The Adderall Thread

[confettiflyer]

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Just wanted to start a thread on Adderall that *WON'T* get closed.

Ground rules:
1) Do not discuss illegal ways of getting this drug (including, but not limited to...Mexico, faking a diagnosis, theft, etc...)
2) Do not ask for, or give, medical advice of any sort. Anything that could be construed as medical advice (ie...discussion of optimum dosage, personal experiences with the drug, etc...) should be avoided.
3) When in doubt, stick to opinions and stick to the prompt!
**4) It should be okay to quote information that is publicly or widely available online (ie. manufacturer website, WebMD, etc...), just remember rule #2.


Thread prompt
What do you think about the use of Adderall as an academic performance enhancing drug? Undoubtably, students across the country are using this to boost test scores and achievement, and subsequently could affect admissions to professions across the board (law, medicine, pharmacy, etc...)

Is there any solution to this? Is there even a problem? Will those with the money to buy on the black market or guts/resources to obtain a legal prescription using subversion prevail?

This is an open prompt...feel free to share your thoughts but maintain decorum and stick to the rules! Don't be the idiot that closes this thread.

Go!

 

[Falokis]

I knew plenty of people that took it that didn't have a script. They took it the night before a test and studied all night. Still making the C+ they probably would have made if they just got some rest. It was a cramming drug from what I saw.

 

[steveysmith54]

,,,

 

[confettiflyer]

I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where some universities will require drug testing & valid prescription if a test comes back positive.

I think it'll be one of those things where any other restrictive policy (aside from its status as a schedule 2, obviously) would infringe too much on those who actually have to take it.

I suppose deception of a health professional & the idea that it's a felony to posess w/out a script will keep many from trying to obtain the drug...but I think a lot of people would justify the risk from a "I'm using it to get into pharmacy school, I'm not a drug abuser or anything" stand point or a "Other people get to use it, why shouldn't I?" arms race mentality.

 

[Futurejayhawk]

I disagree with people using prescription drugs to enhance their test taking skills. It would not look good if a student who wanted to be a pharmacist was taking controlled substances without a prescription. That is not ethical in the least and being a pharmacist relies a great deal on the individual's ethics.

 

[confettiflyer]

I disagree with people using prescription drugs to enhance their test taking skills. It would not look good if a student who wanted to be a pharmacist was taking controlled substances without a prescription. That is not ethical in the least and being a pharmacist relies a great deal on the individual's ethics.

I agree, but...who would know? If you have a script, HIPAA protects you from discovery. If you're not ballsy enough to fake a diagnosis, you probably have a friend or 5 that could get it to you for $X per pill...assuming your friend isn't a narc and you paid cash...who would ever know?

 

[azPharmD2B]

...who would know?

I think this is the wrong question to ask. The same thing could be said for murder/rape/tax fraud/embezzlement/etc. The question is, are the consequences of this choice worth losing my entire future professional career in medicine, plus the chance that in prison a certain part of my anatomy could go from o to O. Yeah, no thanks.

Besides that, I actually have a conscience. Unfortunately that seems to be a lacking quality in entirely too many people in the health care profession.

Seriously, if you want to lie, cheat, & steal skip medicine and go into finance or marketting instead.

 

[confettiflyer]

^^true, but would you agree that justifying the illicit taking of a CII medication is a lot easier than justifying killing someone?

An argument is...caffiene and alcohol, two addictive and (potentially) dangerous substances, are available on every street corner in the US. People die every day from DUI, alcohol addiction, etc...yet the substance is still legal. Some people go through caffiene withdrawls and cease to function without their coffee. Adderall/Concerta/Ritalin are a quite a bit more addictive, but its intentions are a lot more "noble" per se than downing a bunch of vodka. You take one and go to the library vs. getting tanked and going to the club.

From a libertarian prospective, you're only really physically harming yourself compared to the possibility of driving drunk.

In the face of this argument, how can one successfully convince someone that taking it is unconscienable (spelling?) I mean, I think I have ADD when I open my chemistry book...with the proper motivation, I can find a legal way to obtain it the proper amphetamine.

I don't think "because the gov't deems it CII" is strong enough, IMO.

