ADHD medications are being overprescribed. According to “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),” sales rates of ADHD medication have risen by billions in recent years. Overly active children have begun to be misdiagnosed with ADHD when they do not in fact actually have the disorder. People have also been hearing about the effectiveness of the medication and have been abusing it illegally. Even though people are finally recognizing its validity and taking advantage of the medication and treatment available, it is rising because students want to improve their productivity and attentiveness which is illegal. This is important because people should be aware of what is happening and those taking the unnecessary medication should think about the unhealthy side effects.

The phenomena of recognizing ADHD as a legitimate medical disorder is one of recent decades and generations. Due to its recent acknowledgment, new research is constantly being done to find out more about this medical disorder and it is still being discussed at a significant level. With this progressive medical finding, comes the recent peak in diagnoses. It is not as if the symptoms of ADHD have only just been noticed; doctors are only just recognizing it as the medical disorder of ADHD. Doctors have recorded that restlessness and other “symptoms similar to those seen in ADHD sufferers have been documented for centuries” (Attention 1). As stated in “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),” some feel that doctors are almost carelessly prescribing medication, which proves just how casually the drugs are treated. The unknown author even describes the medication used to treat ADHD as “the medication of a generation” (Attention 1). This is very indicative of how rapidly ADHD medication is spreading among people and around the country. In “Most Active Kids Don’t Have ADHD,” Frances proves his argument that the diagnoses of ADHD have been increasing when he shows that the shocking inflation of ADHD diagnoses and ADHD medications sales have almost reached $10 billion a year. That is an absurdly high number for sales of a medication for a certain medical disorder. Researchers, doctors, and authors have been looking into why the sales of ADHD medication have been increasing so much more dramatically than medications for other disorders. 

Similar to Frances, some doctors would argue that “the symptoms of ADHD represent fairly normal childhood behavior that has been labeled as socially unacceptable” (Attention 1). In “The Story Behind The Rise Of ADHD In The United States,” investigative journalist, Alan Schwarz discusses how millions of patients are being told that they have ADHD when they most likely do not. While the investigative journalist in charge of this research believes in the validity of ADHD, he brings up how fifteen percent of children in the United States are diagnosed with ADHD which is approximately three times the rate that most experts agree to be accurate. A diagnosis of ADHD could be an easy solution to a patient’s unknown problem because there is no x-ray that can be done to determine if a patient actually has ADHD. Therefore, diagnosing ADHD is fairly simple for doctors. One of the only problems with being misdiagnosed with ADHD is that large amounts of children could be unnecessarily taking strong medications. If unnecessary, taking ADHD medication should be avoided, particularly by children, because of the negative side effects that could occur.

With the increase of the diagnosing of ADHD and prescribing of ADHD medication, comes the increasing availability of this medication, possibly to those who do not legally or medically need it. While ADHD medication can be beneficial to those suffering the medical disorder, there are certain consequences that go along with abusing the powerful medication. In “The United States of Adderall,” Diller explains the negative effects of abusing Adderall and the chance of becoming addicted. The psychiatrist explains the noticeable evolving trend in the use of ADHD medication; this trend refers to the continual increase in both legal and illegal use of Adderall and other ADHD medication. It is not just psychiatrists and doctors that are noticing the effects of ADHD medication. The YouTube video “YouSpeak: Adderall” interviews a selected random sample of Boston University college students and asks for their viewpoints on the topic of neuroenhancers. A common theme brought up by the students would be that they each knew at least one person that was illegally abusing ADHD medication in order to improve their studying. It is interesting to note that these students that are interviewed may not necessarily have a particular interest in the topic, however, they seem relatively informed; this proves just how prevalent the matter is on college campuses around the United States. These college students do not seem to phased or uncomfortable while talking about their acquaintances abusing illegal drugs. It is possible that this is due to their reasoning behind taking it; they are taking them to try to improve their grades, exam performance, and overall educational experience. In “Three Arguments against Prescription Requirements,” Flanigan brings up how those taking Adderall illegally believe that the benefits outweigh the risks. The benefits would be the ability to study more productively and the risks would the chance of becoming addicted to the medication and also getting caught and facing the legal consequences. Flanigan argues for the “rights of self-medication” (Flanigan 1). This means that people should be able to have a firm say in whether or not they take a medication from a doctor. People that also believe this could justify the use of ADHD medication, whether illegally or not, by saying they are exercising their rights of self-medication.

A heavily debated topic among parents and doctors would be whether it is appropriate and suitable to prescribe ADHD medication to children. In “Not Robots: Children’s Perspectives on Authenticity, Moral Agency and Stimulant Drug Treatments,” Singh investigates children’s experiences with neuroenhancers. She aims to figure out if taking such medications are “potential threats… to authenticity and moral agency” (Singh 1). However, after conducting her investigation, she found that the majority of children do not feel that it is such a threat. Instead, children find that the medication gives them the “ability to meet normative expectations” (1). In conclusion to this research, children do not believe that taking medication for their ADHD is giving them an unfair advantage. Instead, they feel they are being placed at the average level for attention. As aforementioned, Frances believes that most children that are diagnosed with ADHD do not actually have the medical disorder and are in fact simply very active children. Children should not be prescribed ADHD medication so quickly; instead, doctors should try to figure out the true problem and work through it without the use of medication. This would be far more beneficial for children because it avoids the use of them taking powerful medications. In “ADHD Drugs Are Overprescribed for Children,” Marsa describes how children are being unnecessarily diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication, similarly to other doctors and authors that have already been referenced. Marsa even describes it as an epidemic. She believes in the diagnosis of ADHD but feels that its symptoms are often misunderstood. She discusses how it is possible for the symptoms of ADHD to come from other disorders. Since there seems to be such a strong placement on children’s health, children’s medical concerns are often diagnosed more seriously than they should be. Similar to Schwarz, Marsa proposes that the children’s behavior problems should be explored in more depth before diagnosing it as ADHD to fully ensure that the diagnosis is in fact valid and correct.Singh also draws attention to the correlation between a child taking ADHD medication and parenting and cultural influences. Children are more likely to get prescriptions from a doctor if the parents are more heavily involved in their education and aggressively want them to succeed. On the contrary, children are more likely to get diagnosed with ADHD if they watched a lot of television as a young child. There is also the genetic aspect that children are more likely to have ADHD if it runs in the family. 

