Maybe a mistranslation or you're conflating narcotic with "controlled substance"?
And unnecessary specific example goes here. In russian language, every (99% of the time, illegal) drug that is associated with abuse is called a narcotic (including cannabis). There isn't a russian language equivalent word for "drugs", "drugs" is a synonym for "narcotics" there. There is "medicine" and there is "drug"/"narcotic".
Which is why I saw, more than once, middle schoolers there in an English language class giggling once they saw a "drug store" sign in a photo, as it led to the "hehe, why do they sell drugs/narcotics at pharmacies there, US is a weird place huh" jokes.
As school kids we had the same thought about 'drug stores' - and I even found it amusing when a Pharmacy/beauty shop opened called 'Superdrug' - seemed such an odd turn of phrase to someone who had only heard of drugs as the illegal and dangerous things...
Not that a drug being scheduled is proof of harm in and of itself, but it seems like many people (particularly on HN for some reason) are in heavy denial that they are addicted to amphetamines and that it maybe isn't such a healthy way to solve behavioral problems. If you're an adult then fine you can make your own decisions, but the fact that people give amphetamines to children because they cant focus in school seems very sick to me.
You've coasted into the territory of self-appointed expert on ADHD. To me, this reads as "I have no idea what ADHD is like or how to manage it. My mind can't imagine that other minds may work differently, so what would work for my mind must work for all the other minds."
> behavior problems
Whether or not you're aware of it, that's an ableist dog whistle for "why don't you just stop being _______?" usually followed by a JBP reading list about lobsters and room cleaning.
Yes there is. You're mischaracterizing a disorder and thereby marginalizing people who suffer from it while making normative statements about it despite not being an expert. That's offensive.
> I take adderall sometimes when I have a lot to do
Are you saying that you have a diagnosis? Or are you just taking it illegally / in a country with lax drug laws? It's a prescription medication that's currently in short supply, so unless your healthcare provider is proscribing it for you you're really being a douche canoe.
By all means try without it first but it's going to cost you time or money you may not have. With any luck future gains in understanding the human brain will lead to medication that has the pros without the cons but today we have to use the tools we have.