Thoughts? Trying to play devil's advocate here if anyone couldn't tell.

 

[confettiflyer]

oh, and did some searching...huge discussion of this in the pre-allo forum already from an MCAT/medicine perspective.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65650

good read if you're interested

 

[ageldred]

^^true, but would you agree that justifying the illicit taking of a CII medication is a lot easier than justifying killing someone?.

That's a slippery slope. If someone was harming me or my family in my home and I killed them it would be justified. CII medications are justified to take with a valid prescription. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

An argument is...caffiene and alcohol, two addictive and (potentially) dangerous substances, are available on every street corner in the US. People die every day from DUI, alcohol addiction, etc...yet the substance is still legal. Some people go through caffiene withdrawls and cease to function without their coffee. Adderall/Concerta/Ritalin are a quite a bit more addictive, but its intentions are a lot more "noble" per se than downing a bunch of vodka. You take one and go to the library vs. getting tanked and going to the club.

From a libertarian prospective, you're only really physically harming yourself compared to the possibility of driving drunk.

In the face of this argument, how can one successfully convince someone that taking it is unconscienable (spelling?) I mean, I think I have ADD when I open my chemistry book...with the proper motivation, I can find a legal way to obtain it the proper amphetamine.

I don't think "because the gov't deems it CII" is strong enough, IMO.

Thoughts? Trying to play devil's advocate here if anyone couldn't tell.

But there is a reason it's deemed a CII. Adderall is like speed, you could potentially take too much and kill youself. What if you stay up all night studying while on adderall and fall asleep at the wheel and have a car accident? I believe people use it for more than just staying up and studying. They probably use it to stay up and party (I don't really know)....just offering a differing opinion.

 

[confettiflyer]

But there is a reason it's deemed a CII. Adderall is like speed, you could potentially take too much and kill youself. What if you stay up all night studying while on adderall and fall asleep at the wheel and have a car accident? I believe people use it for more than just staying up and studying. They probably use it to stay up and party (I don't really know)....just offering a differing opinion.

haha...adderall party? I haven't heard that one before...but I believe air force pilots take a different form (legally) for obvious reasons (crashing a $20M plane, bad).

But..remember, you can easily drink too much alcohol and kill yourself too. Same goes with table salt. To the average pre-pharm student who does his or her research, popping one Adderall XR in the morning twice a week to study won't come close to snorting cocaine and pimping hookers on the street corner.

ok i should stop replying and let this thread go...but it's like my baby 😍

 

[Ethyl Methyl]

IMO, the illicit use of any prescription means is potentially dangerous, not to mention ILLEGAL. If you are bending the law to suit your ambitions I would say that you have no integrity at all and therefore have no business becoming a pharmacist or any health-related professional. I've worked with a pharmacist who was addicted to a CII substance. Thank God, he was eventually caught, fired and stripped of his license before he could kill somebody. This thread just got me thinking...what if he started with something similar just because he had access to it? I mean, when you're a pharmacist and taking drugs illegally what's stopping you from taking that darvocet or vicodin that's lying around?

 

[timbutt2]

"What do you think about the use of Adderall as an academic performance enhancing drug? Undoubtably, students across the country are using this to boost test scores and achievement, and subsequently could affect admissions to professions across the board (law, medicine, pharmacy, etc...)"

Does a student taking Adderall really have that big of an advantage over one who doesn't the night before a test? I think the benefits of a week's worth of studying in short intervals and a good night's sleep far surpass the benefits of tweak and an 8 hr cram session.

The fact is drugs are tools, (and yes, they can be abused). Aderall is a short term solution to a bigger problem.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

Yep, people use adderall as a party drug too. Stuff in parenthesis besides stats are my additions.

One study says: The most commonly reported motives for illicit use were to help with concentration (65.2%), help study (59.8%), and increase alertness (47.5%). Other motives included getting high (31.0%) and experimentation (29.9%). Nearly every illicit user (95.3%) reported oral administration, and 38.1% reported snorting prescription stimulants (where stimulant is adderall or ritalin).

