second Sin, The Untamed Tongue, and Words to the
Wise.

Are you satisfied with these answers Darren?

Regards,
Mira