The documentary, which premiered in March, examines the use of "stimulant medications" and how are they are being used everywhere in American life, but after watching the documentary for not even 25 minutes I realized very quickly that this documentary was very one-sided.
The doc interviews a ton of people who have taken these stimulant drugs, mainly Adderall, at some point in their lives. Several of them talk about how they are taking the drugs to "get ahead" in a stressful environment, but even when talking to people that have been formally diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, the direction of the documentary is solely trying to prove that these drugs are nothing more than a steroid for the brain. To me, it seems like they are trying to prove that people are solely taking these drugs just for performance aspects.
The main point in this documentary is the use of these stimulants with college kids, in fact, the use of these drugs is tracked all the way back to the 1930s. College kids realized quickly that these drugs can help with that late night cramming sessions, or if you're a student with a prescription, you can make extra cash selling to kids who are craving that sense of focus that Adderall gives them.
As a college student that has been around people who are taking these pills just because they are craving that focus around stressful times, the documentary doesn't really shine the light on the long-term effects this has on the students and people who don't need it for these attention disorders.
In my opinion, the documentary is a good representation of how these substances are being abused in the American Life, but also it doesn't show what this is doing to the cognitive development of the people who are taking for once again the "crave" of productivity.
