While the primary focus of the national Adderall abuse problem has been mostly on those college students who take the substance to make the grade like a well-oiled machine, a new report suggests that more of the great American workforce is now using these drugs to get ahead.
In a recent article by Dr. Kevin Wandler, chief medical officer for Advanced Recovery Systems in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he suggested that medications such Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse, commonly referred to as “study drugs,” are now being used by a growing number of the working class in an attempt to enhance their job performance.
“Lawyers use the drug to bill more hours to clients in the race to make partner; reporters use it to make deadlines,” Wandler wrote. “For many, their doctor is their drug dealer.”
The problem with these drugs, which are sometimes called by their generic name “Amphetamine Salts,” the doctor said, is that although they may seem to pull the creative juices from the dark crevasses of the mind, there is very little evidence that these medications are actually effective in this manner. In fact, a study published in a 2013 edition of the journal Neuropharmacology found no cognitive enhancement in those people taking these medications.
“Adderall can appear to be the golden ticket to getting ahead in both professional and personal life. For the ‘Adderall generation,’ this drug has become the new coffee,” Wandler wrote.
Despite the contradictory science surrounding these drugs, there are still a lot of folks out there giving Academy Award-winning performances in an attempt to convince their family doctors that they have what it takes to get a script for go-go pills. Most have absolutely no trouble bluffing through the 25-question Conners Clinical Index, which is used by some doctors to determine whether a person has ADHD. If that fails, the drugs can be easily obtained on the black market.
Statistics from the DEA show that Adderall is now prescribed at a rate of 30 times more than it has been in the past two decades. The same data reveals that there is now enough legal speed being manufactured in the United States to keep every American citizen awake for a solid month.
For those business owners trying to figure out which one of their employees is most likely abusing these medications, Wandler suggests looking at the hardest workers.
“Someone misusing ADHD medications likely won’t match the stereotypical image of a drug dealer; instead, they’ll appear to be driven, productive employees,” he wrote.
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