Adderall doesn't treat stupidity or laziness

[Treehugger]

Will Hill: NFL banning Adderall could cause problems

• By Marc Sessler
  
• Around the League Writer
  
• Published: Nov. 8, 2012 at 12:20 p.m.
  
• Updated: Nov. 8, 2012 at 12:39 p.m.
  

A rash of NFL players have been suspended by the league this season for using the prescription drug Adderall.

New York Giants safety Will Hill received a four-game suspension in October for Adderall use, which violates the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy. Hill this week warned that banning the substance -- which he began using last spring to treat ADHD -- will lead to problems.

 

"It is a medical condition and people do take it for medical (purposes)," Hill told Tom Rock of Newsday. "I know there are other people who do take it for like, to be up, to have fun, things like that, but some people really need to take it because if they don't take it, then what? There's going to be problems. People are going to be agitated and things are going to go on. There'll be people like me, I can't take it no more."

 

Hill is incorrect on one account. The NFL permits players to use Adderall if they secure a league exemption. Giants running back Andre Brown followed that path and was granted permission to use the drug. The league lifted Brown's potential suspension because he went through the proper channels ahead of time.

 

Hill told Newsday he knew he was in trouble after signing with the Giants. The team warned him Adderall was on the banned list, but he'd already begun using it.

 

Players dealing with ADHD can, in fact, make Adderall part of their treatment. The paperwork might be a hassle, but the league has provided a work-around for its athletes.

[Storm]

I don't really see any credibility in Will's story whatsoever. You don't suddenly develop ADHD at age 22 or whatever. And, like you said, he's stupid and lazy for not going through the proper channels to be able to use it. And really, what is he, swatting at butterflies instead of covering the TE down the seam in practice? Unable to get off Facebook when he's studying the playbook? C'mon, your average adult is going to show signs and symptoms of ADHD during childhood, not when he's coming into the league....the fact that we have like at least 3 players on the team who are doing this and taking this drug....3 out of 54 grown men taking hyperactivity medication (or using it as a cover-up for what they really took since the NFL doesn't comment) that is known to turn you into a freaking beast who won't sleep for 3 days if you abuse it.....is questionable at best.

[osi724dasack]

I 100% believe that Will Hill has legit ADHD

[Storm]

I 100% believe that Will Hill has legit ADHD

 

Yes because it's so prevalent among and known to pop up in the early 20s of otherwise completely healthy dudes (no brain injury)---it's not....you can't even be diagnosed with the actual disorder, ADHD, without prior symptoms before age 7, so you'd have to be relying on self-reports and the word of the person...it just doesn't make sense to me

[Storm]

"Sash says he didn't realize he had to inform the NFL, but that doesn't quite wash. His teammate Andre Brown was suspended earlier this year for failing a drug test, but Brown appealed that he had a prescription, and had forgotten to fill out the league paperwork. Exactly the same situation as Sash's, if you believe Sash. Brown's appeal was successful; Sash's was not. We're obviously not getting the full story here.

We wish the NFL was more transparent on these matters. Brown's suspension was vacated. Texans punter Bret Hartmann had his Ritalin suspension reduced to three games. Packers DEMike Neal's was upheld at four games. Pittsburgh TE Weslye Saunders and Rams WR Austin Pettis too. What's the difference in all these cases? Obviously something. But the NFL can't comment—they're not allowed to, under the CBA. And that leaves the door open for any player who fails a drug test of any kind to claim it was prescribed ADHD medication, and the league can't refute it. All these suspensions have come in the last year, so Adderall might be the new excuse of choice for a positive test, replacing the long-lived "tainted supplement" defense.

The excuse becomes less believable when the league specifically allows Adderall and Ritalin when prescribed correctly. So, some advice to players: just find a shady doctor who's liberal with his scrip pad. It's really not that hard. Baseball players have figured that out."

 

http://deadspin.com/5931646/adderall-is-the-nfls-hot-new-ped-excuse

 

 

There's a lot of inconsistencies in Sash's story, too.

