Do stimulants help or harm?

Stefana, a 20-year-old Columbia University student troubled by her workload, took a 20-milligram pill at 10 o'clock one night and went to her dorm room to study for a final exam the next day.

[Speedball]

I do a hit of speed to get the house real clean, and it works

[Slow it down]

Speedball wrote:

I do a hit of speed to get the house real clean, and it works

That's just wrong

[James Cocores MD]

Stimulants such as Adderall and Concerta are safe when prescribed and regularly monitored by a psychiatrist. These stimulants are now controlled dangerous substances because dieters abused stimulants by having numerous prescribing doctors during the 1960s. Prescription stimulant addicts became psychotic, not addicted. Street amphetamines, cocaine, alcohol, and pot considerably more addictive and cause brain damage, while Adderall and Concerta do not appear to cause brain damage. There is no appreciable withdrawal syndrome associated with the abrupt cessation of therapeutic doses of Adderall or Concerta; only a refund of ADD symptoms and disorganized thinking. If you prefer dietary changes to medicines, visit ADDandNutrition.com .

[REALLY]

Pot is more addictive than stimulants? Really? Where was that study published? Prescription or not, any stimulant would have to be at least a little more addictive than marijuana... don't you think?
Or is the MD just spreading the propaganda of Big Pharma.

[James Cocores MD]

Stimulants such as Adderall and Concerta are safe when prescribed and regularly monitored by a psychiatrist. These stimulants are now controlled dangerous substances because dieters abused stimulants by having numerous prescribing doctors during the 1960s. Prescription stimulant addicts became psychotic, not addicted. Street amphetamines, cocaine, alcohol, and pot considerably more addictive and cause brain damage, while Adderall and Concerta do not appear to cause brain damage. There is no appreciable withdrawal syndrome associated with the abrupt cessation of therapeutic doses of Adderall or Concerta; only a refund of ADD symptoms and disorganized thinking. If you prefer dietary changes to medicines, visit ADDandNutrition.com .

[Columbia student too-]

If an athlete on steroids wins a race against honest competitors has he really won? Focussing is half the battle with heavy academic study, thus these drugs can justifiably be seen as performance enhancers. Many of us, myself included, get grade point averages far above 3.7 without chemical support. I doubt that the use of these drugs is mentioned in our honor code, but unless a student really needs to treat their ADD, it is certainly dishonorable. We all have heavy a workload, it is what we signed up for and it's no excuse.

[Ben laden]

Hitler of Iran is coming to Columbia Univ,thank you Columbia and now you MUST covert to Islam and become a suicide bomber,practice by blowing up your famaly since they where good enough to send you there.

[hmmm]

To the idiot comparing steroid use compared to sports to education your opinion makes no sense. If people want to use chemicals and amphetamines to study better and get good grades then that's their buisness. worry about you and you only...

[Jake]

Adderall is definitely a performance enhancer, but shouldn't be compared to steroids in sports.When a student takes a.d.d. meds to study, they are enhancing their brains ability to gain knowledge. Unlike alcohol or weed, you don't forget what happens when you are on adderall. All the info that you cram into your brain is retained, just like when you study sober. This gives students the ability to learn more, keep from dropping out, or to just improve their lives through better education. Success in a modern world requires mental strength, not physical strength. Being the fastest and strongest in a sport can earn you money and respect, but at their heart, sports are meaningless competition, meant for entertainment. Because athletic sports are pure physical competition between athletes, performance enhancers are strictly forbidden, as they ruin fair competition. While watching nine athletes run a sprint is entertaining, it ultimately does very little for society.