I am of Irish Descent.
We have two traditional drugs: alcohol and religion. Both of
which produce the same eventual side effects: dropping to your
knees and feeling guilty.
When it comes to prescription drugs, for me - it's all about the
side effects.
Nausea, anal leakage, dysplasia, and temporary blindness are not
just great name choices for late 80's heavy metal bands -- they
are but a few of the little prices Americans are willing to pay
each time they swallow a magic pill designed to help them lose
weight, gain confidence, stop shaking or become the proud owners
of medically-induced erections.
I was raised by illegal-alien Irish immigrants who taught me
that anything worth having is worth suffering for so the desire
to clear up a heavy bout of back pain by ingesting a handful of
Vitamin A (known as Advil to the occasional user) is well-worth
whatever possible future damage it may do to my liver, brain or
eyeballs (I'm not exactly sure of what side effects Advil may
produce because I've never bothered to read the warnings on the
label -- the print is too small and I can never find my
glasses).
Which reminds me - if there were a pill that instantly increased
your vision and meant you could throw away your reading glasses
-- I would take it immediately. As would more than 100 million
other Americans. Even if the main side effects sounded like
things you might need to treat with other drugs.
Apparently all we care about is getting rid of the problem that
currently seems to be bugging us.
Adderall is used to treat narcolepsy and Attention Deficit
Disorder, both of which it makes go away. However, the side
effects that may occur include confusion, vomiting, severe
weight loss (possibly redundant), chest pain, swelling of the
mouth, face, lips and tongue, and loss of appetite -- along with
about 37 other items I don't have the time or space to list
here. So narcoleptics and hyperactive kids may be willing to
suffer through an enlarged face, slurred speech and puking in
order not to fall asleep during their final exams. And if they
wanna lose weight at the same time? Bingo.
You may be a wide-awake mess who hasn't had a nap in a week and
a half - but you won't be a fat-assed wide-awake mess.