Government Jobs and Prescription Adderall

Being an adult recently diagnosed with A.D.H.D., or Attention-Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder, I was given a prescription for Adderall as a part of my treatment. What I didn't know at the time before I started my first dose was that it could effect my career choice.

The two prescription drugs that are prescribed for both children and adults with A.D.D are Ritalin and Adderall. Ritalin and Adderall are both Schedule II drugs and are also called Psycho-stimulants. Other drugs in the classification are: cocaine, methadone, oxycodone and opium, to name a few.

Schedule II drugs are those which have a high potential for abuse. Psycho-stimulants are drugs having anti-depressant or mood-elevating properties as they stimulate the central nervous system.

Some side effects are:

• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• mood changes
• anxiety

What you may not know about these drugs is that once you have started using them you may not be considered for certain career positions such as:

• Military Branches- you cannot enter into the army if you are currently taking Adderall or Ritalin and you must be off the drug for at least one year or up to four years with the written statement from a doctor.
• State or Federal Government- you may obtain employment at these agencies, however, if the job involves state secrets or national security,you cannot be hired because you're a Schedule II drug user
• Recently, Congress is looking into sports players that are by-passing the ban on stimulants by claiming A.D.D. and prescription use of amphetamine based drugs