Meth is an approved drug for the treatment of ADHD.
It’s schedule II, while marijuana is schedule I, it’s crazy.
Not to mention the pharmacological effects of methamphetamine are indistinguishable from Adderall when taken orally in similar doses
E: I was misremembering this study. It was measuring the physiological and behavioral effects of insufflated amphetamines, not oral. Here’s a vice article with additional info from the doctor who conducted the study
This is objectively false.
Setting aside the issue of QA and how and in what conditions this methamphetamine is being produced, no, the pharmacological effects of methamphetamine are NOT just the same as Adderall (blend of 4 different amphetamine salts).
It’s also not prescribed for ADHD, except in rare circumstances. It’s mostly prescribed for conditions like narcolepsy, because it’s significantly more psychoactive then amphetamine salts, and that’s BEFORE you factor in issue of these being cartel produced counterfeit pressed meth pills vs production in an actual pharmaceutical laboratory with the accompanying conditions and controls.
Im not telling people to buy crank from some dude down the street instead of going to the pharmacy for their Adderall. You’re just putting words in my mouth and getting mad at them.
However, I was misremembering a study I read a few years ago. Outside of in vitro and rat studies, I couldn’t find anything measuring the pharmacological effects of Adderall and meth. I should’ve said behavioural and physiological instead. It was intranasal instead of oral as well, for what that’s worth. The behavioral effects are essentially identical and there are very minor differences in effects on heart rate and blood pressure. I will be correcting my comment after I reply to you.
I put no words in your mouth. I took your response, briefly explained why it was wrong, and then further expanded on why it was dangerous.
Your words:
Not to mention the pharmacological effects of methamphetamine are indistinguishable from Adderall when taken orally in similar doses
And what part of that mentioned anything about sourcing meth from the streets? As far as my intentions are concerned, I was speaking strictly pure, prescribed methamphetamine, taken as prescribed. That could’ve been inferred from context since the comment I was replying to was about how methamphetamine is sometimes prescribed for ADHD. The conversation wasn’t about street drugs and until you commented, no one brought it up
No worries, I didn’t realize that you hadn’t actually read the article before making your comments.
So, you can disregard my comments where I had incorrectly assumed we both actually read the linked LA Times story.
My other comments about how it’s factually incorrect to say methamphetamine and Adderall are the same, those are still in bounds. Right?
Just FYI counterfeit pills sold in Mexico are either made by the cartels, or they’re fake placebo bullshit (both types are mentioned in said article).
Forgot what the thread was originally about lol, my bad. I skimmed the article, I’m working and haven’t given it a proper read yet. I see why you were saying all that now, that’s on me and I apologize.
To say they’re the same is incorrect as they are different compounds. But if we’re judging them on their effects on the mind and body, taken the same way and in the same doses; they illicit a nearly identical response. If you accidentally took a meth pill instead of Adderall, it’s likely you would only notice minor differences if you noticed anything
I can vouch for this as someone who’s tried equivalent doses of each, less methamphetamine is required to achieve the same effects but I couldn’t tell the difference. Compared with the recreational forms you’re also dealing with different salts combined in the prescription. This sentiment is also common.
I think you mean equivalent dose? Isn’t meth like nearly 50% stronger?
Turns out I was misremembering a study I read a few years back. It was intranasal, not oral. They’re still incredibly similar in their effects at the same dose. Here’s the study. And a vice article about the study with commentary from the doctor who conducted it.
Upvote for coming back to correct a mistake
A range of amphetamine compounds are approved for the treatment of ADHD.
Methamphetamine, what people generally talk about when they say meth, is not.Desoxyn is an FDA approved brand-name methamphetamine that is prescribed to treat ADHD and obesity. It’s not very common, and usually ADHD patients will be prescribed some other amphetamine, but meth is schedule II and it is used to treat ADHD in some cases.
https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Methamphetamine-2020_0.pdf
Multiple commenters say Desoxyn isn’t '“common” but at the pharmacy I worked at for 5 years we always stocked it, and had enough scripts coming in that we’d need to make sure we had inventory. This was for adhd mostly. Methamphetamine is more potent per molecule so it’s not necessarily analogous with amphetamine for side effects.
