If you don't see the difference between metaamphetamines and their deriatives vs methylphenidate, then you don't have any right to comment on the subject. And no, it's not a "drug". Calling it such is guilt-tripping those that want to/do use MPH it and there's already a ton of that in the lives of people with ADHD. A parent hearing somebody call MPH a "drug" = "There's no way in hell I'm giving my kid DRUGS!!11". For kids with ADHD (and for people with ADHD in general), medication is massive a life changer ( and saver too ) - from often nightmare to livable/decent. You don't have any right to take that away from them.

Where do you buy your paracetamol? Surely at the drugstore.

Are you seriously implying that "drugstore" == "drug" as negatively used by OOP here and generally associated with recreational or illegal substances?

You clearly have no idea how people with ADHD / parents of ADHD kids feel like. Just because you can "overcome your cognitive dissonance" doesn't mean that everybody has the same freedom/will/strength to do so. Adding the weight of the "drugs" tag is not a way to help those who need medication to barely function like a normal person.

I don't have cognitive dissonance to overcome here as I'm not reflexively recoiling at the term "drugs". If someone is unable to acknowledge that drugs are drugs, how are they supposed to analyze the intended effects, possible side effects, the actual effects, etc? Or are we just supposed to blindly trust the overworked bureaucrat in the white coat?

And sure, I understand if someone needs to just trust a bureaucrat to bootstrap themselves to the point where they can make decisions. But your original comment was talking about parents making these decisions for kids, which is quite dodgy if they're in denial that these are mind altering substances.

You are clearly and deliberately "arguing" aka. rage-baiting from an angle of bad faith.

You seem much more pre-occupied with vague conspiracy theories about how bureaucrats work to the detriment of society than an actual topical discussion about medication or the article linked here.

Drugs (as used by you and colloquially as something to get high and negatively connotated with health outcomes) and medications are not the same thing.

Yet you pretend they are, without taking into account the contrasting realities of how medication is vetted and approved.

Nobody is trusting a overworked bureaucrat, because that's not how this works.

People far more qualified than you can imagine using standardized processes and thousands of people vet medication before it becomes available to the public.

Ritalin hs been around for decades.

I am all for informing the public and empowering people to make autonomous decisions for their health.

I am against people playing moral superiority when actually all they're doing is spouting non-scientific conspiracy theories about some bad bureacurats following an evil plan drugging the populace.

I thought the idea that individuals should be advocating for themselves (and their families) in the modern medical establishment is just basic table stakes in 2026, not a "vague conspiracy theory."

I don't see how calling out someone's reaction to the word "drugs" is "an angle of bad faith". If someone has an emotional reaction to the reality that a doctor is proposing giving their kid mind-altering substances, that indicates they haven't gotten to the point where they're able to judge it rationally. The answer isn't to shy away from the reality!

So yes, unfortunately the first step to making an informed decision is getting past the fearmongering propaganda pumped out by all the anti-illegal-drugs campaigns. And yeah that sucks, but it's certainly nowhere near the biggest hurdle to self-actualization that our society perpetuates.

"Recreational high" has nothing to do with it. Medicare part D is literally referred to as "prescription drug plan".

If people have the same denial about anti-depressants, then my critique applies as well. But an allowance for the need to bootstrap would seem to apply more, plus the generally more complex mechanisms and nuanced effects making it harder to understand the effects for yourself.

You're completely missing the point, probably intentionally. Context exists. Everyone knows medicine in general is drugs, there are also recreational drugs/narcotics. It's usually very obvious which of these someone is referring to. They are separate categories of things with separate implications. You know this of course.

The comment I initially responded to was reacting to the usage of the word "drug". And yes while there is a distinction in categories with some distinct implications, there is also a lot of commonality between them. And the reaction I was responding to indicated a strong desire to reject those commonalities.

Some people do though. Then the "Your coffee/food/electronics/exercise/(etc but increasingly tenuous) are a drug" people start to jump in...

Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a central nervous system stimulant used for ADHD and narcolepsy, but it is not an amphetamine based medication, unlike Adderall. While both increase dopamine and norepinephrine, Ritalin acts as a reuptake inhibitor rather than a stimulant that directly releases these neurotransmitters like amphetamines do.

Adderall saved my life. YMMV

Is there any actual difference between preventing reuptake and directly releasing them?

Almost certainly, this is biology, after all.

Oh, and by the way: wherever you are is not the center of the world. In the EU, barely anyone recognizes the names "Ritalin", "Adderall" etc. - methylphenidate is a lot more common.

> In the EU, barely anyone recognizes the names "Ritalin", "Adderall" etc. - methylphenidate is a lot more common.

Nope, completely depends on the country, both for EU and non-EU. Nothing special about EU in this case. Plenty of EU countries where "Ritalin" is 100x better known than "methylphenidate". Don't take your bubble and extrapolate it to a federation of 450 million people with 27 countries.

> Oh, and by the way: wherever you are is not the center of the world.

If you were going for the "most ironic HN comment of 2026 award", it's a great attempt!

Ehh, even in EU context I'm familiar with knowing ADHD meds by that name. That was the least consequential point of their post.