October 9, 2019

Are almost all journalists on Adderall?

Somewhere in the depths of this lengthy Joe Rogan podcast, Joe asserts that all the journalists are on Adderall. Let me see if I can find it and start you at the right point (which is near then end, after a lot of talk about the use of mind-altering substances). Okay, here:



Rogan says he watched a lot of YouTube videos of Adderall users, "who thought the whole world was against them, that they were super-competent, capable of anything. They had unstoppable confidence. They wouldn't shut the fuck up. But everyone was against them."

Then, Rogan says: "A lot of people are on it.... It's a spooky drug... First of all, journalists. I have a buddy of mine who's a writer who said almost all journalists are on it." One of the other guys says, "You get stuff done." And Rogan muses, "But it changes who you are as a person. It fucks with your head."

I like to know when someone I'm listening to is on drugs. If I don't know, and they are, they are stealing from me. That's how I see it. I'm not talking about people with a genuine mental disorder who take a prescribed drug that's supposed to get them to the medical profession's idea of normal. I respect their privacy. But somebody taking drugs to get a lot of writing done? I want a warning before I spend some of my life's precious time absorbing their addled — Adderalled — verbiage.

Searching my blog archive, I see I wrote about this subject last April, when Mike Cernovich tweeted "Yes adderall is passed around D.C. like candy, and many of your favorite journalists also do meth." Let me reread what I said back then:
I have no idea whether this is true, but I will just say that I would not watch a newsperson or commentator on TV if I knew they were on such drugs.
Ha ha. Exactly what I said today.

And I do have an aversion to the TV news and news commentary shows. Perhaps those 2 things fit together. I would read an article even if I knew the person used meth or adderall. You're not staring at a human face. You're not hearing the human voice. You're looking at words, and it's a subtler thing, the way drugs get into the words.
Hmm. That didn't occur to me this morning. I guess I was trying to understand my willingness to read my mainstream news sources and my avoidance of TV news. I hate to see their faces and hear their voices.
Anyway, I wonder how much of the intensity and anxiety in the TV newspeople can be understood as symptomatic of drug use. When I do watch some news TV (almost always because I'm with someone else), I study and comment upon the faces, some of which have an insane and weird expression. From a summary of symptoms of chronic abuse of Adderall:
Chronic abuse is marked by severe rash, insomnia, irritability and personality changes. The most severe symptom of abuse is psychosis, which is often clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia, according to the FDA. Toxic symptoms from taking an overdose of Adderall can come at low doses. Initial signs of an overdose include restlessness, tremor, confusion, hallucinations and panic, the FDA says. After this central stimulation, the patient will undergo fatigue, depression, and often cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptoms....
Irritability, restlessness, hallucinations, panic.... Where do you see that on TV news commentary? Whether these people are jacking themselves up with drugs or not, it's a bad idea to fill your evening staring into these anxious faces and hearing their intense chatter. I was watching one of those shows yesterday — I won't say which one — and they were talking about the possibility that Attorney General Barr misrepresented what is in the Barr report. There was loud, fast talking; darting, over-wide eyes; and hand gestures so big that I paused the show and exclaimed that it looked like a wild late-night party. It's screwy to be sitting, relaxed and passive in your lounge chair, and letting these weird humans have their way with your mind.
I'd like to see more journalism about the problems of journalists. I searched the NYT archive for the newest articles about Adderall. I got (in reverse chronological order):

1. "Virginia Woman Admits to Fatally Stabbing College Roommate" ("Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Rehak says Cutting told police she was on an array of drugs the night she killed Cannon including, cocaine, mushrooms, Xanax and Adderall").

2. "Dallas Shooting Victim Was a ‘Big Personality, Nice Person’" ("[The victim's sister] told jurors her brother used marijuana after not liking how he felt on Adderall, which he was prescribed for attention hyperactivity disorder").

