Adderall Pros And Cons

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People diagnosed with ADHD are treated with psychostimulants drugs and one of the most common is Adderall. However, the rising number of students without ADHD using prescription drugs like Adderall has become a controversy. These brain enhancers help with staying focused and alert. From students to education experts, there are some expectations and concerns of the impact of using brain enhancers. Some may claim that the drug can be addictive while others argue that there isn't enough evidence of such effect. Although some people may think it's dangerous or even wrong to use psychostimulants like Adderall to help increase mental performance, I believe that using Adderall with a controlled dosage and supervised use is alright. Firstly, taking…show more content…
Oremus observes that "stimulants allow both ADHD and non-ADHD people to stay alert and focused long past the time they'd normally become distracted or fall asleep" (7). Adderall can work like a strong, more efficient coffee, as Oremus himself argues, but it will not make students learn something without studying (7). Therefore, I don't believe it's fair to consider the use of any stimulants as cheating. Having more focus isn't cheating, but getting answers without having to think, like copying from a classmate or having the answers in a cheat sheet is. The drug can help them stay focused, but if they don't understand the subject it won't change their academic performance. Some educators may argue that even though students don't have answers just by using Adderall, they can have an advantage towards other students that are diagnosed with ADHD or even non-ADHD students who don't take the drug. However, studies show that Adderall works equally regardless of their ADHD diagnosis. Oremus cites a study by Kollins of the Duke ADHD Clinic showing effects of Adderall use from people with and without ADHD. The results were similar on both cases, the only difference was that people with ADHD started at a different level of focus ability, as Kollins claims. Since the efficiency of the drug is directly related with the persons' own ability to concentrate, it may appear to work better on people without ADHD. But in fact, the drug works the same way for both cases. Therefore, it's not a matter of inequity, but actual aptitude to learn, which is always different from one person to

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