Putting a Stop Over-Prescription of ADHD Medication

By: Edward Cha March 29, 2019

Over the past thirty years the number of children diagnosed with ADHD has increased

from 0% to about 12% in the United States according to the CDC.1 The large spike in people

overall getting diagnosed with ADHD has been the cause of prescription amphetamines coming

into the market and being used as a sedative to help people focus.2 Along with the large spike in

people diagnosed with ADHD came a shift in America's ideologies about the prescription of

medicinal based amphetamines thus, giving way to a rise in the abuse of amphetamine-based

drugs due to over-prescriptions, less active children, and pharmaceutical companies.3

By the 1990’s doctors began diagnosing ADHD more frequently, which began the

process of the shift in ideologies about amphetamine-based drugs.4 Along with the diagnosis

came a low dosage of prescribed amphetamine-based medication, which was increased as needed

almost without question.5 The parents saw this drug as beneficial to their children as it allowed

their children to perform better in school. According to Dr. Murtaza in the Psychiatric Annals,

amphetamines are extremely dangerous since they are highly addictive and stimulants which

increase heart rate and blood pressure, in turn increasing the core temperature of a person.6 The

addictive nature of Adderall stems from the effects it has on the brain. When a person with

ADHD takes Adderall, it releases an overload of dopamine to the body causing it to feel

relaxed.7 This release of dopamine is the highest the very first time someone takes Adderall and
will decrease as time progresses, leading to higher dosages that are needed to calm the person

with ADHD down again.8 Eventually turning into an addiction and something the person cannot

live without. If the drug is abused or overdosed, it can lead to severe addiction or even fatal heart

attacks.9

Pharmaceutical Fraud

Many things can be to blame for America’s growing reliance on amphetamine-based

drugs. First is the relative ease in which patients can be diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed an

amphetamine-based drug.10 In most early cases, simple complaints from a parent or written note

from a teacher would allow the doctor to diagnose and prescribe a person.11 In more recent years,

an attention deficiency hyperactive disorder test has been made that tests the attention span of an

individual.12 This test was created in reaction to the overdiagnosis of ADHD and pushback by

parents of children that have become addicted or have overdosed on amphetamines. Even with

this test, the number of children and adults diagnosed with ADHD continues to increase

exponentially.13

In addition to the doctors, according to NBC News pharmaceutical companies are

beginning to make deals with physicians giving them quotas of prescriptions to fill for a

commission.14 According to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this past

year five doctors were found taking bribes from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe a new

version of opioid and fentanyl painkiller.15 This is just the most recent case a pharmaceutical

companies abusing their power and pushing for their drugs to be prescribed. For example, in

2013 the Shires pharmaceutical company was sued on allegations that they were inflating the

price of the medication.16 This is the root of the problem, pharmaceutical companies that are in

the market for capital gain and not medical advances.

 This has been allowed through laws in place that restrict pharmaceutical companies from

exploiting medical insurance companies.17 Medical insurance is the main source of income for

pharmaceutical companies, creating a monopoly. With the introduction of Obamacare in 2010,

pharmaceutical companies have taken full advantage of all persons needing medical insurance.18

Pharmaceutical companies can charge any amount of money they want because they are the only

suppliers of medicine.19 This is evident based on the number of lawsuits and FBI investigations

increasing significantly against pharmaceutical companies after 2010.20 The lawsuit of California

state against Shires Pharmaceuticals was opened on the allegation that Shires Pharmaceuticals

were raising the prices of their medications.21 This case was brought into media attention since

many people in the state of California were using this drug. This lawsuit was directly affecting

the people of California and there was support against Shires Pharmaceutical company for

inflating prices.22

With pharmaceutical companies exploiting insurance paired with fewer active kids are a

recipe for disaster. Statistics by the Center for Disease Control show that children are becoming

less active.
 This is a direct result of the improvements of technology and shift in social ideologies

towards it. Before mobile phones and laptops, the only screen in the American household was a

television.23 There were only a few channels to choose from and screen time could be regulated

by parents. With the rise of technology and mobile devices, regulation on screen time grows

significantly more difficult.24 As children are growing up seeing their peers on their mobile

devices constantly, it can be difficult to regulate screen time.25 Resulting in a social shift in the

ideologies of America’s view on technology’s that ultimately impact children.

According to Dr. David Hill, the average child spends about four to six hours in front of a

screen.26 These are hours that same child can spend outside playing sports and being active.

