Heres my quick rundown on adderall, and before the facts, my stand on it is that it should not be prescribed to such a high number of children.
Adderall is a CNS stimulant. Basically its a mixture of amphetamine salts... mainly the d-amphetamine, and l-amphetamines. In a nutshell, its speed. Similar (but weaker) to a common street drug known as meth or ice (methamphetamine). It is also a very addictive drug that can add a great deal of stress, paranoia, schizophrenia, and bi-polar like symptoms out of people. Not to mention the withdrawal and hallucinations that can occur with long term habitual use. It also depletes a lot of the serotonin in your brain, so if you are taking it, I highly highly reccomend that you also get a prescription for Deprenyl which counters many of the negative effects of amhpetamines in general.
For me... it worked like a super wonder drug for about 4-6 months, now if I take it I get extreme anxiety, paranoia, sweaty palms, inability to sit still, cantania, and nervousness, restlessness, and inability to sleep for 12 hours after I ingest it.. these symptoms developed over the months, originally it really was a wonder drug. Be careful, I felt like I lost my mind.
I personally do not believe there is such an illness as AD(H)D. And if this unique characteristic of people is defined as ADHD, Adderall is not the way to go about it.
-TheGizmo