Adderall is a drug many student's couldn't bare to live without in college. The little orange capsule allowed you survive through many difficult nights of studying and cramming for final exams. It was the extra boost you needed to finish the twenty page research paper you had an entire month to work on, but decided to start two days before the due date.
Adderall is a useful drug and for many years helped myself with academic struggles, but the truth it's essentially one chemical short in the chemical equation used to make Meth Amphetamine. The only difference between the pharmaceutical drug and what Heisenburg cooks in his winnebago is one methyl-group molecule. A simple molecule is the difference between being labeled a drug addict and having ADHD.
This video from an interview with Dr. Carl Hart, a professor who specializes in drug abuse and addiction, gives more insight on the issue.
After watching Dr. Carl Hart's interview it allowed me to view my experience with Adderall use as a child in school differently.
I started taking Adderall at the age of 10 when teachers began to notice how frequently I was day dreaming during class. Teachers began recommending to my mother for me to be tested for ADD. I was tested and doctors determined I was ADD.
Once I began to start taking the drug I became completely focused on my school work. My grades improved dramatically and I began to have more confidence in my studies, I even began to be elected for honors courses in high school because of the drug.
Over time though I began to notice changes with the drug. I needed more and more each year in order to feel the effects I once felt. It got to the point where even 50 milligrams, which is triple the recommended dosage for the average person, barely had an affect on me anymore. I started to think I no longer needed the drug and began to stop taking it in my senior year of high school. This was when I realized I became addicted to the drug.
My ability to do work without using Adderall was virtually impossible. My body and my brain had been so used to the drug being in my system, it became difficult for me to keep the focus I once had. During my senior year I went through periods of being on and off the drug, believing I needed it in order to obtain better grades. Eventually, I gathered the courage to stop using Adderall all together, just like anyone who was addicted to an illegal drug. Adderall is in fact an addictive drug whether many college students want to believe it or not.
For some reason in our country, the common believe is there's a difference between being addicted to Adderall and Meth Amphetamine. That it's not as "bad" to be taking a drug such as Adderall to get through your school work, even if you don't need it. The reality is Adderall can be as bad. The only difference is one is prescribed to you by a trustworthy family doctor, and the other is sold to you by some shady guy in an all black Honda Civic. Either way if you become addicted to either drug your just picking a different poison.
