I’ve had many acquaintances tell me their child is “ADHD” as they put it. Then they usually go on to cheerfully proclaim that he/she has been on prescription meds for years. I’ve stopped being stunned by this willingness to put a child on medication. Now comes more tales of how easy it is for teens/high schoolers to get prescriptions in order to get a boost — what I would call getting high. It’s quite alarming, and I wonder when parents will wonder if the description below is their child. 

The story details the ease with which students are able to get prescriptions for the pills (“many youngsters with prescriptions said their doctors merely listened to their stories and took out their prescription pads,” it says). One unnamed teen told the Times, “I lie to my psychiatrist — I expressed feelings I didn’t really have, knowing the consequences of it. I tell the doctor, ‘I find myself very distracted, and I feel this really deep pain inside, like I’m anxious all the time.’