Adderall: To Be or Not To Be Controlled?

Jason Caban

Cock

AVID 2

11/15/16

Adderall: To Be or Not to Be Controlled?

“I’m having some kind of problem in the Sci Li.” A pretty worthless statement, unless of course your name is Casey Schwartz. Casey, a former college student, was a heavy user of a prescription drug known as Adderall. She took the blue pill daily in plentiful amounts to get her schoolwork done and get the edge on her hectic schedule. Little did Schwartz know how powerful the drug could be. An overdose of the drug caused her to experience a panic attack coupled with a heavy “trip.” That experience allowed her to come to the realization that Adderall should remain a prescription drug, and I must say, I do agree with her.

Adderall, a prescription drug, is an amphetamine (stimulant that affects the central nervous system) used to treat ADD/ ADHD and narcolepsy, among other disorders. Recreationally, it is used as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. The drug has many side effects, most commonly weight loss, anxiety and stomach pain. Adderall, along with other amphetamines, are some of the most common drugs to be abused and misused. They are highly addictive, and because of this, continue to grow in use. Effects of misuse and abuse include difficulty sleeping, slowed or difficult speech and aggressive behavior. Adderall, as with all other amphetamines, are closely related to the illegal drug methamphetamine, or “meth”, as seen in the similar name. In fact, meth and Adderall are separated by only one methyl group. While that one group does have a significant impact on the effects of the drugs, they do share a significant number of common side effects. That fact alone would be enough to convince many parents not to give Adderall to their child.

While Adderall is used to increase productivity in people with ADD and ADHD, it also does the same for most “regular” people. “[While] lower-performing people actually do improve on the drug… higher-performing people show no improvement or actually get worse,” says Martha Farah, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania. To add insult to injury, we haven’t even figured out the long-term effects of Adderall and abuse of it, meaning we don’t know the true power of the drug. The mere fact that good students can turn bad due to a supposed neurological enhancement drug shows how dangerous it can be, not just physically, but mentally.