Another study says: The life-time prevalence of non-medical prescription stimulant use was 6.9% (where stimulant is adderall, ritalin, or dexedrine). Multivariate regression analyses indicated non-medical use was higher among college students who were male, white, members of fraternities and sororities and earned lower grade point averages (lmao). Rates were higher at colleges located in the north-eastern region of the US and colleges with more competitive admission standards. Non-medical prescription stimulant users were more likely to report use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and other risky behaviors.

Another study: Adderall abuse as compared to other exposures is more likely to occur outside of the person's home and involve more serious medical outcomes.

I heart PubMed.

So its use is not that prevalent, it is more likely used for studying which doesn't help your GPA, and you are more likely to be using other drugs and hence putting yourself and other people in danger. Lesson: these drugs are bad for you and you should have studied earlier.

 

[confettiflyer]

Oh, and another thing....I guess popular culture doesn't help? Athletes are taking 'roids and, by and large, the public doesn't really care IMO. The one that is the exception is Barry Bonds, but I think he's just being made a scapegoat since he does hold top records and is probably the most visible right now.

And on House, MD....he portrays the genius MD who always solves the case at the end of the show, but he's poppin' vicodin pills (on camera) like candy. But the audience isn't supposed to care...it's a character flaw we accept, as long as he gets the job done (and please don't spoil the show, I haven't been keeping up!)

 

[fenixtnlfan]

The fact is drugs are tools, (and yes, they can be abused). Aderall is a short term solution to a bigger problem.

I completely agree.

 

[bigdogc]

I graduated 58% in HS. I got prescribed to adderall to treat my ADD. I made a 4.0, got into UT pharmacy school. To all of those that think this drug is wrong... take a step in someone else's shoes. Without treating ADD I would probably be a business major by now

 

[candita505]

I graduated 58% in HS. I got prescribed to adderall to treat my ADD. I made a 4.0, got into UT pharmacy school. To all of those that think this drug is wrong... take a step in someone else's shoes. Without treating ADD I would probably be a business major by now

I don't think anyone is saying it is wrong to take if you're actually prescribed it...

 

[fenixtnlfan]

I graduated 58% in HS. I got prescribed to adderall to treat my ADD. I made a 4.0, got into UT pharmacy school. To all of those that think this drug is wrong... take a step in someone else's shoes. Without treating ADD I would probably be a business major by now

I know lots of people who have been greatly helped by these drugs, legally. However, this thread is not discussing that. We are taking about illicit use. lol on the business major part though.

 

[confettiflyer]

I think the issue is will illicit use. ADD/ADHD is a medical condition and should be treated as such!

Hypothetically, take two students, one with actual ADHD and with who doesn't. The student with ADHD performs a little bit lower than the student without it (all other things being equal).

If the actual ADHD student gets treated with Adderall and is suddenly outperforming his fellow student in tests/etc (all other things still being equal)... wouldn't you be a little irked if you knew that was happening (and you were the non-ADHD student)?

** There's my hypothetical example of something being legal and fair (script for the ADD student, no script for the non-ADD student) coming off as unfair.

If you're a transformers fan...it's maybe like taking two runners, and one got his legs cut off, so you gave him some crazy bionic legs to run on and he started winning gold medals, or, heck, started winning at the company softball tourney. If I were the other guy, I'd be pretty pissed off.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Does a student taking Adderall really have that big of an advantage over one who doesn't the night before a test? I think the benefits of a week's worth of studying in short intervals and a good night's sleep far surpass the benefits of tweak and an 8 hr cram session.

I think the advantage occurs when the student is able to accomplish more, because they can focus longer. If the use of the Adderall is just used to enhance performance, then they could potentially do well by pulling all-nighters, sitting through long and intense study sessions, and working 40 hours/week all at the same time.

Although, there will come a time when they get caught for abusing the medication. It may not be as obvious as opioid or cannibus use, but they will get caught one way or another, perhaps through random drug testing or getting arrested for buying it illegally or stealing it.

My former coworker stole Adderall, and he was arrested for selling a medication without a prescription. He was a smart science major, but he wasn't smart enough to stop himself from stealing Adderall.

