Prescription Stimulants: Use As Directed

      Prescription stimulants are used all around us to combat narcolepsy and hyperactivity disorder, better known as ADHD. The most common of these prescription stimulants would be Ritalin and Adderall. These help increase energy and focus when taken correctly. 

    How can one misuse their prescription stimulants? To start, an individual may take their prescription stimulants in larger quantities than are prescribed to them. This can be considered misuse as each prescription is created and tailored to the individual's needs, exceeding the amount they take may change the effects of the medication. Backpacking off of this, one may misuse their prescription stimulants by taking another person's prescribed amount, this amount may vary from their own personal amount, thus possibly changing the effect of the medication. The last way that an individual may misuse their prescription stimulants would be to take the medication only to experience the effects it may have on them, in more simple terms, getting high. All of these are examples of misusing medications. 

    Prescription stimulants can be very dangerous if taken incorrectly as they cause many physiological changes to occur within the body. The physiological effects that can occur are increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, and increased blood sugar. When taken incorrectly, this medication can lead to heart failure, extremely high body temperatures, and seizures. These possible effects lead us to the idea of overdosing. Overdosing can occur when people take so much of a certain medication where their body produces a life threatening reaction or even death. Many of the side effects listed and the possibility of overdose all come down to the individual being addicted to said medication. Overall this medication, when used correctly, can provide very beneficial effects to an individual's ability to focus, but when used incorrectly it has the ability to cause a lot of harm to the people who abuse it 

NIDA. 2018, June 6. Prescription Stimulants DrugFacts. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-stimulants on 2023, November 27