Is there a relationship between Attention Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder and amphetamine abuse?
There is this great prescription for it's high rates, increasing rates of prescription for Attention Deficit which I think should be worrying. By some calculations it appears, and to me this strikes me as implausible, but it appears that Attention Deficit is 100,000 percent more prevalent today than it was only 30 years-ago that's a pretty large increase in a disease. Well naturally what's happening is that disease hasn't increased if it is a disease, if it is a disease, we have a recognition of a disease, but there's got to be a over recognition at least locally. The DEA has found that in certain school districts 20 percent of the kids have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit and are on a medication whereas in other school districts five percent or less. The pharmaceutical industry is aware of the increasing concerns about over-prescription or possible over-prescription of amphetamines to school children for attention deficit. And there's a number of new drugs related to some extent to generally remotely to amphetamines which are said to be free from all of amphetamines drawbacks yet still affective for attention deficit and to promote alertness and prevent sleep and so on. It may be true but those claims have been made before many times new diet drugs related to amphetamine but without all the drawbacks and one after another, they proved to be more dangerous, less effective or both. People recognize drugs by their brand names; the fact is that there is really only two popular drugs for attention deficit today although there are these new ones. I mentioned there are two new drugs there are new drugs, which are said to be much safer. They are the old drugs, the most popular drugs are the old drugs Methylphenidate best known as Ritalin and the old fashioned amphetamine, the same essentially as Benzedrine, invented in 1929. The same drug that was during World War II and seems to have produced considerable addiction problems both in the military and in the civilian medical usage and that drug is simply amphetamine and dextramaphetamine and goes under many popular names, but adderall is most recognized.