[Storm]

http://www.bucsnation.com/2012/10/29/3570784/are-nfl-players-really-taking-adderall

[Iceman_NYG]

I don't really see any credibility in Will's story whatsoever. You don't suddenly develop ADHD at age 22 or whatever. And, like you said, he's stupid and lazy for not going through the proper channels to be able to use it. And really, what is he, swatting at butterflies instead of covering the TE down the seam in practice? Unable to get off Facebook when he's studying the playbook? C'mon, your average adult is going to show signs and symptoms of ADHD during childhood, not when he's coming into the league....the fact that we have like at least 3 players on the team who are doing this and taking this drug....3 out of 54 grown men taking hyperactivity medication (or using it as a cover-up for what they really took since the NFL doesn't comment) that is known to turn you into a freaking beast who won't sleep for 3 days if you abuse it.....is questionable at best.

 

Do you use Adderall? JC Man! You sound pissed!

[Treehugger]

"Sash says he didn't realize he had to inform the NFL, but that doesn't quite wash. His teammate Andre Brown was suspended earlier this year for failing a drug test, but Brown appealed that he had a prescription, and had forgotten to fill out the league paperwork. Exactly the same situation as Sash's, if you believe Sash. Brown's appeal was successful; Sash's was not. We're obviously not getting the full story here.

We wish the NFL was more transparent on these matters. Brown's suspension was vacated. Texans punter Bret Hartmann had his Ritalin suspension reduced to three games. Packers DEMike Neal's was upheld at four games. Pittsburgh TE Weslye Saunders and Rams WR Austin Pettis too. What's the difference in all these cases? Obviously something. But the NFL can't comment—they're not allowed to, under the CBA. And that leaves the door open for any player who fails a drug test of any kind to claim it was prescribed ADHD medication, and the league can't refute it. All these suspensions have come in the last year, so Adderall might be the new excuse of choice for a positive test, replacing the long-lived "tainted supplement" defense.

The excuse becomes less believable when the league specifically allows Adderall and Ritalin when prescribed correctly. So, some advice to players: just find a shady doctor who's liberal with his scrip pad. It's really not that hard. Baseball players have figured that out."

 

http://deadspin.com/...-new-ped-excuse

 

 

There's a lot of inconsistencies in Sash's story, too.

 

That's really interesting.

[Firstnten]

You guys beat me to it. The list of banned substances you can find here:

 

https://www.nflplayers.com/About-us/Rules--Regulations/Player-Policies/Banned-Substances/

 

There is a 1-800 to call for any questions you may have

 

every Dr that treats players knows about it. The list is easily accessable. And if Sash did have ADHD and had a perscription he would not have been suspended.

[boohyah]

You're own doctor perscribes you something, perhaps you can check with your team doctor first before using it to make sure you're good. If Brown could do it, then there's no excuse for the other guys. No real thought needed here and need to delve into why they couldn't open their mouths. Stupid all around.

[gmenroc]

While you might not develop ADHD at 22, it's entirely possible that at 22, you first gain access to treatment. I don't know if a player's parents or a player himself has health insurance or what their individual situation is. But I could easily see the possibility where a player doesn't have access to medical coverage as a college athelete or before....coming into the league and having the issue diagnosed/treated.

 

This does not excuse the need to go through the proper channels for your occupation, but it could explain a player receiving treatment for the first time at 22

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

Yes because it's so prevalent among and known to pop up in the early 20s of otherwise completely healthy dudes (no brain injury)---it's not....you can't even be diagnosed with the actual disorder, ADHD, without prior symptoms before age 7, so you'd have to be relying on self-reports and the word of the person...it just doesn't make sense to me

 

Quite correct...and its become very overly diagnosed even within the age ranges for a genuine diagnosis. Of course it has the huge racial/ethnic disparities found in other areas as well. Seen a lot of legitimate ADHD and seen a lot of illegitimate diagnoses as well. A kid who is just "active" is in real danger of being wrongly diagnosed depending on certain factors such as race, ethnicity, class...public or private school. When my oldest went to the United Nations International School...very exclusive reserved for the children of diplomats, the rich and the non-rich whose kids score high...well there was this little half Iranian half Burmese little bastard whose father was a member of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (the Burmese part...he was brought here as kid of 4)...wife naturalized American citizen ran out of Iran when the Shah fell as a kid with her father's family. Well do you think that little messed up mo'fo was ever diagnosed? Hell to the fucking no. Let the same little non-White motherfucker be placed at a NY Public School he would have been buried under prescriptions and placed in Special Ed...taking a short bus to school.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

