An article on Msnnews.com by Lisa Flam entitled, "Dad's word of warning: Adderall 'changed' my son", posted on February, 7, 2013, explains the details of a 24 year old, Richard Fee, who died from a drug overdose of Adderall prescribed to him by a doctor. This acticle is an expository writing which gives insight into the harmful, sometimes deadly, effects of taking prescription drugs.
Flam reports that Richard Fee was very intelligent and seemed to be on the path to success but after college had become addicted to prescription medication. His addiction included Adderall and Vyvanse, two drugs used to treat patients with ADHD. His addiction resulted in a mental breakdown and he eventually hung himself in a bedroom closet. Rick Fee, father of Richard Fee, stated, “I believe the doctors share in the responsibility.” The Fees claimed that they had tried to talk to their son’s doctors to get the prescriptions stopped, but Richard apparently persuaded doctors otherwise.
Ryan Fee, Richards sister, commented about they situation, saying, “When he told me, I said, ‘You don’t have ADHD. Why are you taking it?,” Richard replied with, "It helps me study." Psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Weiner, told TODAY that many kids want the ability to be able to study for long periods of time. The Food and Drug Administration has stated that Richard’s suicide was an extreme, rare reaction to the drug, and that with proper diagnosing it can be a great drug. Richard's case is an example of the changing face of drug addiction and shows just how easy it is for kids to get their hands on, even right out from under the Doctor's nose.
New York Times reporter, Alan Schwarz, told TODAY: “It wasn’t the medication that did the harm here; it was the people in charge of the medication." Richard Fee's parents knew that Richard was not suffering from ADHD and pleaded with Doctors to stop prescribing him the medication. Despites their attempts to get the prescription stopped, Rick Fee said one doctor refused to talk to the couple, saying that he had been sued for discussing a case with another family, Rick stated “We just could not get any help from the doctors,” he said. “As much as we pleaded with them and told them what was going on.” Dr. Charles Parker responded to this statement by saying, “He was pitching me very well. I was asking him very specific questions, and he was very good at telling me the answers in a very specific way.”
This article proves that Doctors need to be more aware of the patients they are prescribing drugs to. Many people who get prescription medication, even when they do actually need it, never even take it for their own use, they sell the pills and get money for them! Also, the number of kids who can get these types of drug is increasing everyday. A few months ago my little cousin in 7th grade came home and told me that a boy in her grade got suspended for handing out prescription drugs in class. To me, the fact that even one kid can come into contact with medication so easily should be enough to get doctors to actually use their head when giving prescriptions. It would probably be much harder for anyone to recieve medication if there was a law that anytime a kid got in trouble with a prescription or died from the effects, the Doctor who provided them would be put on probation or pay some sort of consequence. However, until that happens the number of kids who do come into contact with them will probably keep rising, becuase Doctors are facing no punishment for their lack of responsibility.
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