I didn't get a chance to read the whole article because it is very long, and I'm currently studying for two exams.
But I did read the first page, and have a few things to say about stimulant abuse.
I think that stimulants are extremely misunderstood. In reality, I think that Adderall (25% Levo-Amphetamine; 75% Dextro-Amphetamine) is far more dangerous than methamphetamine. Methamphetamine gets a notorious reputation since it is one of the most heavily abused street drugs. But if we're talking about people using prescription drugs, Desoxyn (Methamphetamine HCl) is actually far less stimulating on the PNS with fewer peripheral affects than something like Adderall. Methamphetamine is more subtle according to the people that are prescribed it.
So then what's the issue? People automatically assume that Adderall and Dexedrine are completely safe because they are prescription drugs, versus big bad methamphetamine, which is used only by druggies. Therefore, students have no problem popping Adderalls like M&Ms, and this is extremely dangerous.
People don't realize that they can become addicted. Meth users who become addicted are smoking or shooting up pretty large doses, maybe 2000mg or something at a time. People who are taking Adderall, a speedier substance, can end up taking ridiculously high doses for cram sessions. The Levo-Amphetamine molecule works primarily on norepinephrine, which illicits a sympathetic response on the heart, thus causing things like tachycardia in people who take massive doses of the drug. This is probably more dangerous than taking therapeutic doses of something like Desoxyn, which gets this horrible stigma because methamphetamine is mostly a street drug.
Therefore, people don't quite understand how powerful stimulants like Adderall actually are. They think that just because it's a prescription, it must be safe. That's not the case. Popping it like M&Ms can have severe consequences.
Apologies if I missed the point of the article.
