People are approaching it from the wrong direction. It might seem like I am trying to justify methamphetamine being available by pointing out the similarity to methylphenidate. In fact, that’s not what I am doing at all.
I am pointing out that methamphetamine has two effects, and that one of those two effects is biologically the same effect as methylphenidate.
This means that regardless of whether a person with ADHD(which is something you have your whole life) uses methylphenidate or uses methamphetamine, it’s performing the same basic role, as medicine.
To explain this in simple terms:
A person with ADHD has a brain that is naturally starved for dopamine and norepinepherine.
Giving methylphenidate(Ritalin) to a person with ADHD is like giving food to someone who’s starving. Their body needs it to make up for a chemical their body doesn’t naturally have enough of. Methylphenidate is like a gourmet meal with all of your nutrients for the day.
But for that same person, methamphetamine is like junk food. A greasy burger, a large order of fries, and a shake. It’s not the best thing for you, but it DOES provide those chemicals that the person with ADHD doesn’t naturally have.
So classifying this as “addiction” is very inappropriate. It’s not that the person is finding a new substance and putting it in their body and that it’s becoming a need. It’s that the person was born with a need for chemicals that other people’s brains naturally already had, and then they found a medicine that provided those chemicals. Calling them “addicted” when all they’re doing is just taking a drug that raises their low levels to be like everyone else is pathologizing treatment, and it’s creating a false perception.
A lot of the things referred to as addiction are just a person who has a natural shortage of something trying to make up for it. And the people in charge think that they are performing a benefit by banning those substitutes. No. The solution is to actually make sure that people have the ability to meet those needs well before they ever get into a situation to use drugs.
You don’t convince people with ADHD not to use meth by banning it. You convince them not to use meth by identifying them young and making sure they have access to methylphenidate from childhood, which has been shown to drastically reduce the odds of using something like meth.
Most things that are called “addictions” are just people trying to meet a biological need and not having a good option for how to do that. The solution isn’t to make those things unavailable(leaving their needs TOTALLY unmet, which is dangerous for them), but instead to look at making sure that those needs get identified and taken care of when the person is young, to know how to meet those needs in ways that are more appropriate.
A person who is starving might benefit from having a super healthy meal. But if they don’t have that super healthy meal, from their perspective, that unhealthy meal will do.
A person who lacks enough dopamine and norepinepherine might benefit from having a super appropriate medicine(methylphenidate). But if they don’t have that super appropriate medicine, from their perspective, that unhealthy medicine(methamphetamine) will do.
These “addictions” aren’t springing up and aren’t caused by the drug. They’re from birth.
A “meth addict” with ADHD is equally as addicted to meth as a person with diabetes is to insulin. It’s just that one is demonized.
I explained it in another response on this page.
People are approaching it from the wrong direction. It might seem like I am trying to justify methamphetamine being available by pointing out the similarity to methylphenidate. In fact, that’s not what I am doing at all.
I am pointing out that methamphetamine has two effects, and that one of those two effects is biologically the same effect as methylphenidate.
This means that regardless of whether a person with ADHD(which is something you have your whole life) uses methylphenidate or uses methamphetamine, it’s performing the same basic role, as medicine.
To explain this in simple terms:
A person with ADHD has a brain that is naturally starved for dopamine and norepinepherine.
Giving methylphenidate(Ritalin) to a person with ADHD is like giving food to someone who’s starving. Their body needs it to make up for a chemical their body doesn’t naturally have enough of. Methylphenidate is like a gourmet meal with all of your nutrients for the day.
But for that same person, methamphetamine is like junk food. A greasy burger, a large order of fries, and a shake. It’s not the best thing for you, but it DOES provide those chemicals that the person with ADHD doesn’t naturally have.
So classifying this as “addiction” is very inappropriate. It’s not that the person is finding a new substance and putting it in their body and that it’s becoming a need. It’s that the person was born with a need for chemicals that other people’s brains naturally already had, and then they found a medicine that provided those chemicals. Calling them “addicted” when all they’re doing is just taking a drug that raises their low levels to be like everyone else is pathologizing treatment, and it’s creating a false perception.
A lot of the things referred to as addiction are just a person who has a natural shortage of something trying to make up for it. And the people in charge think that they are performing a benefit by banning those substitutes. No. The solution is to actually make sure that people have the ability to meet those needs well before they ever get into a situation to use drugs.
You don’t convince people with ADHD not to use meth by banning it. You convince them not to use meth by identifying them young and making sure they have access to methylphenidate from childhood, which has been shown to drastically reduce the odds of using something like meth.
Most things that are called “addictions” are just people trying to meet a biological need and not having a good option for how to do that. The solution isn’t to make those things unavailable(leaving their needs TOTALLY unmet, which is dangerous for them), but instead to look at making sure that those needs get identified and taken care of when the person is young, to know how to meet those needs in ways that are more appropriate.
A person who is starving might benefit from having a super healthy meal. But if they don’t have that super healthy meal, from their perspective, that unhealthy meal will do.
A person who lacks enough dopamine and norepinepherine might benefit from having a super appropriate medicine(methylphenidate). But if they don’t have that super appropriate medicine, from their perspective, that unhealthy medicine(methamphetamine) will do.
These “addictions” aren’t springing up and aren’t caused by the drug. They’re from birth.
A “meth addict” with ADHD is equally as addicted to meth as a person with diabetes is to insulin. It’s just that one is demonized.