Quitting stimulants

[medreporter]

Hi folks,

I hope I'm not overstepping any bounds here. I'm working on a story about the increase in prescription stimulants use, abuse and marketing. Reading through a number of posts, it sounds like the drugs I'm focused on -- Adderall, amphetamine, Ritalin, etc -- have played a role in a lot of addictions. Some of you have even felt addicted to the drugs themselves.

I'm hoping that someone would be willing to talk to me about these drugs. As I said before, all we know is that, by almost any measure, stimulants are getting bigger. There are more people using, more people abusing, and more money being spent to manufacture and market them to consumers and doctors alike. So we know *what* is happening. What we don't know is why.

I'm hoping someone here can help fill in the blanks. I'd like to hear everything -- how you got started, what it led to (if anything), how you stopped or got down to an acceptable level. Pretty much anything is fair game.

Again, I hope I'm not out of line posting here. You guys have an astonishing community and I'm happy to have found it.

Thanks.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Firstly, welcome to BL!

These stimulants and their use has been around for quite some time. The way they are marketed is just as much an issue with the way all drugs are (directly) market to consumer and doctors in the US (other place, I don't know?).

What has your experience with stimulant use been like?

 

[medreporter]

They've definitely been around a long time, which makes it all the more interesting. For some reason, over the past few years, abuse and use have both grown really quickly.

I do have experiences with stimulants, but they're old, and I never used more than recreationally. Not only are my stories boring, but I couldn't even use them for the story if I wanted.

Curious: Does your own experience jibe with that whole "lots of growth in recent years" thing? Do you hear of more people using or does it seem about as common as it always has been?

 

[Jabberwocky]

I have noticed more accessibility of black market stims in the last decade (in particular cheaper higher quality methamphetamine), but I haven't noticed much shifting in anything else.