According to the Center for Disease Control low activity can cause a child to be stressed and

become hyperactive.27 This is further proven by a statement of Dr. Allen J. Francis, who stated

that children who are more active tend to not exhibit behaviors associated with ADHD.28 The

inactivity of children coupled with doctors over diagnosing and prescribing medication is a

major factor in this ADHD medication.29

Pop Culture’s View on ADHD Medication

Another major factor in this problem is America’s viewpoint on prescription ADHD

medication is its portrayal in pop culture.30 The effects of ADHD medication are heightened

focus and being able to stay up through the night.31 It is for this reason why many people in pop

culture, such as song writers and rappers, have taken this drug to write songs quickly.32 Famous

rappers like Machine Gun Kelly the Cleveland native was on the Breakfast Club radio show in

September, saying he wrote a song in one night while on a pill of Adderall.33 It is references to

the drug from famous artists like him which increase the popularity of this drug among the

youth. Being able to write a hit song in one night from one pill of Adderall is something many
aspiring artists or even people who look up to him can try to emulate.34 Which in turn can cause

teens to go out and try to use this drug to help them pursue their dreams.

On top of artists referencing the drugs in interviews, they also make references to them in

hit songs. Songs which can have millions of more people listening to the lyrics than a radio

show.35 With more people tuning in to songs with references to Adderall or other ADHD

medication it glamorizes it as a party drug. Something that in the public eye is not seen as a

taboo drug like cocaine or hallucinogens. With artists glamorizing amphetamine-based

medication for ADHD it further removes drugs like Adderall from the negative effects that make

it a prescription drug.36

However, it is not only the music industry that is glamorizing amphetamine-based

medication it is also the movie industry. Many movies depict Adderall as a party drug, or

something used to help the protagonist study for an exam.37 Blockbuster movies like 21 Jump

Street, 22 Jump Street, and Project X, all put Adderall in the spotlight as a party drug.38 In the

movies the protagonists take these drugs and have hilarious moments while on the drug.39 Young

adults looking to have a good time just the same as Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum in the movies

might try and take the drug to see how it feels.40 Not knowing the addictive nature of an

amphetamine-based drug, a person can become quickly addicted to it, even after the first use.41

Movies that depict Adderall as a party drug directly targets the young adult’s demographic as

that is the life they are living currently.

Even with the inaccurate depiction of Adderall and other ADHD medications, there are

still firm supporters of the effects these drugs have on them. Many parents state that they see an

immediate difference in their child’s behavior and grades while on the drug as opposed to not on

it.42 They state that their children are calmer and more attentive than before the drug.43 The use
of Adderall however is not just for people suffering from ADHD, some use it to relieve anxiety

or depression.44 There are a few of many things that Adderall can help with on top of ADHD.

Social Cost of Over-Prescription of ADHD Medication

The usual story with people against drugs like Adderall or other amphetamine-based

drugs is a story of how their child overdosed and died. Almost 30,000 Americans have died in

the past year due to an Amphetamine-based drug

overdose and this number is growing

exponentially.45 Families of these victims have

started to speak out, preaching awareness and how

it can be a silent addiction.46 In one case covered

by Fox News, one family was torn apart after their

son had overdosed of Adderall.47 It was

something that he had done in college to help him

study for exams and write papers, that eventually

turned into an addiction.48 Far too often this is the

result of addiction to amphetamine-based drugs.

Also typical is children that have grown

up on the medication and now cannot live without it.49 Growing up on a medication that is

supposed to help solve a problem causes a more serious problem, addiction.50 Many of these

people that are addicts are functioning addicts and do not behave like an addict that is wild and
sporadic.51 A functioning addict behaves normally but must have a certain drug to behave in that

manner if not, they will begin to go through withdrawal.52

These are the people that are speaking out against amphetamine-based drugs and how

they have turned them into addicts.53 Stating that addiction has crippling effects on the mind and

body which include, nausea, anxiety, and migraines.54 Many people who are addicted to

amphetamine-based drugs go to rehabilitation centers to cure their addiction. These are examples

of the greater social cost that the ADHD medication over-prescription crisis is causing.

