Take Your Pills

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Take Your Pills
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Take Your Pills is an hour-long American documentary from 2018, directed by Alison Klayman and produced by Motto Pictures and Netflix Studios. The documentary explores the positives and negatives of taking psychostimulant medications such as Adderall. The film is a series of interviews with college students and working adults who are prescribed stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with parents who touch on the difficulties raising children with ADHD and interviews with professionals commenting on the use of stimulants.

Contents

Those interviewed include former player for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars Eben Britton, and neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee. The film’s executive producers were Maria Shriver and Christina Schwarzenegger; its world premiere was at the SXSW film festival in 2018. [1]

Plot

The documentary begins by introducing the interviewees, giving some background and how they are associated with Adderall or stimulant medications. The film interviews people from different backgrounds and phases in life, from college students and children, to former NFL players, to psychologists. While the health professionals discuss the history of stimulant use and their opinions, other interviewees speak of their personal experience with the medications. There are also some family members that speak of noticeable changes caused by the medications.

Cast and synopsis

Jasper Holt is a college senior who has been taking Adderall since his ADHD diagnosis at the age of six. He attended a private school that he says recommended medication. His mom was worried that the medication would hinder his creative side, but he is still very much into art. Holt says he was embarrassed for taking the medication when he was in high school, and is trying to lower his dosage to eventually stop taking it.

Delaney is a college junior who was prescribed Adderall. She describes it as "Rx gold" that "sews up" your life. Her standpoint is that she needs it to hold her life together, she claims that other people had tutors in high school to prepare for the standardized tests, and her parents couldn't afford tutors so she resorted to Adderall. She says she uses it to give her a leg up in comparison to other students.

Rahiem is a high school student who was diagnosed with ADHD when he was very young. He was prescribed Adderall and forewarned of the effects if he did take his medication. His mother was mostly interviewed; she said she saw a noticeable improvement in his behavior when he takes his medication.

Eben Britton is a former NFL player who was prescribed Adderall. He speaks of his experience with the medication as a user who abused it. He admits that he didn't believe he had ADHD, it was just an easy way to have an open access to the drugs in order to enhance his performance and deal with the pain from his injuries. His wife stated that when he started on the medication everything seemed great, he had the time and energy to be a husband and an NFL player, but as time went on he began to overuse the medication. He claims he is addicted to the medication just to be the best in a very competitive environment.

Blue Williams is an artist manager, who takes Adderall on occasion. He was diagnosed as a child with ADHD, but his mother did not let him take any medication as she wanted him to adapt to the world. Now as an adult he chooses to use medication on days where he has a lot going on. He states that in modern-day life, there are many distractions that come with technology, and young adults interpret these distractions to believe that they have ADHD, which then leads to their diagnosis and medication.

Health professionals

Corey Herbert is a physician who practices in New Orleans. He speaks on the topic of stimulants and compares patients like Raheim who need the drugs and others who have slightly less severe cases.

Wendy Brown is a political theorist from UC Berkeley, who discusses reasons college students and adults may resort to stimulants. She states that the world is a hypercompetitive environment, from students trying to get into the best schools to workers being pushed to work many hours, where many don't know how to cope or how to stay on top with using medication to enhance their performance.

Martha Farah is a cognitive neuroscientist from the University of Pennsylvania. She discussed the history of psychostimulant medication, and some of the controversies as well. She mentioned the incorrect belief that medication will make the consumer smarter, and claimed this theory was wrong.

Anjan Chatterjee is the chair of neurology of the University of Pennsylvania. He addresses the differences in the use of drugs from his generation to the current generation. He explores the history of stimulant usage. He also discusses the pros and cons of medication usage, and the improper use of drugs.

Matthew Piskorz and Lucas Siegel are the co-founders of Alternascript, a company that creates supplements. Their ideology is that if students are trying to get ahead by taking prescription drugs, then there should be legal supplements others can take to level the playing field.

