Adderall Abuse and Addiction
Have you heard of Adderall? If you guessed it’s a prescription medication, you’re right. If you guessed it was a prescription painkiller, you’re wrong. It’s a medication that’s commonly prescribed for those fighting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder… or narcolepsy. And according to Andrew Nash at The Morning Sun, it’s the new drug of choice for busy high school students who need assistance to keep up with the ever increasing demands of college entrance boards. In fact, it’s the new Ritalin, a drug commonly used and abused for the same purposes, respectively.
Adderall Abuse Versus Adderall Addiction
It’s a discussion that is being debated right now: is Adderall use with the sole purpose of making it through a full day of school followed by sports practices and after school activities and then make it through a night’s worth of homework. Is faltering energy a medical need that requires medication? Some say no; others say yes.
The Argument for Adderall Use
Says one student who takes Adderall: “If you take it in the morning, it will last all day. When school is in session, I’ll take Adderall about every week to help me study and get through the week. Some weeks, I’ll take it two to three times a week just to focus in class and get through tests. It makes you more awake and more focused. When you’re taking tests, it helps you remember things better.”
The Argument for Adderall Abuse and Addiction
Those who are against it generally point to the fact that many kids who take it don’t have a prescription for it. They don’t have ADHD but buy the pills from students who do. If you don’t have a prescription for Adderall but are taking it, then they consider it Adderall abuse. If you do this often and depend on it to get through the day, then it’s Adderall addiction.
Steve Erwin is an associate vice president for a campus where Adderall use/ abuse is rampant. He says:
“Our policy on the use of Adderall is that is a prescribed drug that many would use legitimately because of legitimate health conditions. As far as those using it illicitly, and there are those that do so, that would be a violation of student policy. Use of any prescribed drug outside a prescription specifically for the drug is illegal.”
What Do You Think: Adderall Use or Adderall Abuse/ Addiction?
It’s inarguable that using a prescription medication that isn’t prescribed to you is abuse, and few doctors are going to prescribe Adderall simply because you need help sitting through a study group. And the risks of Adderall addiction—like Ritalin addiction, speed addiction, crystal meth addiction, and other addiction to other uppers—are serious. What do you think?
Tags: adderall abuse, adderall addiction, adderall addiction treatment, Prescription Drug Addiction, prescription drug addiction treatment, prescription drug rehab
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