Adderall is just one of the many prescription drugs used by students to aid their studying. It is an amphetamine prescribed to ADHD patients. It acts as a stimulant to battle their lack of focus. However, those not prescribed Adderall can still feel it’s benefits. Some researchers estimate about one and three college students take it without a prescription.
There is also a positive correlation between length of time in student (grade level) and usage. At the University of Kentucky, 50 percent of upperclassmen admitted to using ADHD stimulants at least once before. Since so many students are using it anyways, should Adderall be a drug that is sold over the counter at pharmacies?
Adderall does have some very intriguing qualities to it. It is used to improve attention span,
to help control impulses, and to stimulate the nervous system. This is beneficial for students because the cognitive upswing keeps them up to do their work. Athletes, one of many being Richard Sherman, take it as well as they believe it enhances their performance. In fact Dr. Gary Wadler stated himself that it is no doubt performance-enhancing.
However, that is one example of the abuses of it. Adderall is prescribed to help ADHD patients focus, not to improve athletic performance. The risk of abuse is present with any drug, but it will have more exposure if it is over the counter. If these drugs are abused they can cause nasty health side effects. These include:
- Weakness in arms and legs
- Seizures
- Pounding or fast heartbeat
- Shortness of breath
- Slow of impaired speech
- Hallucinations
- Aggressive behavior
- Blurred Vision
- Swelling
- Paranoia
Another risk with amphetamines is addiction. They are highly addictive. And with the increasing exposure by making the drug over the counter it could subject a lot more people to addiction. Those who abuse and misuse the drug actually have the highest risk for addiction. Taking doses more than what the doctor prescribes can also lead to addiction.
Optimind, natural alternative to Adderall.
So, although Adderall can be very beneficial to those who dont need it, it isn’t safe enough to sell publicly. At least not yet. Maybe if it was more regulated or it could be figured out how to make it a safe drug for the public. The increased exposure combined with the risk based off abuse and addiction already makes its not logical to legalize.
Side Note: There are alternatives. Some companies try selling their own version of Adderall that has similar effects, without the amphetamine.
I also wrote a post very similar to this and completely disagree with the idea. Any drug that is as addictive as addrall should not be able to be obtained easily by the public. It has very strong side effects and has the ability to ruin a person’s life. While doing my blog post I stumbled upon an article about a college student named Richard Fee . Fee was on a very successful path until he became addicted to what seems to be a harmless drug in adderall. This lead to him committing suicide and devastating his family. Now this is an extreme case but it shows how serious this drug can be. No matter how much a drug like this may “help you”, when there’s a chance for situations to turn out like Fee, no way should it just be handed out like candy.
Address should definitely not be sold over the counter. It is a drug that is very serious serious and shouldn’t be used unless someone has ADHD. It has major side effects such has insomnia, weight loss, and dizziness. From my own experience, my friend took adderall once and had a very bad effect even though she was prescribed it. She even experienced extreme migraines. This shows that even people who have ADHD still need to be careful with it. Adderall should only be used to people its prescribed to because it can have damaging effects. If people don’t need it they should take advantage of this.http://www.additudemag.com/adhd-web/article/5000.html
Having ADHD myself, I have a prescription to Adderall. I can attest to the fact that doctors and pharmacies are very strict about this medication. In order for me to get my prescription filled, I have to go to my doctor, get a physical written script, hand deliver it to the pharmacy, and wait until it is filled. Then, I have to show ID before finally getting my medication. I do this every single time I need a prescription filled; so once a month. To me, this shows that this is a serious and potentially very dangerous drug. Therefore, until and unless someone finds a way to make this safer, it should definitely not be sold over the counter. Then again, I myself have not heard of anyone who has had any serious side effects or addiction problems with this specific drug. Still, if the doctors are so insanely strict on it’s distribution, they must have a good reason.
I know that Adderall helps people to stay up longer and keep the focus. I was always angry knowing that they could not be sold over the counter, but after taking a closer look I realize that they have a lot of negative side effects. You are right they do need to make the drug a little safer if they ever want to be able to sell them over the counter.