Prescribing neuroenhancers is outside the area of medicine that is considered obligatory for a physician, so under what circumstances should it be considered unethical or unacceptable?

I don't blame Joe's family at all if they wind up using Adderall for finals. I just know my limits as to how far I can ethically participate in this epidemic. But I suspect the other doctor will have no problem filling the prescription.

Shock and incredulity greeted a front-page New York Times article last week that nearly 1 in 5 American high school boys had attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The 5,000-word Times piece on the life and death by suicide of a young man, Richard Fee, addicted to Adderall (a form of prescription amphetamine), could represent a true thawing of what some feel has been a 20-year ADHD/Adderall Ice Age.

Apparently the Adderall craze that has hit America's college students is also making an impression on the professional football players in the National Football League. NFL drug suspensions will hit a record this year, and at least some are felt to be related to amphetamine use, which is the main ingredient of Adderall.

There's certainly a place for these medications in the treatment of ADD. But I think we've done too good a job of "selling" ADD and Adderall as the answer to many teenagers who are in a normative struggle toward maturity.

I've never been against using medication in children. I am against a first and only use of medication in children who are minimally impaired. I believe first one must try to employ effective non-drug interventions of behavior modification and special education.