Actually what’s harmful is misinformation about drugs, which you are ironically spreading.
Not all drugs give feelings of high or rushes or such. What causes that in most cases is how the drug is taken, and the dosage. That’s why there’s a lot of functioning addicts in society as well. Caffeine for example weight give you jitters of you take a very small amount, but drink 8 cups of coffee and you’ll feel something really different. Thinking that an addict looks and acts a certain way is way more harmful to society, because
A) it causes a stigma to addicts that doesn’t lead to them seeking help, because they don’t experience that stereotype, and
B) hinders a societies willingness to explore potential medical uses in illicit drugs. Cannabis is a huge example of this.
Yes, Adderall is an Methamphetamine analog. It works on the same receptors. Part of the discovery for drug treatments for ADHD came about when it was noticed that people who had ADHD and took Meth ended up calming down rather than becoming energetic like just people would (known as a paradoxical effect). It is essentially Meth when it comes to biochemical interactions in the human body.
Now like all drugs, if you need it, then yes you should take it, much like someone with a broken leg will need opioids (that doesn’t change that for most, opioids are addictive, does it?). The problem is there are many people who DO NOT need Adderall, because they have not been properly evaluated for ADHD. They get prescribed after a single visit to a psychologist. That’s not enough data to determine if someone should be taking such a powerful drug. Society (well, USA especially in this case because feigned ignorance from money in the first place) has figured out that giving opioids without much effort was a terrible idea, yet the exact same mistake is being done with Adderall. Adderall definitely is addictive. But needing to take medication daily to function because of an external factor is different than being addicted to it.
And many are instead overworked, burnt out, and/or beyond exhausted, and telling people “oh I couldn’t do anything or focus and then Adderall fixed everything!” without people realizing what Adderall is, is far more dangerous. Not saying this is what you’re doing btw, I’m referencing more younger (well, 35 and under) people who have a wide reach and influence who equate symptoms of absolute exhaustion and stress, and then with no research at all say it’s ADHD. If lucky they see a psychologist a single time and instantly get a prescription (which I think is also very irresponsible, considering the lack of actual medical knowledge psychologists have). It’s reminiscent of those chiropractors who could give prescriptions for opioids during the onset of the opioid epidemic.
bc93@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Lumisal@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I literally wrote a whole detailed comment specifically towards you? How’s that ignoring? You on the other hand have literally just ignored what I said in my comment.
Speaking of topics you shouldn’t write on that you don’t understand, Naloxone is a receptor antagonist and not an analog to opioids. Opioids are agonists. Naloxone binds to the same receptors, but doesn’t latch (hence the very short effect duration) or active the receptors. Adderall does - that’s literally why it helps. Both Adderall and methamphetamine are agonists on the same receptor sites, and on someone with ADHD that’s a good thing, much the same way opioids are for someone hurting, or lithium is for certain mental illness.
Yes, you take a powerful drug that’s basically meth. It’s a meth analog. That doesn’t change that it’s medicine for you, even if it was literal meth rather than a refined analog created to get around dumb drug laws (well, and to improve efficacy for your condition as well in this case). That doesn’t change what it is. Ignorant people will always remain ignorant, but downplaying the dangers of something isn’t the solution to combating ignorance either. I will call a spade a spade, and in this one it’s one that’s definitely being overused as well because the reality is the majority see it as “just harmless medicine” rather than what it actually is. If anything, with how recommended it is to take Adderall by most on social media, the issue you brought up to me seems to be in the minority rather than the majority.
The issue isn’t the meth, it’s how people view it - whether that be extremely dangerous of its the drug or harmless if it’s an analog you get from a pharmacy. The reality is it’s in between like all drugs.