3. "The Shark-Infested Waters of Trump’s Tweet-Filled Weekend" ((a Jimmy Kimmel joke about Trump) "He’s losing what little was left of his mind. He even retweeted a comedy Twitter account called ‘Trump but About Sharks.’ This is an account that takes his tweets and makes them about sharks. So he retweeted it. He’s so rattled, for lunch today aides say he ate a bucket of Adderall and snorted his fried chicken").

4. "Can We Slow Down Time in the Age of TikTok?" ("My students are growing up in a culture that is even more intensely individualized and fiercely competitive than it used to be, a punishing, Adderall-fueled version of my teenage years").

I scrolled through many more. Mostly about students. Nothing about journalists and politicians. Nothing about the elite. Maybe the elite are elite because they work harder, and they work harder because they've got a drug that makes them want to work, work, work.

Of course, there is a willingness to talk about Trump on Adderall. A Google search turned up way more than 2 million hits. This seems to be the original source of the chatter: "TOM ARNOLD CLAIMS DONALD TRUMP SNORTED ADDERALL ON 'THE APPRENTICE' SET" (Newsweek),

145 comments:

rehajm said...

Keep in mind a few decades ago doctors started drugging boys so they'd 'behave' in school. Most of these assholes born after 1985 have been on Adderall since middle school.

RNB said...

Hitler and the Nazis had meth (pervitin). AOC and the Democrats have Adderall.

Ken B said...

Twenty years ago I stopped watching TV talking heads — the shout shows, the “news”. Wise decision I have never regretted.

J. Farmer said...

Adderall is all over grad school, as well. It's actually a pretty clean high that tends to give you laser-like focus. Nowhere near as fun as cocaine but cheaper and legal.

traditionalguy said...

Adderall is apparently re-labeled Dexedrine of the 1960s. Taking it makes reality seem like an easily replaced hinderance to quickly replacing reality with your dream fantasy and believing in the brilliance of the BS you just made up.

Meanwhile uss Deplorables, we just keep on a clinging to our guns, ammo and the God's Covenants in our Bibles. Now that is real brilliance.

gilbar said...

The answer is : HELL YES!

Francisco D said...

A version of Adderall-type drugs has been widely available on college campuses since at least 1970. We called it "White Cross" then. It was a lot better than No-Doz for staying up to write a paper or study for a test. One might use it 5 times a semester, at most. It was cheap, about $2 per pill.

Adderall type drugs are widely prescribed now and are widely available. My nephew got through med school on them. Some kids think it's safer than cocaine if you want to get jazzed. I wonder what happens over time when they wash it down (as my nephew did) with a Red Bull and Vodka cocktail. He is a psychiatrist now, so I am sure that it addled his brain.

Big Mike said...

Adderall would explain a lot.

wild chicken said...

I dunno but Ben Shapiro's obviously on something. He talks so fucking fast, like the young sales guys at my old job. Do they think they can put something over on me if they talk like that?

Like all the stuff they're to throwing at Trump - maybe it'll go so fast and furiously that we'll just give up?

Anyway, I stopped reading Amy Alkon due to her Adderall use. She had special needs, you know, and bragged how much she got done. No shit. I wish I'd had some kinda break when I was still striving.

Cheating, IMO.

SeanF said...

Althouse: I like to know when someone I'm listening to is on drugs. If I don't know, and they are, they are stealing from me.
I don't think I agree with this logic.

If a panhandler asks me for money for food, and I give him money, and he spends it on drugs, I could see considering that "stealing" my money.

But if he asks me for money without specifying a usage, and I give him money without asking the usage, then he didn't "steal" my money regardless of what he spends it on. He didn't get my money under false pretenses, because there were no pretenses at all.

If you listen to someone without knowing or finding out whether they're on drugs, that's your choice.

Also, what difference does it make to you, anyway? Consider some particular news person that you make a habit of listening to - if you found out they had been on drugs the whole time, would you stop listening to them? Why?

Bay Area Guy said...

I dunno if it's Adderall, but most journalists are stupid. They have blurred the distinction between facts and opinions. It's more important to have the correct opinions (always left of center) than to present facts that cut against the liberal narrative.

