4 ms·

There is a difference. Adderall is a combo of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, while "meth" is typically mostly methamphetamine (with other "enhancements" or

There is a difference. Adderall is a combo of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, while "meth" is typically mostly methamphetamine (with other "enhancements" or impurities). They are chemically different. While Adderall isn't the same as meth, there is a ADHD medication that is pure methamphetamine: Desoxyn, and it's significantly more difficult to get a prescription for, and comes with far more warnings about its use since it is pure meth. I've never tried it, nor have I ever had a doctor recommend it. The doctor who I was seeing when I was first diagnosed with ADHD explained the differences between Adderall and meth by saying "Adderall is like a bright line painted on the ground helping remind you of where to go. Meth is like riding a bullet train. It'll lock you in tight and take you for a ride, hurtling at full blast whether you want to be a part of it or not until you and everything you love shakes to pieces and you die. And it'll tell you it's fun while it's happening." I had a friend who'd been addicted to meth and is in recovery say "Adderall is like taking a comfortable stroll around the block, while Meth is like travelling to the moon and back. Yeah, they're both 'getting you somewhere', but they're not remotely the same activity."

whalesalad 2y ago
I agree they are chemically different, but their effects are the same. Dosage is the most important thing here.
- buffington 2y ago
  Weird, because in another comment, you said: > it's literally the same thing. anyone who claims otherwise is uninformed. That they are chemically different is a fact, but their physical effects have also been proven to be different as well. I've never tried meth, but I know people who have, and who have also used Adderall, and the descriptions of their experiences would suggest the two drugs have different effects, regardless of dosage. But I can't prove those differences, so won't argue further.
- alan-hn 2y ago
  Methamphetamine not only has a different volume of distribution, meaning it is distributed in tissues differently than amphetamine but methamphetamine also has much greater serotonergic activity which greatly impacts the effects.

whalesalad 2y ago

I agree they are chemically different, but their effects are the same. Dosage is the most important thing here.

buffington 2y ago
Weird, because in another comment, you said: > it's literally the same thing. anyone who claims otherwise is uninformed. That they are chemically different is a fact, but their physical effects have also been proven to be different as well. I've never tried meth, but I know people who have, and who have also used Adderall, and the descriptions of their experiences would suggest the two drugs have different effects, regardless of dosage. But I can't prove those differences, so won't argue further.
alan-hn 2y ago
Methamphetamine not only has a different volume of distribution, meaning it is distributed in tissues differently than amphetamine but methamphetamine also has much greater serotonergic activity which greatly impacts the effects.