Winter 1

Isaac Winter

Prof. Flores

English 1201

17 March 2022

How effective is Adderall when treating people with or without ADHD?

A lot of people in the world have Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), and

sometimes they have a rough time trying to find things to help them focus. With the right

medication, being prescribed Adderall should help. Does it really help, though? Does taking

Adderall turn into an addiction or does it benefit the person with ADHD?

Adderall is a commonly supplied drug to treat ADHD, but can commonly be abused by

users who are trying to lose weight or improve their focus, even if they aren’t diagnosed with

ADHD. Adderall has different effects on people with and without the disorder. Adderall

improves alertness and attention in individuals who have ADHD due to the amount of dopamine

being shot into your brain. As for a person who doesn’t have ADHD and takes Adderall, it gives

your brain a more excessive amount of dopamine, causing you to feel high (Carmona).

With Adderall being used by people all over, it also gets in the hands of students to help

them study(Twohey). Since Adderall increases your focus/concentration, college students who

have a big test or a lot of homework use it (Carmona).

Statistically, it is shown that 70 percent of adults and up to 80 percent of children show

improvement in their ADHD symptoms when taking Adderall because the drug stimulates the

central nervous system(Pietrangelo). But, there are potential side effects for people who have and
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don't have ADHD. Some side effects include sleeping problems, dry mouth, high blood pressure,

hives, and thought problems(Pietrangelo).

Because Adderall is an addictive drug, there is going to be withdrawal when the time

comes to stop. A study was done by Caroline Robitaille which included making Reddit forms for

people who currently use or used Adderall in their lives. The study revealed that almost everyone

there was offering guidance with withdrawal and their own experience with the drug. These

findings increase the chance of finding public health with someone who is battling this addiction

with Adderall with or without ADHD due to the fact that the drug is affecting them

poorly(Robitaille).

Taking Adderall can affect the brain tremendously whether you have ADHD or not. It

can increase the activity of several neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and

especially dopamine. Over a long period of time, the changes in dopamine activity can impact

our brain’s reward center, and alter our ability to experience pleasure without the chemical

support of continued amphetamine usage(Lautieri).

There are a few possible answers I have to my research question. The research question is

“How effective is Adderall when treating people with or without ADHD?”, and the research I

have done now brought me to the conclusion that you can become addicted to Adderall very

easily and that there is a lot of bad side effects rather than good when taking Adderall. One thing

I need to do more research on is how people who don’t have ADHD get the pills, whether it be

from a friend, family member, or getting them from a seller.

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Works Cited

Carmona, Melissa. “How Adderall Helps ADHD & Effects of Adderall Usage without

ADHD.” The Recovery Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab, The Recovery Village Drug

and Alcohol Rehab, 25 Aug. 2021, https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/adderall-

addiction/related-topics/adhd-and-adderall/.

Lautieri, Amanda. “Long-Term Side Effects of Adderall on Brain, Personality & Body.”

American Addiction Centers, 20 Jan. 2022,

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/adderall/long-term-effects.

Pietrangelo, Ann. “The Effects of Adderall on Your Body.” Healthline, Healthline

Media, 19 Feb. 2019, https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adderall-effects-on-body.

Robitaille, Caroline. “This Drug Turned Me into a Robot.” “This Drug Turned Me into a

Robot”: an Actor-Network Analysis of a Web-Based Ethnographic Study of

Psychostimulant Use, 21 Nov. 2018,

https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=12f92919-cbdc-4936-

bac7-dda685ed041d%40redis.

Twohey, Megan. “Adderall Is a Dangerous, Addictive Drug.” Shibboleth Authentication

Request, https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&hit

Count=5&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE

%7CEJ3010691210&docType=Viewpoint

%2Bessay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-
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MOD1&prodId=OVIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE

%7CEJ3010691210&searchId=R1&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true.

Since Adderall increases one’s ability to focus and concentrate, it should be available over the

counter to all populations and not just prescribed to those patients diagnosed with ADHD.