With three out of every thirty children suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), it is crucial that we carefully examine the treatments offered for these disabilities, which are spreading slowly through out the youth society ("ADDitude: Living Well with Attention Deficit"). ADHD and ADD are mental disorders that are most prevalent in childhood, and cause hyperactivity and inattentive or impulsive behavior. The treatments for ADHD and ADD include stimulant medication, non-stimulant medication and behavioral therapy. The majority of children who are affected by ADHD or ADD rely on stimulant medications, rather than non stimulant medications or behavioral therapy to treat their disabilities. As the popularity of these medications rise, we must ask ourselves, are these stimulant drugs helpful or harmful to our children?.
Amphetamine and Methamphetamine.
The main chemicals that are used in the most commonly prescribed ADHD/ADD stimulant medicines are amphetamine and methamphetamine. According to Karla Fitzhugh, author of Crystal Meth and Other Amphetamines, amphetamine, which was first discovered in 1887 by a German chemist, is a synthetic stimulant that works to speed up the brain's activity. The drug effects the prefrontal cortex of the brain and stimulates the body's central nervous system by making the nerve cells in the brain produce large amounts of dopamine. By increasing the levels of dopamine in the user's brain, the user will temporally feel more alert and focused, highly energized and may experience a euphoric state. Amphetamines increase the speed of communication between the brain and the nervous system. .
Methamphetamine, discovered in 1893 by a Japanese chemist, effects the brain in the nearly the exact same ways as amphetamines (Fitzhugh 12). Both amphetamine medications such as Adderall, Adderall XR, Vyanse, Dextrostat, or Dexedrine and methamphetamine medications such as Concerta, Ritalin, Daytrana, Metadate or Methylin come in rapid release form and extended release form.
The smoking of cannabis even long-term, has yet been proven harmful to health. ... And it is becoming more common to see this helpful drug being prescribed by doctors. ... How about a little fact to end on; marijuana is a stimulant and sedative drug at the same time. ...
It is helpful to determine what precipitated the request for evaluation and what approaches had been used in the past. ... Studies that compared stimulants with psychosocial treatment (behavioral intervention)consistently reported greater efficacy of stimulants. ...
Hundreds of studies conducted indicate that stimulants (most commonly used), antidepressants, and clonidine (drug used to treat high blood pressure) can be very helpful for AD/HD. Stimulants have shown to be the most effective, fifty to ninety-five percent of children, improving behavior, school improvement, and social skills (Barkley 1995). ... When children do not respond to stimulant medications, other types are prescribed. ... Other medications have far more serious side effects than the stimulants and should not be considered unless there is reasonable clinical information to support the ...
The abuse of stimulants such as coke, ecstasy and meth deplete the dopamine. ... You may wonder how someone could want to do anything that harmful and ludicrous to his or her own bodies. ... A stimulant such as cocaine produces dopamine, which will give your body energy. ... In general all stimulants give you energy, but the drug manipulates this energy. ... It is very helpful to have someone there, you can lend a hand with each other's ability to stop, keep each other on track. ...
I also felt that the use of marijuana was the harmful to a person physical and mental health. ... There is no evidence to prove that marijuana use in chemotherapy is helpful (Drug legalization, 1994). ... As for the statement that says that there is no evidence to prove that marijuana use in chemotherapy is helpful, the answer is obvious from the many scientific evidence that I came across. ... Appetite stimulant 3. ... Marijuana can replace a number of more harmful drugs and has proven to have a more positive effect on the body and the mind. ...
The use of these drugs can result in many side effects which can be spotted by the naked eye, so what are some of these drugs side effects, and are they harmful to the athlete? ... They include Amphetamines, stimulants, and anabolic steroids. ... Stimulants give the body a feeling of highness. ... It is the impact of taking non-effective substances and believing it to be helpful but the very drugs that they take to succeed may in fact reduce their chances of success. ...
Ritalin is a potentially harmful, over prescribed drug, put out as a treatment to the over diagnosed disease Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ... At this point there were about Fourteen million prescriptions filled for stimulant drugs the majority of which were Ritalin prescriptions for ADHD. ... Even though these stimulants help the families and the children involved I"m positive that the well being of the children is undoubtedly not the only thing on the minds of the businessmen behind these companies. ... Rather than over prescribing Ritalin to our children we could use less harm...
Before he came up with the concept over pasteurizing milk, milk contained many harmful bacterial substances (Cothran 79). ... Ethnologists point out that some animals, such as dogs, cats, and primates practice behavior patterns, that the animals care for each other, and that tests can be helpful for psychological research (Watts 21). ... For example, penicillin kills guinea pigs, aspirin kills cats, and morphine, a depressant to humans, acts as a stimulant to cats, goats, and horses (PETA). ... This is yet another example of why animal experimentation is harmful to humans (PETA). ...
John marsden said "Lack of over the use of substances is indeed at the heart of what an addiction is " (bbc.co.uk, 1997) The most harmful addiction is type is drug, particulsrly cocaine. ... Lacking social abilities which are necessary for building- (Eiseman,S. ,,,,,,) Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that directly effects the brain, pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of Erytroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the 19th century. ... Group therapy is the most helpful treatment for addicts. ... Addicts may not be problem with less harmful drugs. ...