Adderall: The Drug No One Warned You About When someone is diagnose with ADHD, they could be under the pressure there is a lot of support given to his or her way. Special classes are given with the disorder and the programs are taught in a particular way where it slows the material down for the individual. The offer of drugs are also given like Adderall or Ritalin. Adderall interacts with the brain to “increase executive functions, such as ability to focus, memory and response control” (Fenton). Adderall is a high dosage drug with a variety of side effects which is unpleasant to hear when children consume it without an actual test to prove they have the disorder, to find out they end up abusing or selling the drug. In the United States, Adderall …show more content…
is a well-known prescription drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The formula Adderall contains is supposed to calm the minds of young children, teens, and adults with over-productive minds. The problem to this issue is Adderall is being given to kids without test that proves they have the disorder. Many young teen and adult abuse it for other reasons than what they should use it for. In 2005, there were “31.8 million prescription for the drug” (Twohey). The number of people prescribed to the drug have a high chance of not completely needing it. With the high demand of the drug we need to inform it that “society tends to push achievements as the be-all, end-all of existence, it’s easy to see why so many turn toward abusing these drugs when the desperation to perform grows way too overwhelming” (Ragan). Encouraging nonusers to use the drug to get far in school. Adderall comes with a variety of side effect which is very unfortunate when young adults abuse it, since it is so easy to be prescribed at the doctor’s office. It is prescribed so easily that it is causing induvial to experience the side effects. The side effects that Adderall leaves in your body behind are being experience by people with and without the disorder.
For instance, “moodiness, paranoia, insomnia, and loss of appetite, nausea and headaches” (Boorady) are some of the cons the drug comes with. However, people who are in favor of Adderall do have their points. For starters, it does help people focus more in school or at work and make it easier on them to keep up with learning new material. The drug might also help keep the kid or teen calm in class while it is in session so the individual will not disturb others. The drug still has a high dosage for the problem and will most likely fall into the wrongs hands. In worst cases, patients could get “hallucinations and heart attacks” (Twohey) during the use of the drug. The drug can ‘completely change a user’s personality with prolonged use” (Ragan) after harsh side effects it is still not being restricted, nor limiting the dosage someone takes. Dee Owens, an employee in addiction prevention for over 20 years said: “I’ve talked to hundreds—no—thousands of people, and not a single person ever meant to become addict. They just wake up one day ---and there they are” (Ellison). Dee Owen making the statement clear when Adderall is being prescribed too often it can be used for the wrong reasons. U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers are “recommending warnings on the drug labels” (Twohey), therefore to let users know the side effects before digesting it for safety …show more content…
and health matters since the abuse number for the drug is so high. The abuse of Adderall from kids, teens, and adults have increased enormously. Because of the large amount of people who are counting on the drug to escape their problems; they make it a need to their everyday lifestyle. “Adderall under the same category as cocaine, opium and morphine, drugs with a high potential for abuse” (Twohey) and when it is handle out so easily it could increase “dosages much bigger than their brain chemistries can actually handle” (Ragan) making it unfortunate for the individuals since the side effects get worst. Doctors making the drug Adderall, easier to get a hand of. On the other hand the drug does improve to “boost their productivity-providing a rush- staying focus” (Ellison). Therefore teen and adults are abusing it for a study drug when it is filled with side effects that harm you. Brad Lamm, president of NY intervention agency say “There's a lot of denial around these drugs, and the danger is easy to minimize because that prescription label can make you feel what you're doing is safe” (Ellison) warning reader even when it is prescribed, users should still take precaution. When a student from college went back to talk to his or her consular and said, “I feel like I’ve built my whole GPA on this, how do I stop now?” Proving the point when students overuse a drug, they are most likely to depend on the drug and think they need it for everything. In fact users “are at high risk for developing major depressive disorder than other kids” (Boorady), which decreased their social skills, growth and the way they eat. Being under such a drug is very dangerous and should have stricter rules around it. The solution that could help with decrease Adderall for users should be by making the ADHD test harder.
