I think that we turn to medication to soon when it comes to children. When they are overly hyper we put them on meds before we even try to get them in something to keep them active and out of the home for a couple hours a day. There's so many other options than to put kids on meds right away. 
For older people I think that the doctors over prescribe them medicine, because they could be taking 6-7 or more pills a day and no wonder why they are not active and they only seat at home or in a nursing home room, because they don't feel well because of all the drugs in them. 
I was on 7 different medicine and some of the meds I wasn't quit sure what they were for, and I felt like crap throwing up and having headaches, so I stopped taking all of them and I felt 100 percent better. The meds are to help you get better, they only make you worse when your on so many. Some of the prescriptions are for the same thing. They just want your money for buying the prescriptions they give you, and than for you to come back because your still not feeling well. I think their should be a limit of how much a doctor could prescribe you.  
I don't know maybe I am wrong on my opinion, but who knows who is right because everyone sees things in their on way.