Hacker News Reader

Comment by jonquest | Hacker News Reader

I challenge to do a google image search for faces of meth and come back and say that again with a straight face. That stuff is a poison that destroys both mind and body. If you think self control is enough to keep that stuff from rotting your face, making your hair fall out and keep yourself from going crazy you are foolish. Comparing it to ADHD medications is plain and simple stupid. If you think meth is the drug you need to focus you already need professional help because there are lots of stimulants out there, even illegal, that have nowhere near the side effects and consequences of meth.

View on HN

Stop it with the hyperbole, as you clearly have no clue what you’re talking about.

Methamphetamine is routinely prescribed for the treatment ADHD (also obesity and narcolepsy, amongst other off-label uses), and is sold under the brand name of Desoxyn (in the US). Meth IS medication!

On that note, maybe don’t believe everything you read about drugs online.

I may need to clear up a misconception of mine, so here goes.

Isn't it Dexamphetamine that is the routine treatment for ADHD? As far as I understood, methamphetamine has much stronger effects than dexamphetamine, also meth been prone to cause more adverse effects and have more neurotoxicity than the dex counterpart?

Maybe I'm completely off base here.

Dextroamphetamine is a common first line treatment for ADHD, but methamphetamine is a second line treatment.

A lot of the information about methamphetamine is, bluntly, propaganda. For example, there seems to be nothing about methamphetamine that is uniquely harmful to teeth, but "meth mouth" is a common trope. When taken orally at therapeutic doses it's not clear methamphetamine is any more harmful than dextroamphetamine, but it's certainly possibly it has more scope for abuse. It's certainly dangerous at high doses! Unfortunately it's hard to find hard data and not drug war propaganda.

Thanks for the reply. Is second line treatment, what is heard from others may be derived from drug war propaganda, got it. This clears things up nicely. Thanks.

dexamphetamine / dextroamphetamine works well but over-focuses me (could watch paint dry) and causes depression + robotic behavior after a few days. Every med is distinctly different, even different isomers of the same chemical.

Yeah I mentioned it because I got put on dexamphetamine once. Couldn't stand it personally, couldn't sit down or keep still, and made me more annoying I think. Totally understand that even chemically similar medications can be very different to each other.

i think the OP is talking about crystal meth, not ritalin or adderall. Ritalin and Adderall is not what "faces of meth" depicts, as it depicts long term use of smoked crystal meth addiction.

This is correct, also part of the nuance that's often missing in these kinds of discussions. Pharmacy grade drugs are a different beast than the street drugs. From packaging to usage, it's two sides of the same coin.

So we should make all of it pharmacy grade?

Perhaps they are talking about Desoxyn. FDA approved for treatment of ADHD. Not saying that it isn't bad but just pointing out there is a comparison to ADHD medications.

I was, but can switch out with crystal if needed. Almost as pure.

Actually I've tried most all of the alternative stims and they all affect me worse in all areas of life. Meth is a drug used to treat ADHD and is FDA approved for this reason.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com