Comments on: Adderall: Panacea or Delusion?

By: David

David — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:36:35 +0000

This looks a bit virus-y.

By: DS

DS — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:53:10 +0000

“A student without access to neuroenhancing drugs is comparable to a student without a computer.”

Are you kidding me?

I understand that you are comparing Adderall to an advantage like a laptop, but they couldn’t be any more different. Adderall is a MEDICINE for people with ADD. It’s not something that can be purchased in a store. It requires a prescription. Anyone can buy a computer- it doesn’t affect the way your brain works.

Adderall is for people with a medical problem – it shouldn’t be used by people as a crutch to think better.

By: ADM

ADM — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:42:01 +0000

Very interesting articles. I think this is a huge problem on campus. But I think it’s important for “Consider” to distinguish between “providing an open forum for discussion” and giving a 5 step guide for using adderall.

It sends the wrong message to have 2 viewpoints on the issue and then place a “how to” manual supporting only one of those viewpoints on the back page of your magazine. If people are willing to take prescription drugs to get ahead, they have to be willing to accept the consequences. Those consequences might include not actually getting your work done.

I feel that by placing this “Five simple steps for a successful day on Adderall” blurb in your magazine, the magazine is promoting the use of the drug to get ahead, not leaving it up to the authors of the viewpoints to convince their readers. More thought should have been put into including this guide in the publication, because it takes away from the objectivity of the magazine.

By: AMT

AMT — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:53:25 +0000

Nice, I totally agree!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:29:19 +0000

Those who abuse adderall are just cheating themselves in the long run. It’s not that difficult to buckle down, study hard, and achieve good grades. In a way, I pity those without actual ADHD who have to take amphetamine in order to be productive. What a joke…

Learn some self-discipline please. No, I don’t think that adderall use is immoral. No, I’m not bitter; I probably get better grades than most who use amphetamine to study. I just think it’s sad that people do such things in order to “get ahead”. If you truly enjoy what you’re learning, then it no longer feels like work, and concentration is easily attained. What the overabundance of amphetamine abuse tells me is that a lot of people don’t actually like what they are studying and that’s why I pity those who use the drug.

By: MGT

MGT — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:25:17 +0000

-Note none of this post is applicable to those who are correctly prescribed Adderall
For me, I feel a sense of pride in not using Adderall although many of my friends who dont need it do use it. My ability to focus and compete with those who do use it and do just as well provides a certain sense of self-satisfaction.
I feel bad for people who feel they just aren’t good enough without it. Discipline and determination are skills that once you begin to learn, they will help you your entire life. Adderall wont always be there, its just a quick fix to problems that if you ignore now will only arise later.
There’s absolutely no substitute or anything stronger than self-reliance. Sure, everything is relative and, yeah bills need to be paid at the end of the day, but in the end you only have yourself and who you’ve become.

By: AK

AK — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:10:16 +0000

for those looking for more:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_talbot?currentPage=all

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1869435,00.html?iid=digg_share

By: YL

YL — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:19:39 +0000

Taking prescription-strength Adderall is extremely unlikely to lead to addiction unless the user feels a psychological dependency to it, which being “psychological,” is entirely in the user’s head. Adderall is prescribed to thousands of pre-pubescent kids in the U.S. every year and none of them cite an addiction to the drug after taking it for a number of years on a daily basis.

Also, using the analogy that professional athletes are tested for performance-enhancing drugs to justify the claim that students should be tested for Adderall or similar drugs is absolutely ridiculous. The use of PED’s such as steroids leads to serious health problems, completely incomparable to the health risks posed to college students by casually taking drugs such as Adderall. To say that students should be tested for using “performance-enhancing” drugs is like saying they should be only allowed to take a given number of AP or IB classes in high school, since those classes give enrolled students a “competitive advantage” as well, and economically advantaged students certainly have more access to them.

You can say that using Adderall improperly is immoral, but morality doesn’t pay the bills, or in this case, get students A’s on tests and papers. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters, and there is no way to stop students from using it.

By: CM

CM — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:26:03 +0000

Very difficult topic. On the one hand I believe people legitimately need it, but I believe the people that need it are only a fraction of those who actually use (or abuse) it.