Reception

David Ehrlich reviewed the documentary for IndieWire, writing that the film "never finds its focus", describing the director as approaching the topic with the "reactionary zeal of a local TV news segment" in a comprehensive but "myopic" look at the use of prescription amphetamines. [2] Ehrlich says Klayman uses "scare-mongering tactics", and he criticizes the filming technique as a "tired attempt to conflate ADHD with a video game aesthetic and a pixelated cartoon of a skeleton drowning in little blue pills". [2]

Devon Frye writes in ADDitude Magazine that the documentary is a "heavy-handed" and "biased portrait of stimulant use in America", in which Klayman demonstrates "little interest in showing both sides of the story" while focusing on medication users who "openly admit to taking the drugs to get ahead in a culture that constantly demands more". [3] Frye states that the film explores questions that are worthy, but fails to deliver answers to those questions by focusing on unsympathetic characters and by relying on "jarring animations and repetitive interviews". [3]

Reviewing the documentary for Variety magazine, Owen Gleiberman calls the film "urgent" and "eye-opening". [4] Gleiberman writes that the connections made by the movie's thesis "may strike some as too speculative for comfort", but they can "fire up your perceptions enough to burn through the cumulative effects of advertising". [4] Justin Lowe, film critic for The Hollywood Reporter , writes that some of interviewees have interesting stories, but the "talking-head experts" and the animated and archived film sequences are sluggish. [5] He states that the film relies heavily on anecdote but is light on data and documentation, and fails to make its case. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphetamine</span> Central nervous system stimulant

Amphetamine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. Amphetamine was discovered in 1887 and exists as two enantiomers: levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Amphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical, the racemic free base, which is equal parts of the two enantiomers in their pure amine forms. The term is frequently used informally to refer to any combination of the enantiomers, or to either of them alone. Historically, it has been used to treat nasal congestion and depression. Amphetamine is also used as an athletic performance enhancer and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. It is a prescription drug in many countries, and unauthorized possession and distribution of amphetamine are often tightly controlled due to the significant health risks associated with recreational use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stimulant</span> Overarching term covers many drugs that increase activity of the central nervous system

Stimulants is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase the activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and invigorating, or drugs that have sympathomimetic effects. Stimulants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines as well as without a prescription as performance-enhancing or recreational drugs. Among narcotics, stimulants produce a noticeable crash or comedown at the end of their effects. The most frequently prescribed stimulants as of 2013 were lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and amphetamine (Adderall). It was estimated in 2015 that the percentage of the world population that had used cocaine during a year was 0.4%. For the category "amphetamines and prescription stimulants" the value was 0.7%, and for MDMA 0.4%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylphenidate</span> Central nervous system stimulant

Methylphenidate, sold under the brand names Ritalin and Concerta among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant used medically to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and, to a lesser extent, narcolepsy. It is a primary medication for ADHD ; it may be taken by mouth or applied to the skin, and different formulations have varying durations of effect, commonly ranging from 2–4 hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dextroamphetamine</span> CNS stimulant and isomer of amphetamine

Dextroamphetamine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and enantiomer of amphetamine that is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is also used as an athletic performance and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adderall</span> Drug mixture used mainly to treat ADHD and narcolepsy

Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug called mixed amphetamine salts containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio between dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, the two enantiomers of amphetamine. Both enantiomers are stimulants, but differ enough to give Adderall an effects profile distinct from those of racemic amphetamine or dextroamphetamine, which are marketed as Evekeo and Dexedrine/Zenzedi, respectively. Adderall is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is also used illicitly as an athletic performance enhancer, cognitive enhancer, appetite suppressant, and recreationally as a euphoriant. It is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the phenethylamine class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemoline</span> Stimulant, used in the treatment of ADHD

Pemoline, sold under the brand name Cylert among others, is a stimulant medication which has been used in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It has been discontinued in most countries due to rare but serious problems with liver toxicity. The medication was taken by mouth.

The rebound effect, or rebound phenomenon, is the emergence or re-emergence of symptoms that were either absent or controlled while taking a medication, but appear when that same medication is discontinued, or reduced in dosage. In the case of re-emergence, the severity of the symptoms is often worse than pretreatment levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder controversies</span>

Despite the scientifically well-established nature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), its diagnosis, and its treatment, each of these has been controversial since the 1970s. The controversies involve clinicians, teachers, policymakers, parents, and the media. Positions range from the view that ADHD is within the normal range of behavior to the hypothesis that ADHD is a genetic condition. Other areas of controversy include the use of stimulant medications in children, the method of diagnosis, and the possibility of overdiagnosis. In 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, while acknowledging the controversy, states that the current treatments and methods of diagnosis are based on the dominant view of the academic literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Hallowell (psychiatrist)</span> American psychiatrist

Edward McKey Hallowell is an American psychiatrist, speaker, New York Times best-selling author and podcast host. He specializes in ADHD and is the founder of the Hallowell ADHD Centers. Hallowell is the author of 20 books, including the Distraction series, co-authored with Dr. John Ratey.