Doctors should make a test that on people with ADHD can consume. With that restriction it should limit people without the disorder not get their hands on it. Eric Heiligenstein, clinical director of psychiatry at UW-Madisons’s Health Services said, “We have students who come in and say they got it just asking for it at other clinics” (Twohey) as it should be. The quote informing us that Adderall is not being taken serious in the medical industry. Mr. Heiligenstein also mentioned, “students will excess pills are often willing to sell them or give them away” (Twohey) stating back to my solution to make the test a bit more ADHD proof so individuals without the disorder struggle. For example, asking questions that only people with overly active minds can answer. Another solution that should be promoted is stricter law around the drug. Since it is so easy to get and to sell, Doctors should inform work, and school that the induvial is a user of the drug and to keep a closer eye on them so they don’t overuse or sell. Letting your boss or teacher know what you are taking is a good thing, so they know what to do when something unpractical happens. The last solution to help improve Adderall use is to have school and work programs on getting to know drugs, what they do, side effects, and preventing them from spreading. Real life situations could be taught in this program and could
influence a minds. Scientists research the data and found out, “being on the medication does not increase your risk of sudden death, all the way up to 64 years of age” (Boorady), the fact that the drug will not kill you but just using the drug will affect everything about your day. Don’t be mistaken the drug will make your body weaker and end up giving up easier over the years. If used it for the right reason: ADHD, it could help instead of hurting human beings with the side effects. If abused, it is most likely to experience unhealthy episodes and not feeling like oneself is just not worth getting sick for a grade. In wrap up, it is suggested to only use the drug on serious situations when it is needed. Adderall is a mixed drug with a lot of chemicals that is dangerous for the body and mind. “The goal is to determine what will give him or her the most benefit, with the least side effect” (Boorady). The statement is true in all possible ways since people want to help out other people with the disorder but without the high dosage formula. The demand for Adderall nuber is too high and is requested too often and needs to decrease dramatically. Doctors who are not watching closely to their patients could end up prescribing and allowing others to use the drug poorly. If the medical industry could pay better attention on what symptoms their patients have so they could be prescribed with medication that is suited for them. When in questioning whether a drug is right for you or if it is “too much”: always read the warning level first.
Why did the ADHD boy not introduce his girlfriend to any of his friends? He could not remember her name; or better yet, why would a chicken be considered ADD? It never gets all the way across the road because of all the distractions. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental and behavioral disorder that affects 3 to 5 percent of all school-age children. The American Psychiatric Association explains that, “Individuals with ADHD may know what to do but do not consistently do what they know because of their inability to efficiently stop and think prior to responding, regardless of the setting or task” (Berne 2).
Within my group’s pro-Adderall campaign, we promoted adderall use among high school students who were struggling with a relatively poor attention span, inability to focus, and were thus unproductive in their schoolwork. We created a video commercial that follows the same tactics pharmaceutical advertisements used, described in Dumit’s Drugs for Life. Dumit emphasized how ambiguous pharmaceutical ads were in order to reach a broader audience, and reinforced that all people experienced the stated symptoms to some extent. The companies only needed a small fraction of the viewers to self-diagnose themselves and purchase the product. Likewise, we targeted students that were experiencing heavier workloads coming into high school, and understood that the majority would struggle in maintaining attention throughout long hours of lectures and worksheets. We used this strategy and targeted all students, both a male and female, in the video since in this period in history it would be offensive if we directed the ad specifically towards males, following the stereotype of the “problematic boy”.