 

[CaliCPhT]

First of all, taking it the night before the test just to stay awake to try to cram isn't going to be nearly as useful as studying a little bit each day and staying caught up.

Also, if there is not a medically necessary reason to take the drug, there is the possibility of side effects. These drugs are amphetamines, and can cause cardiac effects. There is no such thing as a drug without side effects. It's a risk vs. benefit of taking any medication situation. 🙂 JMO

 

[bananaface]

If the actual ADHD student gets treated with Adderall and is suddenly outperforming his fellow student in tests/etc (all other things still being equal)... wouldn't you be a little irked if you knew that was happening (and you were the non-ADHD student)?

Absolutely not. If they have a valid reason and are being supervised by their physician, I have no problem with them using it. It's better for their future patients and co-workers if they do well and learn everything they can. Competition is a lousy excuse for not wishing someone well in their studies. We're all on the same team.

That said, if someone is using a potentially addictive drug that has not been prescribed for them, they are abusing it and need intervention. You cannot just use what you want when you want. That is a very dangerous mindset to have as a healthcare provider and carries a huge risk of harm for yourself and those around you.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I think they should just hand out Ritalin at the door on the first day of school. It will help you learn more. Just like how baseball players should all be taking steroids. Barry Bonds hitting 700-bazillion home runs was freakin' awesome. Steroids made baseball better. Why should we hold back the potential of the human brain? Imagine if we had an army of Adderal-fueled uber-pharmacists. Hell yeah! Better living through chemistry. Yeah, yeah, there is a potential for dependency, but who cares. Everyone's addicted to and gets their endorphin fix from something....sex, religion, drugs, vodka, the internet, rubber cement...whatever. And for the record, no, I do not use any stimulants at all. I honestly don't care about my grades enough to take that step.....though for the people that stress about it, I certainly think that the "Adderal Avenue" should be open, paved, and have no stop signs.

Of course, I'm ****ing crazy....and my opinions are typically frowned upon. Even if they are usually right.

 

[Farmercyst]

I'm not getting the leap that says Adderall makes you smarter. I stay up all night to cram without drugs, caffeine, nicotine, or otherwise. How does taking adderall to do the same thing make me smarter? Quite frankly the opposite should be true given that cramming does no good anyway.

 

[CaliCPhT]

I think they should just hand out Ritalin at the door on the first day of school. It will help you learn more. Just like how baseball players should all be taking steroids. Barry Bonds hitting 700-bazillion home runs was freakin' awesome. Steroids made baseball better. Why should we hold back the potential of the human brain? Imagine if we had an army of Adderal-fueled uber-pharmacists. Hell yeah! Better living through chemistry. Yeah, yeah, there is a potential for dependency, but who cares. Everyone's addicted to and gets their endorphin fix from something....sex, religion, drugs, vodka, the internet, rubber cement...whatever. And for the record, no, I do not use any stimulants at all. I honestly don't care about my grades enough to take that step.....though for the people that stress about it, I certainly think that the "Adderal Avenue" should be open, paved, and have no stop signs.

Of course, I'm ****ing crazy....and my opinions are typically frowned upon. Even if they are usually right.

LOL WVU! You always make me laugh!!! Bummer about that loss to S. Florida (or some directional school as a friend of mine put it). Auburn lost to them last week! But they're not all that great this year anyway. They did beat UF tonight. They always play their best against UF though.

 

[lee0539]

Interesting stuff.. I wonder if this would ever be asked in an interview.

I just hate the idea of someone having an advantage over others, but that is the case with a lot of other factors. Life is truly unfair. People lie about their extracurricular activities, some are legacy childs, some have cheated (see this a lot in labs), others have had private tutors, or taken all the easiest professors at an uncompetitive school (that doesn't curve).

The fact is your doing yourself a disservice by taking drugs to give you an edge over others. Sadly simple moral ground is not enough for a lot of people. I wouldn't be surprised if many health professional students have had an unfair advantage one way or another in getting into grad school. It is just the way things are and just too difficult to change. It irks me that good moral people who are fit to be a pharmacist can be outcompeted by someone who is not that used "cheats" to get into pharmD school.


