Is it normal i was on 8 antipsychotics/antidepressants from 13 to 17?

Spot on. It seems like every little idiosyncrasy in people gets diagnosed as some sort of mental disorder anymore. The problem with that is that EVERYONE has idiosyncrasies and whose definition of "normal" is correct? Not to mention that a lot of these psychiatric doctors seem to be rather, uh, eccentric, people and on a lot of psychiatric drugs, themselves, so how is their judgment any better than anyone else's? It's a real shame.

I totally agree that a lot of this in kids is the result of lazy parents (or ones who are sort of hypochondriacs when it comes to their kids). One of the most genius people I know was actually "diagnosed" with mental retardation as a kid, and his mother seems to be obsessed with telling everyone he's a "miracle" who has overcome his "extreme disorder", and loves to make his identity about that (and clearly believes the doctors responsible for that ridiculous horse shit "diagnosis", who have told her that he's just a miracle case since they didn't want to admit they were WAY off the mark). I also think doctors like that like to capitalize on lazy/hypochondriac/desperate/well intentioned but naive parents who are willing to medicate their kids. A lot of teachers also like to try to get parents on board with that since it makes their jobs easier.

Sadly doesn't surprise me. This seems very common in the school system. I actually had a psycho of a third grade teacher who openly suggested Adderall to her students and their parents (although if anyone needed psychiatric help, it was probably her, lol). It was a couple of weirdos who were just as bad at my junior high school (same school district and both the third grade teacher and these two had been there for decades; seems something must be in the water in that district) that unfortunately talked my parents into having me put on SSRIs, though. I spent several years falling asleep at my desk, too tired to really do much of anything, became depressed and hopeless, and these idiots (as well as the doctors that put me on those meds) thought I was "so much better" as well. Actually, the last doctor I talked to when I was 19 or 20 and practically begging for help because I had become so suicidal seemed to get defensive and tell me I was "being a bitch" and asked if I was on my period. Like, WTF!? Got off of the meds after that (and ditched the stupid doctor), and my life significantly improved.

Of course your teachers thought that.

School isn't top of my list of screwed-up institutions (religion has that spot), but I concluded a long time ago that school isn't _really_ about educating kids so they understand the world they live in and can make a positive contribution to society. School is primarily about keeping curious, energetic, semi-civilised little maniacs off the street for most of the day, providing childcare so parents can have jobs so they can buy things and keep the cogs of industry grinding away, and getting kids used to the idea that life is about doing pointless, soul-destroying crap for a large chunk of most days.

Kids who are drugged up to their eyeballs sitting in a classroom and staring blankly at a wall achieves the first of those two aims, and since semi-comatose kids don't cause any problems for the teachers, of course they consider that a positive thing.

That was my experience as well. I was put on a cocktail of SSRIs at around 12 or 13 and stayed on them until I was 20, and they definitely caused nothing but problems for me. The doctors did not care and didn't even listen to me (a couple were even hateful and insulting). All the drugs did was cause me to become intensely suicidal, feel hopeless, and fall asleep all the time and feel drowsy (I always felt like I was in almost a dream state).

Okay but literally he diagnosed me with ADHD too. I never had issues focusing until I started being beaten. His words: "You don't fit the criteria exactly but I'm going to diagnose you anyway."
Got put on Ritalin, but only very briefly. Refused to take it after about a month.