Non-PG13 (Strong Language): Stupid war on drugs makes medication hard to get for me

[Proud90sKid]

I hate the war on drugs! First of all , let me say: i take adderall , both the caplet form and the extended release form. my current doctor reduced my caplets to 10 a month (a special request to the pharmacist to give 10 instead of 30 a month). its a schedule II drug so its considered a drug of abuse , and so because he knows i used to smoke pot and other things (still do , but he doesnt know that) , that i must be prone to drug abuse and would sell it,etc.

now i may want to get another doctor, espescially cause in order to see this one , my parents have to go or they wont pay for the appointment, but i think its free at my college to go see a psychiatrist.

but i heard some pretty shitty stories about how most psychiatrists at the school operate when prescribing adderall. i heard from a reliable source (someone who works for college) that in the case of adderall, they drug test you and they give test your urine levels of adderall to see if they are in the adequete therepeautic levels ( i am not stupid, i know why they actually probably give the "level checks" : they want to see if you are abusing it(snorting it and having too much in system) or selling it(not taking it). they think that because its classified by the stupid ass DEA as a narcotic abusable drug, that they wont sell it to those who use drugs, even cannabis. i heard a story about this one guy, the doc wouldnt give him adderall simply because he smoked pot. thats fucking ridiculous. it makes sense initially that "someone who does drugs shouldnt be prescribed a drug that can be abused", but then u realize that "doing drugs" is just a made up expression, having a beer is just as much "doing drugs" as is smoking weed. they just stigmatize against people who smoke weed. yea, and i refuse to stop smoking weed; not because im addicted, but because its a stupid rule. and honestly, since age discrimination is so prevalent, even if i didnt smoke weed id be treated with mistrust (docs dont trust college age ADULTS much with adderall and that is why the school psychiatrists do this level check shit).

yea , they may say : weed has an interaction with adderall, adderall becomes less efficient at treating inattentiveness (ADD) when you are stoned. well duh! i mean , its obviously harder to pay attention while stoned, and so i dont smoke weed when im doing something important. i was talking to this counselor guy (he cant prescribe). having done several things , from LSD to methamphetamine, he realizes that while drugs can be bad, their danger is overhyped and its a shame that we have to submit to drug tests,etc. that impinge on people's freedoms. he admits that most of these doctors excuses about how weed is bad with things like adderall are pretty much bullshit, i mean he agreed with me when i said that any interaction with adderall is meaningless and that weed is pretty safe.

also: even if i were to not smoke any weed, when i go to get a job , and get drug tested, adderall is gonna show up , as its an amphetamine and drug tests test for amphetamines. so im gonna have to tell that i am on adderall. they are gonna realize that i likely have an attention-deficit disorder. employers arent supposed to discriminate for that, but you cant tell me that an employer who knows i have ADHD is gonna prefer someone who can pay attention just fine... another reason drug testing and this entire drug war thing sucks.

so what am i gonna do, i mean i feel that even if i did stop smoking weed, the docs are often so cautious about giving adderall to college kids that despite the fact i took it for 7 years, i bet somehow this is gonna affect my treatment for ADHD. i mean , am i the only one who thinks its a bit ridiculous that now when we get a job, try to get adderall,etc. we have to submit a bit of our urine for chemical analysis? thats a fucking joke on my privacy!

[PSY]

While I agree that some employers do discriminate (even though they're not supposed to), I think you're missing an important point. The fact that you smoke weed, an illegal substance, demonstrates that you're not one to follow the rules.

You argued that alcohol is a drug as well... and while it's true that abusing alcohol can be just as bad as abusing weed or other illegal drugs, the bottom-line is that you are knowingly breaking the rules. If you are willing to do that with weed, then how can you prove you're not willing to do that with prescribed drugs as well? If you want to smoke weed, then that's your choice, but be aware that there may be consequences to your actions. Living with the stigma of being a potential drug abuser and/or distributor is one of those consequences.

It's not really the "war on drugs" that led to the stigma... it's your willingness to violate the law. If you want another example of how you're willing to bend the rules to your liking, look at what you're doing with the doctors. One doctor cuts back on your prescribed medication, and you don't like it, so what do you do? Look for a doctor who WILL give you what you want. Did it ever occur to you that the doctor may have numerous reasons for cutting back your medication? Maybe you don't NEED to take 1 Adderall per day... maybe your doctor believes you can get the same results from cutting back to 1 Adderall every 3 days. It may take some time to adjust to the change in dosage, but rather than waiting it out, you're pushing forward with your own plan.

I'm not trying to get on your case. Again, I agree that there are some major flaws with our current system, and the government needs to make accommodations for the innocent people who just want to treat their illnesses. The problem, however, is that you're not exactly making things easy for yourself. Own up to the role you're playing in the "war on drugs". Employers are more likely to give people with ADHD a chance than someone who blatantly violates the law. Having ADHD isn't something that you can help... choosing to smoke weed, however, may indicate something about your personality to future employers.