Supposively: Double blind placebo control study showed that the drug enchanced ability to perform on tests (increasing cognition and decreasing reaction time).

 

[confettiflyer]

I just hate the idea of someone having an advantage over others, but that is the case with a lot of other factors. Life is truly unfair.

Glad you figured this out early. Life is never fair...just read the newspaper and/or look around.

Pre-health students pop Adderall, baseball players inject hGH, USC takes legacy students, and some people drop $5-10k on private tutors. And each of these examples is perfectly legal 🙂

Farmercyst -- Yeah, cramming by itself...may get you a C; cramming on amphetamines...might increase it a bit. But I think someone said it above, these drugs are just tools to achieve an effect.

Adderall just helps you focus, stay awake, and do so for long periods of time. If someone is stupid, give them some adderall, and they'll be stupid and alert in a focused way for long periods of time

 

[Lurkerkat]

Pre-health students pop Adderall, baseball players inject hGH, USC takes legacy students, and some people drop $5-10k on private tutors. And each of these examples is perfectly legal

Your grasp of the law is lacking and I highly recommend you check out the Controlled Substance Act. Needing to dope up using a class II controlled substance so you can stay up all night to cram is not a legitimate use of the medication and is therefore quite illegal! It is also illegal for a doctor to write a prescription for Adderall knowing that the patient does not have a legitimate use for the medication, and it is illegal for a pharmacist to fill that prescription if they also know you're only using it because you're a lazy, lazy student.

 

[Revatio]

As you all know Adderall is a "Black Box" drug. It will damage your heart, liver and brain.

If you want to improve concentration, try a healthy diet and exercise. Oh I forgot, thats un-American.

Aggression, new abnormal thoughts/behaviors, mania, growth suppression, worsening of motion or verbal tics and Tourette’s syndrome have been associated with use of drugs of this type.

 

[Knickerbocker]

If you want to improve concentration, try a healthy diet and exercise. Oh I forgot, thats un-American.

Sadly, logic and rational behavior are very un-American these days.

 

[PharmDstudent]

As you all know Adderall is a "Black Box" drug. It will damage your heart, liver and brain.

If you want to improve concentration, try a healthy diet and exercise. Oh I forgot, thats un-American.

I'm American, and I eat right and exercise. Now what?

 

[Knickerbocker]

I'm American, and I eat right and exercise. Now what?

I hope you like wearing orange jumpsuits while walking around in the Caribbean air.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I hope you like wearing orange jumpsuits while walking around in the Caribbean air.

😕
My point was to negate his stereotype.

 

[confettiflyer]

Your grasp of the law is lacking and I highly recommend you check out the Controlled Substance Act. Needing to dope up using a class II controlled substance so you can stay up all night to cram is not a legitimate use of the medication and is therefore quite illegal! It is also illegal for a doctor to write a prescription for Adderall knowing that the patient does not have a legitimate use for the medication, and it is illegal for a pharmacist to fill that prescription if they also know you're only using it because you're a lazy, lazy student.

lol...no, my examples are legally sound (i worded them carefully). "pre-health students popping adderall" makes no mention of illegality.

 

[Knickerbocker]

I agree, but...who would know? If you have a script, HIPAA protects you from discovery. If you're not ballsy enough to fake a diagnosis, you probably have a friend or 5 that could get it to you for $X per pill...assuming your friend isn't a narc and you paid cash...who would ever know?

You know, you really broke rule #1 (from the rules that you established!) with that post.

For the record, I'm completely against using prescription drugs in an illicit manner. If you want to be a pharmacist, you should learn to respect the law, starting right now.

I'm also against doctors writing prescriptions for people when they really shouldn't. You can go to any type of MD and get a prescription for anything. Often, a specialist (or even a psychologist, a non-MD) would make a better diagnosis. I seem to recall reading that ADHD (and other psychoactive) drugs are being over-prescribed. Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do about that.

 

[Lurkerkat]

lol...no, my examples are legally sound (i worded them carefully). "pre-health students popping adderall" makes no mention of illegality.

Your examples aren't legally sound, they're vague.

If the student is taking Adderall because they have ADD/ADHD, it's legal. If they are solely using it to improve their academic performance it does not fall within the realm of legitimate medical use and therefore is illegal.

