“How much is 8 hours of higher functionality worth, to you?”

Matthew Banks has ADHD. He was diagnosed at age fourteen.

Banks has been taking Adderall, a stimulant drug, daily for seven years.  But, since the start of his university career, he’s been self-regulating that dosage, leaving him with a surplus of pills – pills which are in high demand amongst his peers.

With a shortage of Adderall in the United States this year, Banks went without the drug for the first time in his adult life and was eager to discuss the ethical issues created by using this study drug.

Banks is the only student willing to be identified in this project.

This is his story:

Suddenly Adderall-free for the first time in his adult life, Banks was confronted with the question of what it meant to have been taking a personality-altering drug for much of his adolescence.

Given his own experiences, Banks is intimately aware of the drug’s potential power to help – and its potential to harm. He has devised a strict ethical policy with regards to whom he gives his medication.

THE SUPPLY CHAIN:  supply&demand | a balancing act | preventive tweets

ETHICAL DILEMMAS:   “everyone here is an overachiever.” | health risks vs. potential benefits | an unfair advantage? | now entering your Adderall state