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The Adderall Epidemic


Like an episode of Friends, I'm calling this topic "the one that started it". Like I said in my intro, this blog has been in the back of my mind for a while, but nothing ever propelled it forward. There are so many things I hate about blogs - the irritating sense of entitlement by an author, endless ads, and so much detail about the author's life (thank you, "Jump to Recipe" creator!). You won't get that here. I'd love to stay anonymous, and frankly, I've been too long-winded already. Let's get to the reason I started this...

My local moms group is ACTIVE. Almost to a fault. But a recent post by one of the members piqued my interest in the topic of Adderall use in teens and college students to enhance their concentration and performance while studying for finals. This doesn't seem to be the only time students are using this stuff, but the recent death of two college students at Ohio State brought to my attention to how easily these teens and young adults can acquire substances that are laced with other things. In this instance (and apparently in most), Fentanyl is the culprit, because it is easy and cheap to make, therefore it gets mixed frequently with other drugs. According to studies, even 2mg can be lethal. To put this in perspective, one tiny pink tablet of Benadryl is 25mg. What?!

So many instances of substance abuse are on the rise these days, especially since people are starting to be social once again. This topic could really go down a rabbit hole of tangents, so I'll leave those topics to be revisited later.

In my Google dive, I found what looks like a great couple of documentaries on this topic. You'll start to see that I love using documentaries with my kids. It's a great way to open a door to an uncomfortable subject, and they're more likely to ask questions while we're sitting on the couch, watching together. Here are two I found:

Killer High: The Silent Crisis (documentary on Hulu and Nat Geo)

Take Your Pills (on Netflix)

I also found out that there are places to become trained in "overdose reversal". There are specific remedies that can be used (with proper training) to save lives. I'm going to try to take one of these classes, it might be a great topic for a future post.

THE WRAP UP
My overall impression here is that young people - even overall healthy ones - are feeling enough pressure in school to seek out ways to achieve perfection. There are so many places to assign that blame, but what can I do as a parent? My personal plan is to constantly engage with my kids. Ask them leading questions. Find out how they're feeling. Notice changes in their demeanor. Love them. And be #AlwaysAware 💜

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