Federal Action Against Pharmaceutical Companies

A potential solution to this problem could be to contact the Senate Finance Committee

and have them try and pass legislation to be able to fund either the Drug Enforcement

Administration or Federal Bureau of Investigation. In February the Senate Finance Committee

held a meeting with several CEO’s of pharmaceutical to get them to lower pricing of prescription

drugs.55 This is in light of many pharmaceutical companies raising the pricing of drugs

significantly. 56

If the Senate Finance Committee would be able to gather the funding for the either the

DEA or FBI, then the agencies would be more effective in cracking down on the

Medicaid/Medicare anti-kickback statute.57 This statute was set after the supreme court

prosecuted Dr. Davis Brown for receiving payment from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe

their new human growth hormone.58 The reason why there are not more cases like this happening

is because this was a massive scale operation busting one of the big pharmaceutical firms, which

resulted in a fine of 161 million dollars.59 To conduct maybe several hundred investigations like
the DEA or FBI would need to create an entire sector devoted to just pharmaceutical fraud. This

is because the DEA and FBI are already underfunded as it is.

Also, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation they are meant just to conduct an

investigation into fraud and criminal mischief on a bigger scale.60 Unlike the Drug Enforcement

Administration, which actually conduct the operations for the most part with their sole purpose

to combat the war on drugs.61 Putting this on the shoulders of just one of these agencies could be

a conflict of interest or even too much for one to handle. So, by putting it on both of the agencies

could be the most effective way to combat pharmaceutical fraud.

Endnotes

1
“Stimulant Use Disorders” Libraries.psu.edu, Psychiatric Annals, https://search-proquest-
com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2085788970?accountid=13158
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Legg, Timothy J. “The History of ADHD: A Timeline.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 12 Oct.
2017, www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history.
5
Ibid.
6
“Inconclusive Evidence Puts Adderall Back on the Market” Libraries.psu.edu, Canadian
Medical Association,
https://searchproquestcom.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2085788970?accountid=13158
7
Ibid.

8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Winter, Tom. “Drug Maker Allegedly Bribed NYC Doctors with Cash, Lap Dances,
Dinners.”NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-
news/feds-say-5-nyc-doctors-took-bribes-drug-maker-prescribe-n857476.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Berman, Jillian. “Lawsuit Alleges Adderall Price Inflation.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 Apr. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/adderall-
lawsuit_n_3015413.html.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Manning-Schaffel, Vivian. “Realistic Screen Time Solutions for Kids (and Their Parents).”
NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/better/health/realistic-screen-
time-solutions-kids-their-parents-ncna850056.
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
26
Ibid.
27
“CDC | Physical Activity | Facts | Healthy Schools.” Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
Legg, Timothy J. “The History of ADHD: A Timeline.”
31
Ibid.

32
FM, Breakfast Club Power 105.1. “Machine Gun Kelly Breaks Down Eminem Feud, Halsey
Rumors, Mac Miller's Death, Binge EP + More.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Sept. 2018,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0u232ODx8.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid.
35
Ibid.
36
Ibid.
37
Moritz, Neal H., et al. 21 Jump Street. Sony Pictures Releasing, 2012.
38
Ibid.
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.

41
“Inconclusive Evidence Puts Adderall Back on the Market” Canadian Medical Association
42
“Study Drug” Libraries.psu.edu, Congressional Documents, Washington, June 2013,
https://searchproquestcom.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1367094386?accountid=13158
43
Ibid.
44
“Stimulant Use Disorders” Psychiatric Annals

45
Manriquez, Pablo. “Adderall & Me: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” Fox News, FOX
News Network, 11 Feb. 2013, www.foxnews.com/politics/adderall-me-the-good-the-bad-
and-the-ugly.

46
Ibid.

47
Ibid.

48
Ibid.

49
“Stimulant Use Disorders” Psychiatric Annals

50
Ibid.

51
“Study Drug” Congressional Documents

52
Ibid.

53
“Inconclusive Evidence Puts Adderall Back on the Market” Canadian Medical Association

54
Ibid.

55
Huetteman, Emmarie, and Jay Hancock. “Congress to Square off against Pharmaceutical CEOs
in Showdown over Drug Prices.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 25
Feb. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/02/25/prescription-drug-prices-
senate-finance-committee-pharmaceutical-ceos-chuck-grassley/2982705002/.

56
Ibid.
57
Sorenson, Kristin A. “Is It Legal for a Physician to Receive Payment for Prescribing a Drug?”
Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association, American Medical Association, 1 July
 2003, journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/it-legal-physician-receive-payment-prescribing-
drug/2003-07.

58
Ibid.

59
Ibid.

60
“Mission & Priorities.” FBI, FBI, 3 May 2016, www.fbi.gov/about/mission.

61
“History.” DEA, www.dea.gov/history.