Small tip, when you're in pharmacy school don't screw around with ill begotten controlled substances no matter what excuse you try to make up. All it takes is one internship site to run a drug test and your respective state board has free reign to discipline you. Should you have your license revoked, the majority of pharmacy schools won't think twice about giving you the boot... good bye PharmD, hello trying to pay off massive amounts of loans without a career.

 

[eric4321]

Confetti

It disturbs me how cool you find it to get away with something that’s illegal & immoral. I’m REALLY hoping you come at this from a low GPA that’s already too far gone to recover/repair since you would end up being the worst kind of pharmacist.

Pretty sure you have not seen someone who has truly gone over to the Dark Side of stimulant addiction. One of my pre-pharm lab partners is addicted to Adderall, which was my best [correct] guess based on her symptoms. This is after MANY classmates asked me “what is wrong with her??” and thinking she’s bipolar, on Seroquel or whatever.

This girl is early-20s, 4-year degree, just starting her 1st year of pharmacy school in the same top-10 program I want to get into. With all this going for her, Adderall/D-Amphetamine addiction is well on its way to ruining the rest of her life. She probably has CNS damage. She weirds people out with stuff like:

• Inability to stand still
• Uncontrolled, sudden head movements
• Scares the crap out of you whenever she picks up glass lab equipment, can’t hold them still, drops things or bangs them together often
• Uncontrolled grunting and moaning
• Flamboyant, exaggerated “runway” walking
• Extreme, unwelcome, unexpected, sudden flirtiness

She admitted the long-term Adderall use to another classmate, a habit she picked up at Gainesville, the Party Town. The most common reason they get started on it is to delay as long as possible the start of their study for an exam and then to do it all at once, like Meadow Soprano on Meth. Then they brag about it. Like the ppl at every school who brag about how many classes they skipped. They think that is so cool as well.

The sad thing is that without the Adderall in her system she is a smart, funny, friendly, slightly insecure [human] person who is easy to understand and relate to. She scored better - higher A’s than mine - in the first semester of Organic when she was rarely wigged out on Adderall during Lecture. She was lucky to have someone perform all the labs for her, when the Adderall kicked in about ½ the sessions. Then one semester later she scores lower in Lecture, hurts her GPA, becomes a pariah in Lab and is frequently spotted wandering the halls and campus like a Bag Lady.

They classify C-II drugs as “high potential for abuse and addiction” for a reason. If you want to use any of the stuff in that C-II locker as a performance enhancer, you’re messed up. You might as well play Russian Roulette with 3 live rounds in the gun.

 

[cycloketocaine]

I wanna know how you people in pharmacy school get away with this Adderall taking crap.

Just remember, we had a drug test at school 3 weeks ago. Mine came back positive for taking Darvocet (a c4) 3 WEEKS BEFORE THE TEST for my Crohn's. I can't imagine what your test with the adderall is going to look like.

Oh and BTW, they DO REQUIRE you provide a valid RX for your use of any controlled substance found in your urine. Keep that in mind next time you pop a few for fun.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

They give you drug tests in pharmacy school? Good lord, half my school would be in jail right now.

 

[cycloketocaine]

They give you drug tests in pharmacy school? Good lord, half my school would be in jail right now.

They say it's for the site visits. But, it's conducted through the school, and the schools name is the one requesting the test, so yes the school drug tests.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Wow. I've never been drug tested.

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

This girl is early-20s, 4-year degree, just starting her 1st year of pharmacy school in the same top-10 program I want to get into.

I like how you drop the top-10 program plug in there...nice work.

We were told at orientation that our class might be drug tested at the end of the year before internships.

 

[bigdogc]

Why the hell do any of you care if OTHERS take adderall? Have you ever tried it? How do you know its immoral? Adderall speeds up your nervous system, making it easier to comprehend hard theories, and it keeps you very alert while studying. Would you trust a pharmacist that graduated number 1 in their class and knows every aspect of drug interactions, but took adderall to learn, or have a pharmacist that memorized everything during school and never truly got the big picture. I'd take the "immoral" adderall user any day.