As stated previously, medication is the most common option that parents choose for their children. The most common prescriptions are Dexedrine, Cylert, Ritalin, and Adderall. Medication is highly effective. For around 75%-90% of prescribed patients, these work to solve their issues. This is a definite advantage to taking medication is that it is almost guaranteed to work. There are drawbacks to taking medication however; the trial-and-error process, cost of medication, and the side effects that can come with medication. As with any brain chemical medication, there comes a trial-and-error process to determine the right balance and the right amount to really curb the symptoms that come with. Just like any medication that people need to operate, the cost does add up whereas with behavioral therapy, there is no medication to buy and thus no costs. Lastly, there are side effects that come with ADHD. These can be insomnia, nervousness, headaches, and weight loss. Despite all these drawbacks, medication is the fastest and most effective way to treat ADHD (“Identifying and Treating Attention Deficit
This is said with the idea that even though Adderall is a Schedule II Substance, it doesn’t seem as dangerous or serious as heroin. A big part in the philosophy of this is because it’s extremely easy to obtain on college campuses. In an interview done by Hercampus.com, Amanda states that, “On my campus, […] Adderall is extremely easy to find. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask for it if your friends take it regularly and study with you often […] People will try to sell [Adderall] to get cash for laundry money” (Gladu 2015). Even though it’s a Schedule II drug, a nationwide survey showed that it’s only considered as “very dangerous” by two percent of students. The survey also showed that the percent of student that believe nonmedical use of Adderall is “not dangerous at all” or only “slightly dangerous” is a whopping eighty-one percent (Zadrozny 2015). In short, the students that take Adderall don’t see how it can affect them because they are getting the drug from their friend, or classmate, and not in some dark alleyway associated with the more intense
Most people want to succeed but today nobody wants to put in the hard work hence Adderall sounds like the perfect solution except no one stops to think of the consequences or even bother to do some research on the drug they are placing in their body. Advertisements are used to manipulate the reader into thinking they need Adderall, or as if they have ADHD. This manipulation works because not many people challenge advertisers instead the consumer takes it for what it is. The consumer silences themselves by not challenging and researching the drug that is being ingested. If the claim being made by the advertisement fits their problem and it has a fix many will fall for the ruse. If a product does more good than bad and is supported by scientific
ADHD was a little known disorder until the 1990’s, when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1991 included ADHD as a disability. It started to become more and more known to parents that there could be an explanation to why their child was hyperactive. The Food and Drug Administration also played a part by making the drugs used to treat ADHD more known to the public. What was once seen as a simple fact of childhood was now being seen more as a hyperactive disorder. Companies that made the medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, would advertise to parents that the medicines would make the child smarter or more inclined to do choirs around the house. The companies would hype up the product to make parents feel like their child needed the medication in order to succeed in schooling at all or just to be a normal child. An Irish company once printed 50,000 copies of a comic book showing superheroes promoting the medication to children, saying it helped them to do their job as superheroes. As interest in ADHD as an answer to childhoo...
The use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents dates back to 1937 when Charles Bradley conducted a study by prescribing the stimulant amphetamine sulphate (Benzedrine) to modify the behavior of children with severe behavioral disturbance. (Adams, 1991) Since these studies were conducted, more and more children and adolescents have been prescribed stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers for various mental disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The potential side effects that happen to children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.).
There has been an increase in the Misuse and Abuse of prescription drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). the number of children on medication for ADHD has grown from 600,000 in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2013 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But although there is an over-medication of ADHD drugs, there is actually and under-medication since not all the right people are getting medicated. Many individuals lack insurance or are insured with health plans that do not cover the outpatient prescription drugs they need and cannot afford.10 Therefore, Individuals covered by various health plans and programs, and those who have no prescription drug coverage, pay significantly different prices for the same medications. As the demand for ADHD drugs grows, higher prescribing rates and increasing drug prices result, which creates problems for these number of Americans who cannot afford the treatment they require.
Many times, ADHD is diagnosed by unqualified people. A parent usually receives a letter from the child’s teacher stating that he or she is exhibiting behavior problems and a meeting is scheduled. At the meeting, the parents are urged to allow faculty to assess the child. A report is then written and the parents take the child and the report to the doctor and the child is given medication, usually a stimulant, to cure the child of his or her illness.
