The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes ADHD drugs in the same category of highly addictive drugs as cocaine and morphine. The DEA states that their use can lead to "severe psychological or physical dependence" and that "these drugs are also considered dangerous." ADHD drugs are proven to cause addiction, depression, insomnia, drug dependence, mania, heart problems, stroke and sudden death.
There have been 61 warnings from nine countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States) warning that ADHD drugs cause harmful side effects. These include the following (note that some warnings cite more than one side effect, so the list below may not be equal to the total number of warnings):
There are 40 studies from 16 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and United States) showing that ADHD drugs cause harmful side effects. These include the following (note that some studies cite more than one side effect, so the list below may not be equal to the total number of studies):
There have been 17,021 Adverse Drug Reactions in connection with ADHD drugs/stimulants that have been reported to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (MedWatch), between 2004 and 2012.
The FDA estimates that less than 1% of all serious events are ever reported to it, so the actual number of side effects occurring are most certainly higher.
Source: Physicians Desk Reference, National Institutes of Health’s Medline Plus, and/or the drug label.
