First, let me address a glaring post.
Steroids are cheating because accomplishment in a sport can only be relative to other players. When you take steriods you give yourself and unfair advantage relative to those players, and thereby bias the game against them.
This is only true for games and sports. But first:
In life accomplishment is absolute. You don't want to gage people's talent and effort (as in sports), you want them to do the best work possible. If everyone medical student stops Adderol it lowers everyone's ability to learn and results in a lower quality of doctor, which is bad. It doesn't matter that the 'right' person is at the head of the class, because the point is not to have the 'right' person at the head of the class. The point is to turn out doctors who give the best possible standard of care. Your patients aren't going to care if you got your knowledge of medicine by 'cheating', they're just going to want you to be able to fix them.
Okay, you have a lot of misconceptions about Adderall use. Using prescription Adderall isn't "cheating" (if that's what your implying), and the use of prescription Adderall will not preclude someone from being a good doctor.
In sports, we revoke prizes and merit on the basis of "cheating" because sports require that there is a level playing field - they are a game. But do we revoke Nobel Prizes on the basis of performance enhancing drugs? For example, if it became clear the Einstein had abused amphetamines or Kornberg had used a susbtance which enhanced his natural abilties, would we revoke their Nobel Prizes? Of course not. When it really matters, the goal isn't creating an equal playing field. The goal is to have a practical benefit for society. Because in the real world, things are not equal. People suffer from diseases while others remain healthy. We must address these issues, and often times an equal playing field isn't the best way to fight the negative aspects of life.
I think there's
a lot of misinformation about the harms/benefits and general effects of Adderall.
Under the supervision of a healthcare professional, Adderall is almost always safe and effective. I have been taking prescription Adderall for some time now, and it has significantly improved my ability to focus, pay attention, and organize my daily life. It has also allowed me to relax, which has in effect lowered my blood pressure (a surprising, yet positive reaction from the drug).
I also take a break from the drug on weekends, so despite popular belief, not everyone is liable to become addicted or dependent. Addiction is a very personal issue, and a lot of people just don't become addicted to these kinds of drugs. I am more than able to stop using Adderall (though I will have some withdrawl effects) for periods at a time without any significant problems. This is not the case with abusers.
Don't kid yourself - if you use amphetamines you will build a resistance (doses are titrated for a reason) and you won't be able to come off them easily. If you don't absolutely need them, it's just stupid to get hooked on them.
I don't think this is usually the case for prescription users. Through proper diet and supplements, I have managed to ward off tolerance to my daily dosage, as have other prescription Adderall users I know. If I go above my prescribed dosage, I end up feeling too jittery and confused - even a small increase. In the right situation, a prescription Adderall user will benefit greatly from a stable, daily dosage.
Adderall abuse is short-sighted, and will frequently do more harm than good. This is because you cannot usually control your dosage, and more often than not, you don't need the drug. Furthermore, the kind of people who buy Adderall illegally (and other drugs) are often times addictive personalities. Non-addicts usually have no desire to break the law. It is no wonder that illegal users have such a high rate of addiction.
