Adderall And Ritalin: Movie Analysis

The pressure to accomplish more, do more, and be more is part of being human, and in the time of Adderall and Ritalin, accomplishing that has become easier than ever. These prescription pills are no longer simply used to help attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults. These prescription stimulants are in college classrooms, on Wall Street, and just about anywhere, "the need to succeed" has turned into "not enough hours in the day." But there are costs to using these unprescribed pills. “Take your pills” is a movie that examines what some view as a courageous new world of limitless possibilities, and others see as a complete disaster, as these pills have become the defining drug of a generation. The film is centered on

There is a common misperception that because medications are prescribed by physicians, they are safe even when used illegally or by another person than they were prescribed for. “Using some stimulants even in the short term can trigger paranoia; high doses can cause an increase in body temperature and abnormal heartbeat. There’s also a risk of cardiovascular problems and fatal seizures.”( Jed 1) Your brain reacts with these prescription drugs in a particular way and misusing or overdose can often cause complications like vomiting, slow breathing, irregular heart rate, increase in blood pressure or the person can even fall into a coma or die in worst cases. Individuals using adderall illegally rarely pay attention to dosages and often overdose. “Clinical signs of Adderall(®) overdose in humans and dogs include hyperactivity, hyperthermia, tachycardia, tachypnea, mydriasis, tremors, and seizures.”(Fitzgerald 1) When taken as prescribed by a physician, there is little risk of addiction, but if taken recreationally for the "euphoric" effect, the risk of abuse will be enhanced. “Adderall use is associated with myocardial infarction and even sudden death reported the case of a 15-year-old male subject who suffered a myocardial infarction after taking two 20 mg tablets of Adderall.” (Lakhan 1) When you take pills you are not prescribed or for something nonmedical you are putting you life at risk. According to the DEA's Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, from 2001 to 2005 “unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114%, and "one-third of all new abusers of prescription drugs in 2006 were 12 to 17 year-olds."(Urschel 1) It's important for us all to pay close attention to what we can do in our own homes to stop perpetuating these statistics. Your health is just something else that comes into danger when abusing prescription