~~Pharmacists have no ability* to not dispense medicines if a doctor prescribes them.~~

_Edit: I am told I'm wrong on this front, and I stand corrected_

The fact that doctors are prescribing them too freely is definitely worth looking into.

But severely restricting medication that is used to effectively treat disease because it has abuse potential only harms legitimate users. But definitely worth auditing prescriptions to ensure that they're being issued for valid diagnoses.

But as for illegitimate users? You ban it, they'll find something else.

And as someone who needs ADHD meds to do things like "remember I have a todo list, remember where I left it, and remember to use it", I very much resent the people who abuse the meds I need to function in our society to pass their law degrees easier.

I resent the meth addicts who try to get an ADHD diagnosis for their kids so they can abuse (or sell...) their children's ADHD meds when they can't afford meth, because it means I have to pee into a jar every three months to prove I'm not a meth addict who is abusing methylphenidate.

(My country uses methylphenidate / Ritalin / Concerta (the slow release form) as the first treatment for ADHD, Adderall is not prescribed here that much, if ever, but it is possible to be prescribed dexamphetamine if you're bad enough).

But I really do object to glibly implying that every child who is prescribed a treatment for ADHD is actually a case of pharmacists gleefully overmedicating, it's naïve, unsympathetic, and, tbh, rather unfair to pharmacists.

As for what schedule a drug is... ...is the harm of Adderall abuse the same as the harm of fentanyl abuse?

Drug schedules aren't a good way to determine harm, IMO. They're a good way to discern moral panics though.

E.g., in my country, Class A, the drugs that attract the highest penalties, include magic mushrooms, mescaline, DMT, and that one you get from licking toads, bufotentine or something, alongside classics like heroin and cocaine.

Fentanyl is Class B, alongside opium, morphine, amphetamine, methylphenidate, MDMA, and one that always amuses me, hashish.

* There's probably some dumb-ass rules around declining to dispense abortifacients because of religious beliefs, I'm sure.

> I think the parent post is more likely alluding to the abuse of the medication, particularly in higher learning institutions.

It's kind of weird that people are calling this "abuse" when it's apparently using the drug in the same context and dosage as it's prescribed therapeutically, plausibly by people who actually have ADHD but don't have the time or insurance to get a prescription.

It's an interesting case study in what would happen if it was more widely available in a pharmaceutical form with a known dose and purity. What percentage of these college students are actually getting addicted to amphetamine vs. just taking a therapeutic dose here and there?

Damn, if Schedule II drugs are that bad, Schedule I drugs must be terrible. Let me go see:

> Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis)

Oh damn, marijuana is worse than this drug? I hope they arrest anyone selling marijuana. What’s that you say? Legal? In California? Oh, in lots of states?