As seen in the public eye, and from our community abroad, several questions still surround Adderall, begging a response to the question, “is this a potentially harmful drug, or helpful prescription”. While the answer may be “both”, as it is in many cases with prescription drugs that can then be misused or abused, we will explore a more specific question surrounding Adderall, is Adderall a narcotic?
Some individuals tend to misuse the term, ‘narcotic’ to represent any recreational, mind-altering drug that can misused and abused, but narcotics fall into their own specific drug class called opioids. Opioids, or narcotics, are a class of drugs that bind to opioid receptors in the brain and body to reduce pain, but they also slow breathing and can create a powerful sense of relief or euphoria. Some of the most popular narcotics include prescribed medications, such as oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin, Norco), morphine, and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), while more illicit narcotics like heroin and fentanyl continue to raise concerns across the addiction treatment community.
Of all the medications and synthetic drugs listed above, one that was not listed was Adderall. When asking, is Adderall a narcotic? The answer is no.
Adderall is a prescription medication of the central nervous system stimulant drug class. Adderall is most known for treating individuals for ADHD, but can also help with narcolepsy, asthma, obesity, nasal and sinus congestion and hypotension.
As the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) describes Adderall, “they increase alertness, attention and energy”. While Adderall helps millions of individuals appropriately treat and manage the conditions listed above, the effects stated by the NIDA do often lead certain individuals becoming addicted to Adderall, which leads to misuse and abuse of the medication.
Many struggle with being able to identify whether they themselves, or a loved one is experiencing addictive behaviors in relation to their Adderall use. It’s not always as simple as an individual taking twice as much as their prescribed dosage, running out of their prescription early, and going to extreme lengths to obtain more Adderall. The list below identifies a collective list of signs often exhibited by an individual with an Adderall addiction:
These signs may not present themselves all at once but if you start to see these signs of Adderall abuse building up across your own lifestyle, or a loved ones, it may be time to seek help. Whether it’s an addiction to Adderall, or an addiction to other stimulants, there is potential for withdrawal symptoms and one should always seek out a facility for recovery such as the inpatient treatment facility at Long Island Center for Recovery (LICR).
We hope you learned more about Adderall and feel confident enough to answer the question, is Adderall a narcotic? If you or a loved one is in need of any addiction treatment services in the future, please reach out to Long Island Center for Recovery at 800-344-5427, and we’d be happy to assist you or your loved ones in any way possible.
References:
National Library of Medicine: Stimulants
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539896/
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