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Cautionary Tale About Adderall's Dangers Featured in Sunday's New York Times
By Joe Elia
A lengthy account of one young man's descent from seemingly innocent Adderall abuse into paranoia, psychosis, and eventual suicide will likely have patients and colleagues talking today.
The story, featured on the New York Times front page, details how easily the young man got the drug from college friends to help him study. After graduation the abuse worsened, and he found it easy to get clinicians to prescribe increasing doses with little clinical follow-up.
Young adults are the fastest-growing segment of the population taking drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to the story. U.S. prescriptions for ADHD drugs more than doubled between 2007 and 2011 for those between ages 20 and 39.
LINK(S):
New York Times story (Free)
Published in Physician's First Watch February 4, 2013
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- New Yord Time Adderall Article
Alexis Polles, 5 Feb 2013 4:11 PM EST
Specialty: Addiction Psychiatry
I'm so glad that the tragedy of doctors becoming drug suppliers for what we used to call speed is being... [more] - Adderall
J Ross Hester, PA-CH, Edcom Associates Holistic Health, 5 Feb 2013 4:11 PM EST
Specialty: Psychiatry
This article refers to "seemingly innocent Adderal abuse" there is no such thing. To condemn a substance that when correctly... [more] - Adderall
Roger Felix, 7 Feb 2013 2:49 PM EST
Specialty: Family Medicine
I practice in New Mexico. Due to the fact that I have mostly been doing urgent care in the past... [more]
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