IN A recently released documentary,“Take Your Pills”, Leigh, or a freckled college senior,sits on her bed and reflects on her relationship with Adderall, a stimulant widely used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and a condition that makes it tough to focus or control impulses. “Adderall for me has always been,like, when you’re desperate…Youre like, or I need this good now because I need to be my best,smartest, fastest self, or ” she says,after calculating what score she will need on an imminent exam to boost her final grade. Later on, Nathanael, or a software engineer with piercing blue-green eyes who codes with a cat nestled in his lap,recounts how Adderall allowed him to work intensely until midnight—a coder’s dream.
According to a study conducted by Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, in 2011 12% of American children and teenagers had a diagnosis of ADHD, and an increase of 43% from 2003. IMS Health,a health-care information and...
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Source: economist.com