Ben Morris said...

As a sometimes-journalist and former (legal) Adderall user, I'd say I concur with your sentiment but do think it's taking it a bit far.

On the concurring side:
I've struggled with ADD my whole life and I'd say of all the medications I've taken for it, Adderall was the one that made me feel most not like myself. Most of the medications have this effect to one degree or another. One of the reasons I didn't like taking Ritalin when writing papers in college was because I found it made me more productive but also made my writing less creative/interesting. Then me when I was on Ritalin would resent me when I wasn't on Ritalin for not taking Ritalin when I needed to, while me off Ritalin would resent me on Ritalin for trying to pressure me into being more like him. (OK, when I write that out I know it sounds crazy.)
Now, for the brief time I took Adderall, I wasn't in a context where differences in my work were qualitatively noticeable -- I was just more productive on it than not. Yet it had *such* a strong effect that I could even feel like the things I did on Adderall weren't really things *I* had done at all. So *I* wasn't really accomplishing anything. I couldn't take that. (FWIW, eventually I settled on Vyvanse, which I think is helpful without feeling like it changes me in any essential ways. Highly recommend to anyone with similar issues.)

On the other side:
While I hated being "torn in two" or the resulting lack of pride of ownership in my work, I don't think the medicated version of me was really any less valid as a person (so to speak) than the non-medicated version. I mean, personally I found his writing less interesting, but that can't be said for teachers and such who often found his work more thorough. And whatever qualities (and weaknesses) he had were qualities that he shared to various degrees with other non-medication-induced people.
Point being, I might not want to be that sort of person, or I might not even like many similar people (medicated or not), but ultimately I feel like that "person" should still be judged by their work, for better or worse.

daskol said...

As someone who’s never reacted well to uppers, I have developed an innate mistrust for people who enjoy that feeling. That said, highly caffeinated people can act pretty similar to people on various amphetamine and amphetamine like drugs such as Ritalin or Adderol. Althouse’s comment on avoiding Adderal’d people reminds me of my father’s attitude towards music and drug culture in the 60s and 79s: his discomfort with drug culture and musicians who were a part of it and expounded it cost him an appreciation for some great music. And he still got duped by people like James Taylor who used as many drugs as anybody but didn’t sing about the good side of that.

Kevin said...

Reading news vs TV news: not just the quality and the irritation of having to listen to them, a primary factor would be that I, and I presume you even more so, can read much, much, much, faster than they can speak.

That's the big reason I haven't watched TV news since 2001 (ie, the year I discovered The Corner and from them, Instapundit).

Yancey Ward said...

I would not be surprised if this were true today- when I was in college and grad school, a surprising number of my colleagues were on amphetamine during testing periods. Methamphetamine wasn't really a thing in those days (the late 80s early 90s), but I would not be surprised if the college kids from the 2000s didn't increase the use of amphetamine and start substituting methamphetamine.

Kane said...

What would you say about artists who abuse mind-altering substances and ther work? Would you avoid them as well? That seems like an impossible task and life would be rather boring without their creative accomplishments. If you are not willing to apply the same standard with regard to drugs to artists and journalists, why? Is there a qualitative difference between the work they produce, to which different moral obligations they are subject?

Xmas said...

"You get shit done" guy is "The Machine".

Cassandra said...

Explains a lot.

PB said...

If there's anyone who like like they're on Adderall, it's Tom ArNold.

readering said...

Address for recent article on POTUS and possible Adderall use.

http://dctribune.org/unearthed-story-that-newsweek-killed-reveals-trumps-medical-records-show-addiction-to-drugs/

Birches said...

To be objective, Cernovich could be the friend Rogan was talking about. Still, I suspect he's correct. And I doubt it's a partisan issue.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I won't watch any newscaster who does't take a purity pledge.

Sebastian said...

"many of your favorite journalists also do meth"

"Many" of my "favorite" journalists?