Typical ADHD drug overdoses lead to an estimated 3,000 Emergency Room visits each year (Vinerd. 2006). In 2010 alone, there were 17, 000 human exposures to ADHD medications. This number is just what was reported to the Poison Control Center. Eighty percent of these overdoses occurred in kids younger than 19 years old. The other twenty percent of the overdoses occurred in adults (Stiller, 2013).This leads to the number one question: Who is to blame for these overdoes? Do we blame the doctors prescribing the medications or do we blame society?
Over the last decade, a new epidemic has risen in America regarding the sustained trend in teens abusing and misusing stimulant drugs prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), specifically Ritalin and Adderall. There has been an increase in the number of teens diagnosed with ADHD and practitioners prescribing stimulants as treatment. These drugs are known in the teen community as the so-called “study drug”. An alarming high percentage of teens that are not diagnosed with ADHD are using this drug in attempt to achieve academic success as well as abusing it for recreational purposes. Due to the increase in teens being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed stimulants, the availability of ADHD stimulants has increased and are being abused and misused by other teens. In addition, caregiver’s lax attitudes as well as not supporting school safety prescription policies, has contributed to this disturbing trend in teens misusing and abusing the so-called “Study Drug”.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder that causes children to have problems with paying attention, trouble with following instructions, have impulsive behaviors and become easily distracted. Medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are used to treat the symptoms of this disorder by helping the patient to focus and pay attention while also curbing their impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. Side effects of these medications are, but not limited to, anxiety, addiction and in some cases psychosis. Proponents of giving ADHD medication to children argue that ADHD is a real disorder in children and the medication does improve the symptoms of the disorder by a large margin as well as being cost effective. Also, not only are the parents happy with the outcome of their children taking the prescribed medication but so are the children themselves. Proponents also argue that by not letting parents of the children, young adults and adults choose to take these prescriptions when diagnosed with ADHD that the medical and psychiatric communities would be in violation of the principle of autonomy. Justice as well would be violated since most of the burden of dealing with all the symptoms caused by this disorder would fall onto those with ADHD and partly on their families. Opponents of giving ADHD medication to children point out that it is not only going to children with ADHD but also being prescribed to those not diagnosed with the disorder as well as the pills being given or sold to other children and young adults. They also claim that the full side effects of ADHD medication are still not known and could have harmful long- lasting side effects on the children taking the medications. In this case, the princip...
Adderall can have serious side effects if taken without a medical reason. Adderall is a Schedule II drug, which means there can be a strong chance of abuse and dependence (Pantovich). The abuse of Adderall can be compared to the addiction people receive from the use of cocaine (Pantovich). The drug can cause lack of creativity (Pantovich). The use of Adderall is intended for patients with a disorder...
This could lead to hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and obsessions. (Amphetamine) Examples of amphetamines include adderall, benzidrine, and dexedrine. Students often abuse prescriptions for adderall as a study tool. I’ve known students at my previous school in Miami take adderall during every exam when they weren’t even prescribed it, which is a perfect example of amphetamine abuse. I’ve even heard of students becoming addicted to such drugs.
Many students and young people trying to leave marks on their jobs now use brain-enhancing "smart" pills to help boost their exam grades or their ability to work long hours without tiring. It's quite possible that employers will start to demand that employees use stimulants. Drugs, originally made for dementia patients and children diagnosed with ADHD, are now available without prescription. Healthy individuals use them solely to improve their memory, motivation and attention, without any prior consult with their doctors. Many of these drugs are available on the Internet which comes in handy to young people who want to save their money for the future. What they do not take into consideration when buying stimulants on the Internet is the risk of not knowing for certain what they are getting. Moreover, long-term consequences and safety of the technologies are not known. Scientists haven’t done enough research to know how much of an impact even a short period of using such substances leaves on our brains.