A combination drug or a fixed-dose combination (FDC) is a medicine that includes two or more active ingredients combined in a single dosage form. Terms like "combination drug" or "combination drug product" can be common shorthand for an FDC product, although the latter is more precise if in fact referring to a mass-produced product having a predetermined combination of drugs and respective dosages. And it should also be distinguished from the term "combination product" in medical contexts, which without further specification can refer to products that combine different types of medical products—such as device/drug combinations as opposed to drug/drug combinations. When a combination drug product is a "pill", then it may also be a kind of "polypill" or combopill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisdexamfetamine</span> Central nervous system stimulant prodrug

Lisdexamfetamine, most commonly sold under the brand name Vyvanse and Elvanse among others, is a stimulant medication that is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults, and for moderate-to-severe binge eating disorder in adults. Lisdexamfetamine is taken by mouth. Its effects generally begin within two hours and last for up to 14 hours. In the United Kingdom, it is usually less preferred than methylphenidate for the treatment of children.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder management options are evidence-based practices with established treatment efficacy for ADHD.

Racing thoughts refers to the rapid thought patterns that often occur in manic, hypomanic, or mixed episodes. While racing thoughts are most commonly described in people with bipolar disorder and sleep apnea, they are also common with anxiety disorders, OCD, and other psychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Racing thoughts are also associated with sleep deprivation, hyperthyroidism and the use of amphetamines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Whitely</span> Australian politician

Martin Paul Whitely (born 19 October 1959 in Perth, Western Australia, is a mental health researcher, author and was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2001 until he retired from state politics in March 2013. During his parliamentary and research career Whitely has been a prominent critic of increasing child mental health medication prescribing rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levoamphetamine</span> CNS stimulant and isomer of amphetamine

Levoamphetamine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant known to increase wakefulness and concentration in association with decreased appetite and fatigue. Pharmaceuticals that contain levoamphetamine are currently indicated and prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obesity, and narcolepsy in some countries.

Amphetamine and methamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants used to treat a variety of conditions. When used recreationally, they are colloquially known as "speed" or sometimes “crank”. Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany by Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu, who named it phenylisopropylamine. Around the same time, Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi isolated ephedrine from the Chinese ephedra plant and later developed a method for ephedrine synthesis. Methamphetamine was synthesized from ephedrine in 1893 by Nagayoshi. Neither drug had a pharmacological use until 1934, when Smith, Kline & French began selling amphetamine as an inhaler under the trade name Benzedrine for congestion.

Stimulant use disorder is a type of substance use disorder where the use of stimulants caused clinically significant impairment or distress. It is defined in the DSM-5 as "the continued use of amphetamine-type substances, cocaine, or other stimulants leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, from mild to severe". These psychoactive drugs, known as stimulants, are among the most widely used drugs in the world today, although not all stimulants can induce addiction. As of 1993, Approximately 200 million Americans have used some type of stimulant in the past year alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Klayman</span> American filmmaker and journalist (born 1984)

Alison Klayman is an American filmmaker and journalist best known for her award-winning 2012 documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

<i>Cherry</i> (2021 film) 2021 American crime drama film

Cherry is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Nico Walker. It stars Tom Holland as the titular character, alongside Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, and Jeff Wahlberg. The film follows the life of Cherry, from a college student to a PTSD-afflicted veteran who robs banks to pay for his and his wife's drug addiction.

References

  1. ↑ "SXSW 2018 Schedule". schedule.sxsw.com. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  2. 1 2 Ehrlich, David (March 9, 2018). "'Take Your Pills' Review: A Netflix Documentary About Adderall in America that Never Finds its Focus — SXSW 2018". IndiWire. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Frye, Devon (May 17, 2018). "Take Your Pills: A One-Dimensional Exploration of ADHD Stimulants". ADDitude Magazine . Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Gleiberman, Owen (March 15, 2018). "SXSW Film Review: 'Take Your Pills'". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Lowe, Justin (March 15, 2018). "'Take Your Pills': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
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