 

[nerv12345]

^weak

...if i ever need surgery i'll be sure to pick a surgeon that was a coke head in college because it helped him be #1 in his class

....i wouldn't know it was immoral because i've never tried it. yeah. that's it

 

[confettiflyer]

Confetti

It disturbs me how cool you find it to get away with something that's illegal & immoral. I'm REALLY hoping you come at this from a low GPA that's already too far gone to recover/repair since you would end up being the worst kind of pharmacist.

hahaha...oh boy, read my devil's advocate line in one of my posts above. I figured most everyone on here would be obviously against it, so I thought I'd argue the opposite to inspire some discussion. Sorry if it came off that I'm an amphetamine junkie

If anyone's wondering, when I started this thread...I was studying with 3 of my friends for the PCAT when one of them took out an unmarked bottle and took a pill. When I asked what it was (yeah i'm nosy, but she's my friend, no big deal)...she just smiled. Long story short, you can take a wild guess what it was, and we went on a 15 minute tangent discussing it (1 was apalled, 2 were indifferent). Hopped on SDN, and this thread was born.

knickerbocker -- i was just stating the obvious, SDN folks aren't dumb (most of the time!). Now, if I gave you specific directions to X pharmacy in Mexico or gave you tips on how to smuggle it across a border; or told you exactly what to say to your doctor to get diagnosed....different story.

lurker kat -- Yes, vague for a reason. Read it again: "pre-health student popping adderall" vs. "pre-health students popping adderall for academic boosts" vs "pre-health students popping adderall for ADHD." All have different implications. Consult your attorney.


as for my friend...she stayed longer than all of us, and she's nice....even offered me one like freakin' candy. I said no and popped a caffiene pill instead.

 

[Lurkerkat]

Why the hell do any of you care if OTHERS take adderall? Have you ever tried it? How do you know its immoral? Adderall speeds up your nervous system, making it easier to comprehend hard theories, and it keeps you very alert while studying. Would you trust a pharmacist that graduated number 1 in their class and knows every aspect of drug interactions, but took adderall to learn, or have a pharmacist that memorized everything during school and never truly got the big picture. I'd take the "immoral" adderall user any day.

So adderall now helps you understand the big picture. It truly is a wonder drug.

Forget the immorality of, people should consider the legal implications of abusing a controlled substance. In pharmacy our conduct inside and outside of the pharmacy setting can affect our ability to make a living. DUIs, drug abuse, any felony... all of these can affect your licensing status. If you can't handle that, if you're desperate to find a loophole so you can abuse whatever drug of choice for whatever excuse, don't become a pharmacist.

Confetti: Again... vague does not equal legally sound.

 

[confettiflyer]

Confetti: Again... vague does not equal legally sound.

It does when you are the defendant and the plantiff's evidence/arguments are vague. If you're speeding in California and the officer just writes you a ticket for "speeding," it's likely to get dismissed vs. writing the correct CVC code and measured speed. If the legislature passes a law that is vague, the courts will invalidate it. Arguing vagueness is a long standing tactic in law, so yes...vague is legally sound if you can argue it.

 

[timbutt2]

I graduated 58% in HS. I got prescribed to adderall to treat my ADD. I made a 4.0, got into UT pharmacy school. To all of those that think this drug is wrong... take a step in someone else's shoes. Without treating ADD I would probably be a business major by now

Or maybe you'd be an artistic genius. 👍

PS: Anyone know if Einstein used speed?

Aderall only gives an advantage to those who need it--for anyone else, it makes you spaztastic--it may keep you up one night studying--but the second that test is over you won't remember a thing...So what's the point?

"Your grasp of the law is lacking and I highly recommend you check out the Controlled Substance Act. Needing to dope up using a class II controlled substance so you can stay up all night to cram is not a legitimate use of the medication and is therefore quite illegal!"

I'm not really interested in whether or not the drug is illegal--I'm more interested in whether it will make you a better, smarter more effective pharmacist? I don't see any evidence that it will help non-ADD people be a better pharmacist...

 

[confettiflyer]

PS: Anyone know if Einstein used speed?

Everyone knows he did... e=mc^2 !