Anyone else skeptical about all these suspensions involving adderall?

[LaRonDontLikeUgly]

The NFL has confidentiality guidelines in place to protect players in case of a failed drug test. It is my belief that they are really just protecting their own image.

Taking adderall as a performance-enhacing drug on the field makes zero sense to me. I've tried it. It enhanced absolutely nothing except my cottonmouth. (Off the field however; in film rooms, may be an entirely different story.)

There is no current format for HGH-testing in the league, and my guess is that at least 40% of the players would be totally screwed if they drew blood samples today.

The NFL doesn't want to end up like the MLB, so they are taking every precaution possible to mask the use of ACTUAL performance-enhancing drugs being used by players right now. This includes allowing players to blame "adderall" to the media. I don't buy it.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

If adderall did not help, then why is it on the NFL's banned list?

[LaRonDontLikeUgly]

If adderall did not help, then why is it on the NFL's banned list?

That's not really the point I am trying to make here. Adderall may help certain individuals on the field or in the film rooms, but I refuse to believe that Cedric Griffin and/or Richard Sherman tested positive for this drug.

Adderall is out of your system in less than 2 days when you take a urine sample. NFL players are generally given a heads up when it comes to "random" drug-testing. It's the way the league works, and I know this because current players have told me this personally.

Only players can disclose what they tested positive for. Adderall has been on the banned list since 2006 and now all of a sudden everyone is getting suspended for it? Bullfish. They are all on steroids, not stimulants. No question in my mind.

[HailToTheRedskins14]

I say let's give RG3 a bunch of steroids.

Imagine, SUPER RG3! OMGAWD!

[jnhay]

Adderall is out of your system in less than 2 days when you take a urine sample. NFL players are generally given a heads up when it comes to "random" drug-testing. It's the way the league works, and I know this because current players have told me this personally.

Maybe Griffin wasn't given a heads up?

[stevemcqueen1]

If adderall did not help, then why is it on the NFL's banned list?

It's a concentration aid, maybe that's how they claim it's performance enhancing.

It's an amphetamine. It probably helps you play in the same way amphetamines helped guys like Mickey Mantle go out and keep their feet after they'd been up drinking until 7 in the morning the day of their games.

But except for players with ADD and ADHD, I can't see taking it being that impactful. And given how uncomfortable the drug is, how dehydrating it is, and how often it makes you have to pee, I can't see it being a net positive on game day.

Like the OP said, the main benefit would probably be for concentration off the field, but again, if you're not prescribed it and don't have ADHD, sometimes taking the drug can be distracting and counterproductive. It messes up your memory and ability to retain information and it makes prioritizing tasks difficult (you'll spend a lot of time running down tangents and consume a ton of information without remembering most of it). I took it occasionally in college to stay awake for long periods of time but I found writing papers took twice as long because I spent so much more time quibbling over wording and trying to figure out how to organize my thoughts, and I had a hard time retaining the material I was studying. The high was physically uncomfortable, made me really hot, sweaty, severely dehydrated, messed with my appetite, and the come down was awful.

So to answer your original question, I think it's banned mostly because it's a controlled substance, same reason they ban marijuana use even though it's not performance enhancing.

---------- Post added December-7th-2012 at 10:27 AM ----------

And yeah, I agree that it seems backwards that the NFL is busting guys for Adderall and weed and not testing them for HGH. Seems like they're trying to distract from the suspicion that steroid use is systemic in the NFL. Probably has been for decades.

[darrelgreenie]

It depends on how much they take; I doubt players are limiting themselves to the dosage recommended by a health professional.
I have no doubt it helps players concentrate on the field and stay locked in/engaged.

[Smoot4Prez]

Anyone who has actually taken Adderall understands how ridiculous these suspensions are. It's like taking a caffeine pill. No Roger, I'm not saying ban caffeine.

At the same time, if it's banned, it's banned. Stop taking it if you want to play in the NFL!

[Audible_Red40]

Adderall is just covering up the Viagra usage in the NFL.