Interesting. To be honest, I was basing that primarily on my own anecdotal experiences. Everyone I know whose gotten a prescription for one for some other amphetamine.
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It is, but it’s very rare. It’s mostly used for issues like narcolepsy, as it’s significantly more stimulating then amphetamine salts.
Oh no that’s terrible. Which pharmacies are doing that so I know the ones to avoid?
Sounds disgusting, but Which ONES, which ONES?
I call BS unless I get a source
Clever girl
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Do these pharmacies by chance serve fried chicken or offer commercial laundry services?
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Its similar but the additional methyl group makes it more potent.
Kinda like a morphine (Adderall) vs heroin (meth)
This is not true. The extra methyl group makes it cross the blood brain barrier faster. The extra potency is from the drug itself being different from dexampphetamine, the active ingredient in adderall, however it is important to note that at doses below 50 mg methamphetamine and 100mg adderall, effects are almost entirely the same, with the serotoninergic (is this a word ?) aspects of meth only coming from high doses.
Do not recommend either.
If something hits harder and faster, I’m pretty sure definitionally its more potent.
Potency is a function of its effect relative to the amount used. Like this is more of “yes, AND” type deal, I’m not wrong and you’re right to elaborate that this is due to its increased abillity to permeate BBB
different from dextroamphetamine
Unless we’re getting into racemics , I’m saying its basically amphetamine + methyl group, lets not get so granular here
Also, meth and amphetamine can be taken such that the doses are equipotent, it would just be less meth and more amphetamine by weight/dosage (all other things like ROA and context being equal)
Re:Serotonin: I believe amphet and meth both affect serotonin dose dependant but I dont think there’s any way to say only meth also implicates serotonergic release or transmission
Thank you! I’m normally the crank making this comment. Also don’t forget for the heroin example that the acetyl groups get cleaved after crossing the BBB so it goes back to being regular ol’ morphine before it can bind to a receptor.
Serotonergic which is minor in high amphetamine doses, they’re more dopaminergic. Serotonin is more SSRIs and psychedelics.
Did they mean methylphenidate?
That sounds like uncontrolled dosages of Desoxyn.
I mean…
Since Adderall is chemically meth, how is this news?
They’re not the same drug. They’re related compounds. Similar how both ethanol and methanol are alcohols (related), but methanol will make you blind.
Methamphetamine is a stronger compound compared to amphetamine and can keep you awake for days at a time.
Both useful and prescribed for adhd, Desoxyn is meth Adderall is amphetamine.
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/how-do-adderall-and-meth-methamphetamine-differ#differences
In this article, it’s made clear how there is a legal meth medication for ADHD and the doctors note that that “They are very similar medications. Their chemical structure is almost the same”.
Meth and Adderall are not always chemically identical, but their makeup and effects are very similar and their difference is largely in how much amphetamine is prescribed and how it’s used and how poorly it is manufactured and regulated.
like methanol and ethanol, that’s a good comparison.
That’s by the way a great comparison. While drinking small amounts of ethanol is perfectly safe, drinking the same amount of methanol could blind or even kill you.
Things being chemically almost the same doesn’t really mean anything for what they do to a person. Crack and cocaine are almost exactly the same, yet the consequences of taking crack are so much more severe.
Not only is this wrong, the prevalence of this weird comparison fuels more stigma and dismissal of people who already have to struggle to get Adderall without judgment from their own doctors and pharmacists, when it’s literally one of the only high percentage treatments for ADHD.
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/how-do-adderall-and-meth-methamphetamine-differ#differences
In this article, it’s made clear how there is a legal meth medication for ADHD and the doctors note that that “They are very similar medications. Their chemical structure is almost the same”.
