be strong medicine

euphemismTo be a very severe and unpleasant solution to a problem. Look, I know these measures are strong medicine, but the unfortunate reality is that this crisis requires difficult decisions that many people aren't going to be happy about. Don't you think that firing most of the interns is strong medicine? Especially since we can easily fix the problem they caused? Well, I have a court order, so I really don't care if you think seizing the records is strong medicine!