(Adderall is "mixed amphetamine salts", for those that may not know)
Folks with ADHD respond to stimulants in way that is quite different to those with more typical attention steering skills.
ADHD symptoms are a matter of degree in most individuals so presenting it as a binary is a fallacy. The vast majority of people can experience some benefits from some dose of stimulants (see the widespread use of coffee which has different effects but is analogous). I believe the reason the idea that people with ADHD respond differently is popularized is to legitimize ADHD in the eyes of people who would be judgmental regarding medication that causes cognitive enhancement in "healthy" individuals as well. (Because using performance enhancing drugs is cheating or some such nonsense)
Edit: See http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v456/n7223/full/456702a... http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080409/full/452674a.html
With all due respect, I am baffled at how people can believe this.
The fact is, there are proven anatomical changes that are strongly correlated with attention disorders, and the efficacy of the dopamine/noradrenaline systems in the brain is significantly impaired by someone with such a condition. And, as someone with such a condition, I can attest to my baseline being very different from someone without an attention disorder. Further, the effect that I experience from taking Adderall is one of calmness and focus, while friends who have taken diverted pills say they feel "edgy" and focused, because its effect on me is to increase a low-baseline of the relevant neurotransmitters, and someone without a related attention disorder would have their baseline availability increased far above the therapeutic levels I experience. Self-reports from recreational users on web sites devoted to nootropics or to recreational drug use seem to agree with that assessment with considerable frequency.
Maybe that helps explain why people persist in saying that someone with ADHD has a different experience with stimulants?
Edit: I'll also add that my level of focus on stimulants still requires me to be somewhat interested in what I'm doing, and that doesn't seem to be the case with non-affected users, who seem to hyperfocus on whatever catches their attention first. Almost as if taking the drug gives them an attention disorder because they have too much dopamine and noradrenaline.
Edit: punctuation
With all due respect, I am baffled at how strongly you're exhibiting the Dunning-Kruger effect.
>As far as I know, when ADHD individuals are treated with amphetamine(s) even long-term, the dopamine D4 receptor in the prefrontal cortex does not down-regulate. This means that the pro-cognitive benefits of the amphetamines, namely executive function improvement [ability to organize thoughts, plan your day and exhibit sustained attention] are all improved.
>However, what most people experience when they first start Adderall or any amphetamine is the massive surge of motivation and in particular energy. This energy can be massively addictive as it is basically anxiolytic first time around while simulteanously giving you big bouts of motivation and pro-sociability. Neuropsychopharmacologically speaking, these effects are due to dopamine D2 and D3 receptor stimulation in the nucleus accumbens (and effects in the ventral tegmental area, accounting for some of the motivating experience, most likely), however, what is important to note, is that after somewhere around 1-3 weeks, these receptors down-regulate and dose-escalation is needed to retain the pro-social, pro-energetic, pro-anxiolytic effects.
>In other words, while amphetamines may be a piss poor choice of drug for sustained energy production long-term, the pro-cognitive benefits for individuals with executive function deficit (whether diagnosed ADHD, drug abuse, or traumatic brain injury) do exist in long-term. I think this is one of the reasons that some ADHD individuals are capable of staying at the same dose for a long period of time and still reap the benefits.
In other words, the 'high' that drug users get from doing speed once, is very different than the effect that benefits people with ADHD. While the high tolerates over time and requires higher and higher doses, the beneficial effects don't seem to tolerate and last long term.