Meth and Adderall are not always chemically identical, but their makeup and effects are very similar and their difference is largely in how much amphetamine is prescribed and how it’s used and how poorly it is manufactured and regulated.
If accurate medical information causes you to stigmatize others, you’ll have to reexamine your own beliefs after learning more.
“Since Adderall is chemically meth” is not medical information, nor is it accurate, but is what you posted.
Literally the next sentence after your quoted line:
While these small differences are important in how they affect us, without a degree in chemistry, they can be difficult to discern.
Then, digging just ONE CENTIMETER FURTHER into either article, the OP is clearly about illegal meth, and the article you linked describes illegal meth as wildly, exponentially different from Desoxyn or Adderall.
Get your harmful bullshit out of here. “How is this news?” Idk try reading the article man.
Idk who taught people the incorrect definition for “exponentially different”, but it does not mean “identical”, “very similar” or “minutely different”.
And how “different” illegal meth is from legal meth is based on its dosages and regulation, which both articles state.
So yea, you could read the articles, I just don’t know if they would benefit you since your reading comprehension isn’t up to snuff.
From your linked article that you don’t seem to have read beyond whatever quote you think vindicates the incorrect thing you typed:
However, Brody explains it’s essential to understand that the safety and tolerability of legalized prescription ADHD medications are miles apart compared with illegal meth.
“To emphasize this, I will compare it to the degree to which the distance to the moon dwarfs the distance to the local supermarket,” he states.
You do know that agreeing with my previous comments and article is not the slam you think it is, right?
I’d say to learn to fucking read, but that’s not even the main problem with you. It’s not even the condescending smugness while being clearly wrong, though that does make you insufferable.
The real problem is how the only conversation you want to have is to undermine a valid news article for invalid reasons and to undermine the people responding with relevant lived experience, then intentionally miss the point and double down to attempt to convince yourself you didn’t say something stupid in the first place. Fuck off.
Dosage makes the poison. Modern Adderall slowly disperses over the day while meth hits you like a freight train. The difference between the effects of taking the recommended prescription of Adderall and taking meth is like the difference between drinking half a glass of wine over an evening and chugging a gallon of moonshine.
Plus when they made the wine they put some lsd in it
Yeah, no that’s not how that works and probably the biggest misconception. Adderall and stimulant medication in general has next to no side effects when taken in the prescribed dosage. It slightly elevates your heart rate and blood pressure, other than that there’s pretty much nothing. There aren’t even withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking them.
If you’re curious about the topic read up on it in of spreading dangerous half-truths
Yes? I agree with what you are paraphrasing from my comments and the article, that meth is dangerous because of its heightened toxicity, poor regulation and high dosages.
You parroted that part coherently and then afterward concluded that, no, you were wrong in the first place?
Well, I agree with that part too.
I didn’t even look at your article. The way you phrase things makes it seem like Adderall has similar effects to meth. This couldn’t be further from the truth, hence why you have gotten so much shit for your other comments. The active ingredient may be somewhat similar but everything else that is in it drastically changes the way it affects people.
These kinds of half-truths piss me off to no end, people do this all the time when they complain about the apparent price change of insulin. Guess what, you can still buy the cheap insulin - it’s just utter dogshit compared to modern diabetes medication in which hundreds of billions had to be invested to get it where it is.
I already know what you want to type - people who are affected by diabetes shouldn’t have to pay bajillions to stay alive, not the point but nice try
Because that’s not true
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/how-do-adderall-and-meth-methamphetamine-differ#differences
In this article, it’s made clear how there is a legal meth medication for ADHD and the doctors note that that “They are very similar medications. Their chemical structure is almost the same”.
Meth and Adderall are not always chemically identical, but their makeup and effects are very similar and their difference is largely in how much amphetamine is prescribed and how it’s used and how poorly it is manufactured and regulated.
If accurate medical information causes you to stigmatize others, you’ll have to reexamine your own beliefs after learning more.
