Knecht 1

Jenny Knecht
Mr. Ibarro
Health 1050, 11:30am
February 1st, 2016
Research Paper
Adderall Research Paper
Adderall is a prescription drug that is typically used to treat children and adults that are
diagnosed ADD and ADHD. People with ADHD persistently have more difficulty paying
attention or are more hyperactive or impulsive than other people the same age. This pattern of
behavior usually becomes evident when a child is in preschool or the first grades of elementary
school; the average age of onset of ADHD symptoms is 7 years. Many peoples ADHD
symptoms improve during adolescence or as they grow older, but the disorder can persist into
adulthood. (NIDA.com)
Adderall has a calming and focusing effect on individuals with ADHD. They are
prescribed to patients for daily use, and come in the form of tablets or capsules of varying
dosages. Treatment of ADHD with stimulants, often in conjunction with psychotherapy, helps to
improve ADHD symptoms along with the patients self-esteem, thinking ability, and social and
family interactions.
Adderall is a clever brand and a deceptive brand. In America, amphetamine has
traditionally been associated with tweakers, speed freaks, bikers, truckers and all-night sex
orgies. Adderall changed all that. Stimulants like Ritalin have long been shown to help people
with ADD and ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) concentrate for longer periods.

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Adderall was first introduced in 1996 by Shire Pharmaceuticals. The product was so successful
that in 2001, Shire introduced the Adderall XR capsule in order to supply a low but steady dose
to users all day long. Adderall XR is marketed as a productivity drug to help people with ADD,
ADHD or narcolepsy remain alert and focused, but because it's essentially pure pharmaceutical
amphetamine, it quickly became the prescription stimulant of choice for college students, wage
laborers, the military, and pretty much everybody else.
Street-level Adderall dealers can sell to college students at cheaper-than-retail prices. For
uninsured students, the retail price of a monthly Adderall prescription works out to $6 to $8 a
pill. If she buys 10 at a time from a street dealer, she gets them for $3 to $5 a pill. That's because
street dealers buy prescriptions for Adderall from students still on their parents' health-insurance
plan or from members of the military, who get Adderall prescriptions like monthly paychecks.
With a military or insurance discount, you can buy Adderall XR for under $1 a pill and then sell
it for triple to five times the original price. Street dealers know they can get $15 to $20 a pill for
30 mg XRs from the right people, so theyre making great money selling this stuff.
These drugs have become more common among college students because it helps them
concentrate while studying and stay focused. Full-time college students were twice as likely to
have used Adderall non-medically as their counterparts who were not full-time students,
according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health report released in 2009.
81% of students interviewed did not think using ADHD drugs illicitly were dangerous,
yet Adderall and Ritalin are schedule II type drugs which sit right next to Cocaine, Meth, and
Morphine. Students may not know the stimulant's documented contraindications or
recommended precautions or how it may interact with other drugs. The other concern is that the
students taking these prescriptions may not even know the dosage of the pill they are taking.

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Short-term side effects include sleep difficulties, restlessness, headaches, irritability and
depressed feelings. Other side effects include loss of appetite, nervousness, and changes in sex
drive. The long term risk of psychological and physical dependence is of concern for routine
users that may find they do not feel they can function optimally without it.
Low-income children are being prescribed Adderall whether they need it or not because
its the only realistic way to help them do better in school. One doctor who treats poor families
outside of Atlanta Georgia, told the New York Times "I don't have a whole lot of choice, we've
decided as a society that it's too expensive to modify the kid's environment. So we have to
modify the kid."
There are many kids who dont want to take it, but their parents are explaining to them
that your grades look like this when you take the Adderall and your grades look like this when
you dont. Then the kids understand what the parents are saying so they continue taking the
drug. The doctors are concerned because these kids are still in the developmental stage and
studies done are not sure how these drugs biologically affect the developing brain.
Baker describes a story of a boy only 11 years old who was getting into fights at school
because the boy claimed that other children were insulting his mother. In all reality, the children
were not doing anything. The young boy was seeing people and hearing voices that werent
there. This is a rare, but recognized side effect of Adderall. The boy had to spend a week in a
psychiatric hospital and have his prescription changed.
Health experts are divided as to whether the drug poses unacceptable risks of heart
attacks and stroke. The concern for side effects is a big one. Both children and adults who take
Adderall run the risks of nasty side effects, including decreased appetite, weight loss, insomnia,

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irritability and addiction. Twitches and tics might even develop. The growth rate in children may
be reduced, although the reduction appears to be a short-term effect. As MayoClinic.com
explains, the most serious side effects of Adderall link the drug to a number of heart attacks and
strokes.
Adderall is a stimulant, an amphetamine. It is prescribed to children and adults who are
diagnosed with ADHD. It also is used and abused by everyone from students looking to
concentrate while studying to baseball players claiming ADHD in order to gain exemption from
Major League Baseball's prohibition of amphetamines.
If your child suffers from ADHD, you will have to make a very difficult decision on
whether or not you should medicate your child. Some children have very few side effects and
their condition seems to improve. Others experience many of the side effects listed and there
have even been deaths linked to the drug Adderall. These deaths are thought to be related to
underlying heart conditions.
Here are his 21 startling facts: Between 2007 and 2012, the number of adults with
ADHD prescriptions tripled. Stimulant-related emergency room visits have tripled in recent
years. Every major ADHD drug has been cited by the FDA for false, or misleading advertising.
If you are creative, Adderall could impair your abilities. The typical college student who uses
Adderall without a prescription is white, male, and in a fraternity.
If you like the feeling of Adderall of Ritalin, you may be less likely to develop ADHD;
The placebo effect may account for some of the perceived cognitive benefits of Ritalin. Many
people who use Adderall without a prescription dont think they are taking a drug. Up to a third
of college students use stimulants and they dont think its cheating. Peoples unrestrained

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tweeting about Adderall gives us a fascinating window into how it is used. Pro-baseball players
take ADHD meds at rates that are much higher than normal.
Mixing stimulants with alcohol may increase the risks. Almost 20% of high school boys
have been diagnosed with ADHD, and more kids are prescribed stimulants than ever before.
ADHD drugs can be addictive. Doctors have ignored FDA warnings about prescription
stimulants; Stimulants dont necessarily provide cognitive enhancement in kids; Stimulants
might provide some cognitive enhancement in people with adult ADHD. Stimulants can
improve memorization skills, but probably dont do much for working memory. Scary side
effects include heart attacks and sudden death. In rare cases, stimulant abuse has led to mental
illness and psychosis.

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Citations:
NIDA.com
Jezebel.com-written by Katie J.M. Baker, published on October 9th, 2012
Businessinsider.com-written by Kevin Loria, published on May 9th, 2014
CNN.com-Arianna Yanes, published on April 18th, 2014
Hightimes.com-written by James L. Kent published on May 9, 2013
Livestrong.com-Written by Jim Thomas and published on August 16th, 2013