The competitive edge factor of using stimulants when the other guys aren't IS significant. That's why they're banned, and that's why using them without proper medical clearance, or WITH a bullshit medical clearance is cheating.
Full disclosure, I was one of those kids diagnosed with ADD in the late 80s and early 90s. I took Ritalin for a period in middle school and high school but stopped before college. However, a few years into my professional career I mentioned to my doctor that I was really struggling to stay focused at work and he suggested I could try Adderall and see how I responded to it. I continued to take it when I started taking graduate courses a few years later.
FWIW I don't really take any issue with your argument. It is perfectly logical and consistent, and there are plenty of holes in my laissez-faire attitude towards the subject for you to poke through. I'm sort of just being candid about my attitude for the sake of discussion. My main purpose for initially posting in the thread wasn't to fully excuse Adderall use in baseball, only to object to it being considered an equivalent to steroid use in the context of explaining the performance of Chris Davis last season, which I do stand by.
I just don't view it as black-and-white cheating. In the NFL, I don't mind a guy taking Adderall to help him stay more alert in film study and absorb a playbook faster. I have a much stronger objection to that same guy using steroids to give him a physical advantage over guys he will be running into on Sunday. In baseball, if a guy is using Adderall under a false pretense, he deserves a punishment, but how much the competition is skewed in that case is tough to tell. It is much different than say a pitcher on steroids who is able to recover much faster in between appearances and thus maintain velocity and command in a way other guys he is competing with for a roster spot cannot.
I'm pretty sure I've read that Adderall by those who don't medically need it has become the stimulant of choice for collegiate academic all-nighters.
I have no doubt it’s true. My wife gave birth to our first child while I was still completing my Master’s degree in Engineering, and as mentioned above I had a prescription at the time. I was able to finish two major projects and study for a final exam on an average of 3 hours sleep those first few weeks after she was born. I still felt awful a good amount of the time, but at least I could actually maintain focus enough to get things done. I doubt I could have done that without the help. Not sure what the differences are for someone who is not considered to have the medical need; I just know that I don’t really feel wired, just more focused and eager to get to work. It isn’t addictive to me either, and I avoid taking it on weekends or during vacations, and skip doses during the week too if I don’t feel the need. I made sure not to mention to others at school that I used it, because I didn’t want to deal with worrying about giving someone motivation to try and search through my stuff anytime I’m not looking, or having to deal with people coming up to me and asking if they could get them some.