Another debatable topic about the rise in ADHD is why there is such a controversy surrounding this topic. In “Medication Treatment for ADHD: Controversy Abounds,” Busch explains how it is controversial because of how it has a strong tie to education. A hard-working student first realized she needed help with productivity and attention issues when she “scored a B- on her first organic chemistry test, despite pulling several all-nighters to prepare” (Diller 1). She then began taking Adderall pills illegally and felt a world of a difference. There are many students that decide to illegally take neuroenhancers with innocent-enough intentions of getting better grades. It is moments like this that give Adderall a bad reputation. Singh observes that “where the boundary between ADHD and typical childhood behavior is located is ultimately a political and social choice, not a scientific one” (Singh 1). In addition to being abused by college students to pull all-nighters more easily, ADHD medication is also commonly used in children. It is highly debated if it is moral or not to let children consume such a powerful medication.

Whether or not someone should be taking the ADHD medication relates to the point about how it is so ambiguous whether or not a patient has ADHD. There is a debate whether or not patients get purposely misdiagnosed so they can gain an advantage ahead of other students to further their education. Another reason would be how there is no way to tell if a patient for sure has ADHD; this means that patients could easily be misdiagnosed by doctors. An additional problem with this would be how it is relatively easy to trick a doctor into diagnosing the patient with ADHD in order to get a prescription. She mentions that another issue is how neuroenhancers are only an effective short-term treatment and that there are not any effective long-term treatments available for ADHD. Cultural changes are also brought up, including the low quality of the United States education system and changes surrounding family demographics.

Furthermore, with controversy also comes opposition. There are many people (such as doctors and scientists) that do research in order to prove that ADHD medications should not be prescribed to children. As aforementioned, Allen Frances is without a doubt against overly prescribing children with ADHD medication. He believes that most children are simply more active than others and that they should not be given such powerful medication. It is relatively common for young children, boys in particular, to have a large amount of energy and behavioral patterns that are comparable to the hyperactive symptoms of ADHD. These behavioral tendencies are more likely to be noticeable when in a school setting or when the child is told to sit still and focus. As Frances agrees, active children have trouble dealing with those types of circumstances and act out. This can be misconstrued as symptoms of ADHD. These behavioral patterns should not be misunderstood though and should be looked at in more depth to avoid misdiagnosing them with a medical disorder they do not have. Although Frances’s argument is logical and valid, there are children that do need the medication and their disorders should not be belittled and told that they are just active because medication could be highly beneficial for them. Needless to say, it is understandable that many people feel opposed to college students abusing ADHD medication, as it is a dangerous and unhealthy habit for people. 

All of this research about ADHD medication being overprescribed is important because it can benefit people who are affected by either ADHD or ADHD medication, including parents and children, colleges, and doctors. Parents would care because there is a large amount of children being given these prescriptions for ADHD medication. They would benefit from gaining a better understanding of the medication and if it is right for their child. Doctors and scientists would care because they are the ones prescribing and researching the medication, respectively. They should be aware of what is going on surrounding the medication that they could be prescribing to their patients; they need to ensure that it is suitable for each individual patient. Colleges would care because it is mainly college students that are abusing ADHD medication in order to further their education, productivity, and attentiveness. Since this illegal activity is so focused on college campuses, colleges would definitely be interested in the facts about the rise of ADHD medication. Again, as brought up by the Boston University students that were interviewed in “YouSpeak: Adderall,” it is not rare to be acquainted with at least one other student that abuses Adderall or any other form of ADHD medication. This is a dangerous problem occurring on college campuses across the United States; if students believe that they have an attention problem, they should seek help from a doctor instead of gaining the medication illegally which could lead to dangerous and unhealthy consequences (such as negative side effects or becoming addicted). A solution to all of this would be for everyone affected to make sure it is necessary for them to be taking ADHD medication. 

In conclusion, it is undeniable that there has been a drastic rise in the number of patients (including children) being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed to take ADHD medication. There are several factors that have contributed to this rise. One of the most significant elements would be the recent discoveries about the medical disorder. Along with more research going into ADHD research comes the public being more accepting and interested. This means that there will be more doctors talking to their patients about diagnosing them and prescribing ADHD medication to them. Although still controversial and debatable, it seems as if the positive effects of the increase in the diagnosing of ADHD and prescribing of ADHD medication are beneficial to the public, regardless of the negative effects. These negative effects include people illegally abusing ADHD medication and the dangerous risk of becoming addicted. Although these negative effects are a possibility, the ways that ADHD medication can improve productivity and attentiveness are beneficial to those diagnosed with ADHD. A solution to stop this increase would be to educate people about the true signs of having ADHD and also about the unhealthy side effects that can occur to persuade students away from abusing the medications.
