Notable suspensions for reported Adderall use

[ChrisPozz]

Via Schefter. We had a discussion on Adderall use going in some thread but I couldn't find it. Here is a list now of all the suspensions handed down in the last year for positive tests for reported Adderall use:

CB Joe Haden
S Will Hill
S Tyler Sash
RB Andre Brown (suspension later overturned)
P Brett Hartmann
TE Weslye Saunders
DE Mike Neal
WR Austin Pettis
OG John Moffitt
CB Aqib Talib

Three Giants players and two NFCW players.

 

[Smalls]

Pozz, I meant to ask this before when it came up with Will Hill (I think).

Is testing positive for Adderall, under any circumstances, cause for suspension? Or can they provide a valid prescription without punishment?

 

[ChrisPozz]

They are allowed to take Adderall if they can prove there is a valid medical need to be on it.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Its gotta be one of the easiest prescriptions to get if you say a few certain things to a doctor. I wonder if the NFL scrutinizes those explanations to find out if the player really needs it or just wants the stimulant.

After they got rid of most stuff in baseball, loads and loads went to Ritalin/Adderall/other legal amphetimines.

 

[Smalls]

Its gotta be one of the easiest prescriptions to get if you say a few certain things to a doctor. I wonder if the NFL scrutinizes those explanations to find out if the player really needs it or just wants the stimulant.

After they got rid of most stuff in baseball, loads and loads went to Ritalin/Adderall/other legal amphetimines.

I get the logic, but I'm not sure about that. I don't have experience with the prescribing side, but as far as dispensing, its a schedule II controlled substance. The only classification that is more strictly controlled is schedule I, which have no valid medicinal use. Maybe the symptoms are easy to describe, but I'd be surprised if docs threw those prescriptions around. Who knows, though.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Its practically the most thrown around drug there is. I worked on a project on some medical records at a children's hospital a while back, and while going through various records by far the most interesting thing was the huge over-reliance on this medication. They'll prescribe it for a huge variety of problems, it was basically scary to learn how quickly doctors would resort to it. And while these aren't children, I can assure you plenty of docs are very willing to prescribe......and once you find a "friendly" doc forget about it.

 

[clyde_carbon]

More people in college use it than don't to cram for tests.

 

[thall]

Before I connect the dots for you, let's remember that performance enhancing drug use has very close bonds among teammates and training partners. Whether it's Jose Canseco introducing drug use to his teammates or Lance Armstrong encouraging this teammates to use drugs, we see this time and again. This isn't to say that Lance or Canseco were the first to introduce their innnocent teammates to these drugs, but this is how drugs find there way into sports, spread, and cross-pollinate among athletes and teammates as they change social circles and teams. Kind of like how herpes spreads around a college campus.

Now, allow me to connect the dots for you. ChrisPozz kindly noted the players to date that have been caught using Adderall by the NFL. Add CB Eric Wright to the list as of today. Joe Haden and Will Hill were both defensive backs and Florida Gators teammates in 2009 (Joe a Junior, Will a So.). Haden was drafted by the Cleveland Browns where he has played for 2+ years. He was teammates with DB Eric Wright his first year. Wright moved on to the Lions last year, then to the Bucs. Both he and DB Aquib Talib were both caught using Adderall this year. Meanwhile on the Giants, fellow teammates of Will Hill, DB Tyler Sash and RB Andre Brown, were both caught with Adderall, although Andre Brown's suspension was overturned.

I can't say much about the other players, but I suspect the use of this drug is much more widespread than you think and there might be missing connections or missing pieces that I'm not aware of. And before you start calling me a conspiracy theorist, just remember that all of the guys I mentioned MUST all be close teammates because most of them were DBs, running the same drills and practicing daily. I'm not linking an offensive guard to a punter.

The other question to ask yourself is if they are using Adderall at all. It's possible the above players, or some of them, are taking something else that is a banned substance in the NFL. Take look at this article:

Are NFL players really taking Adderall? - Bucs Nation

 

[Dodub]

More people in college use it than don't to cram for tests.

That's what I was thinking......

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Yeah, my roommate in college took ritalin back before it was really widespread. I would take it whenever I had to bust out a 10 or 15 page paper in a night.....it always came through.