While you might not develop ADHD at 22, it's entirely possible that at 22, you first gain access to treatment. I don't know if a player's parents or a player himself has health insurance or what their individual situation is. But I could easily see the possibility where a player doesn't have access to medical coverage as a college athelete or before....coming into the league and having the issue diagnosed/treated.

 

This does not excuse the need to go through the proper channels for your occupation, but it could explain a player receiving treatment for the first time at 22

 

Also quite correct...but for the most part I think this explosion of Adderall using ADHD diagnosed (or not) NFL players has a lot more to do with its minor performance enhancement than anything else IMHO.

[Storm]

Quite correct...and its become very overly diagnosed even within the age ranges for a genuine diagnosis. Of course it has the huge racial/ethnic disparities found in other areas as well. Seen a lot of legitimate ADHD and seen a lot of illegitimate diagnoses as well. A kid who is just "active" is in real danger of being wrongly diagnosed depending on certain factors such as race, ethnicity, class...public or private school. When my oldest went to the United Nations International School...very exclusive reserved for the children of diplomats, the rich and the non-rich whose kids score high...well there was this little half Iranian half Burmese little bastard whose father was a member of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (the Burmese part...he was brought here as kid of 4)...wife naturalized American citizen ran out of Iran when the Shah fell as a kid with her father's family. Well do you think that little messed up mo'fo was ever diagnosed? Hell to the fucking no. Let the same little non-White motherfucker be placed at a NY Public School he would have been buried under prescriptions and placed in Special Ed...taking a short bus to school.

 

I just worked with a kid today who was borderline/low average IQ functioning but read at grade level and struggled slightly with math (he's stuck on division and multiplication and hasn't been able to be remediated in Gen Ed or go the next step)....they want to label him LD math and throw him in a 15:1 self contained with kids who are ADHD and some even CD...it makes absolutely no sense and I'm fighting for him because he really needs to stay in Gen Ed and receive service based more on a Consultant Teacher basis. He will make absolutely no progress in that class because, as I'm sure you're aware, those self-contained classrooms are circuses if you don't have the right teacher----and they don't.

 

He's African American, of course.

[Storm]

Also quite correct...but for the most part I think this explosion of Adderall using ADHD diagnosed (or not) NFL players has a lot more to do with its minor performance enhancement than anything else IMHO.

 

Yep, it's either that or the drug became the go-to "it was a supplement I was taking" excuse that we've heard for the past few decades....so players reps aren't tarnished by steroid abuse allegations, since the NFL can't actually say what they were cited for....

[Herc]

i got diagnosed with it at age 19. it just got worse and worse as i was getting older.

 

that doesn't mean i don't suspect that this dude was using it as a performance enhancer though. the drug's amazing

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

i got diagnosed with it at age 19. it just got worse and worse as i was getting older.

 

that doesn't mean i don't suspect that this dude was using it as a performance enhancer though. the drug's amazing

 

Sorry to hear that man. Just hate the over diagnosing that is running rampant out there. Every chick is now a Borderline as opposed to just being a bitch.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

 

 

I just worked with a kid today who was borderline/low average IQ functioning but read at grade level and struggled slightly with math (he's stuck on division and multiplication and hasn't been able to be remediated in Gen Ed or go the next step)....they want to label him LD math and throw him in a 15:1 self contained with kids who are ADHD and some even CD...it makes absolutely no sense and I'm fighting for him because he really needs to stay in Gen Ed and receive service based more on a Consultant Teacher basis. He will make absolutely no progress in that class because, as I'm sure you're aware, those self-contained classrooms are circuses if you don't have the right teacher----and they don't.

 

He's African American, of course.

 

Yep. I know exactly what you mean.