College students to the average suburban adult, abuse of prescription pain pills has been a widespread issue for years, and is currently being tackled with new legislation. There is one form of prescription pill abuse that was thought to be contained to college campuses: the abuse of stimulants, specifically, Adderall. That is about to change.
In an increasingly competitive world, young professionals across the country are turning to stimulants to give them the competitive edge they feel they need to succeed. The New York Times recently published a piece in which Elizabeth, a now-recovering drug addict from New York, discusses the dangerous path that brought her to where she is today – on a path to recovery. Elizabeth tells the Times that she began abusing Adderall, ADHD pills, in college and after starting her own health technology company, she again turned to the drug. Her hours extended well beyond 5:00pm and the pressure to perform increased astronomically. Along with Adderall came an addiction to Xanax to calm her sleepless nights just long enough to catch an average of three hours a night.
Elizabeth is not alone. She shares that friends of hers, ‘Wall Streeters’, abuse ADHD pills as well to start their 5:00am workdays. This is not just in the Big Apple either. The Times article cites dentists who take Adderall to squeeze in more appointments; lawyers to burn through nights in a race for partnership at their firm and a busy mother who calls it “Mommy Crack”.
Health and legal consequences aside, professionals abusing stimulants raises concern that the drug may interfere with their job-related decisions. Bankers, for example, call ADHD pills “brain-doping” and it has become a commonplace practice in the finance industry. This Adderall-agitated state of mind may affect their investment decisions, impacting thousands of people. Surgeons too have been cited as taking stimulants to get through the day, obviously instilling fear in anyone who finds that their surgeon was not stone sober while operating on them.
When it comes down to it, regardless of the age or profession, this rapidly increasing abuse of prescription stimulants is a major concern in our society today. While there is a population who legitimately need the medication, there is possibly an even larger population who are being prescribed and abusing Adderall.
When will it end? Legislation is being written, and pharmacies are on the lookout for patients with double prescriptions. One of the most important steps, for Adderall addiction or any drug addiction, is starting the conversation. With this post we aim to make people aware and hopefully prevent abusive relationships with stimulants.