By Sheri Few for TOWNHALL
For more than three decades, America has normalized the widespread drugging of children and adults under the banner of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet, ADHD remains a subjective psychiatric label with no objective medical test: no blood work, no scan, no biomarker to confirm any malfunction of the brain. Diagnosis depends entirely on reported behaviors, many of which are indistinguishable from normal human tendencies.
According to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5, children 16 and under must meet six out of nine behaviors such as running around, climbing on furniture, missing assignments, disorganized bedrooms, not paying attention, interrupting teachers, or engaging in risky play. Adults 17 and older must meet only five out of nine behaviors such as restlessness, leg jiggling, staying constantly busy, missing work deadlines, struggling to balance chores and bills, losing focus, impulsive spending, interrupting conversations, or making hasty decisions.
Meet any five of these subjective behaviors, and you have a psychiatric disorder. The reality is that nearly every human being exhibits these behaviors at some point. Yet millions are labeled with ADHD and placed on powerful, addictive stimulants.
Despite the absence of any proven brain abnormality, drugging remains the go-to “treatment,” prescribing amphetamine-based Schedule II controlled substances, meaning they carry a high potential for abuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies these stimulants — Adderall, Ritalin, etc. — alongside cocaine and methamphetamine because of their high abuse potential and dangerous physiological effects.