OK, ik Kim Strassel is a journalist, I do have one favorite. Other than that . . .

Anyway, progressivism is the real gateway drug. Once you've got that in your system, it's hard to get back to sanity.

henry said...

8chan fits that description to a T

chuck said...

Suddenly it all makes sense.

whitney said...

Adderal. The name is from ADD for all. How's that for evil

Krumhorn said...

That's ridiculous! Neither dextroamphetamine (Adderall) nor methylphenidate (Ritalin) work like that. While it helps to maintain wakefulness and focus in the right user at the right dose, for most others, it produces a jittery discomfort and no real high.

I'd say that cocaine is more like it for those ass-clowns.

- Krumhorn

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Well, I guess they've got to stay svelte for the camera somehow, but they don't have the off time actors do and can't put all that gym time in.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan said...

So that's the excuse for the state of journalism these days?

They're all a bunch of addicts and crack whores?

It does explain an awful lot.

Howard said...

Joe Rogan been saying that for a while now. The TDS left think Drumpf snorts little Barron von Aspy's Adderall. It's not up for debating. True that, bro

Wince said...

And I do have an aversion to the TV news and news commentary shows... I guess I was trying to understand my willingness to read my mainstream news sources and my avoidance of TV news. I hate to see their faces and hear their voices.


State Department attache Jacob Silj (Will Ferrell) loudly talks about American relations with China, but winds up discussing his voice immodulation problem.

Nonapod said...

Speaking of dishonesty about drugs, I think this is the one where earlier in the podcast, Ari shaffir admits to Bill Cosbying Bert Kreischer. Basically Ari dosed Bert with Molly a few days before this podcast partially as a "prank" and partially Bert would be forced out of "Sober October". Ari is a real piece of excrement.

Michael K said...

Plausible theory. How else can we explain the psychosis that grips at least 40% of the population?

El Supremo said...



Really? Maybe they should have to fully explain their mental state, including any stress they may be under, any bumps to their head, any stupid political ideas or superstitions they have,
how much sleep they are getting, coffee, liquor, sugar, and espcially if they are menstruating.

I've had a lot of my happiness and time stolen by menstruating women who thought they had a right to do that to me without my knowledge. It's down right criminal. I want reparation from all women to all men for milenia of this theft from us.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

How many journalists or on either adderall or anitdepressants or antianxiety drugs?
To a first approximation isn't the answer "all of them?"
Same with any group of non-sports celebrities, I'd bet--most, if not all, are on some combination of those medications.

But the proles can't have flavored vapes, of course--might do damage to their bodies and we can't have that.

Black Bellamy said...

If you watch MSNBC with the sound off it becomes a completely different experience. The facial contortions are worth it alone. The wild gesticulations, the expressive and exaggerated body language - after a while you just assume they're on drugs.

El Supremo said...

"I have no idea whether this is true, but I will just say that I would not watch a newsperson or commentator on TV if I knew they were on such drugs."

I think if it was known, that show would be a hit. Number one with a bullet!

FullMoon said...

On drugs?

Once written, twice... said...

Democrats should NOT be providing the leadership for impeachment. This is the Republican's shit sandwich and they should be the ones to eat it. If they can not provide a majority to vote for impeachment, then Dems shouldn't make up for the difference.
5/19/17, 2:42 PM

Michael K said...

An addition to the Adderall theory.

With Intersectionality ascending to an unquestionable dogma lately, the establishment press has come to believe that it is immensely important to find out what young women of color have on their minds. They must have come up with some incredibly great ideas during their 400 years of marginalization.

So, the media have increasingly turned over their platforms to young women of color.

And what messages do they have for us?

After having read hundreds of their op-eds and the like over the past few years, I’ve discovered that the No. 1 topic young woman-of-color journalists want us to listen to them talk about is…their hair.

They definitely have a lot to say about their hair.

Why?

Well, first of all, because they are young women. Looking nice is very important to young ladies and it takes up a lot of space in their brains.

Second, due to the decline in prestige of white men, with their tiresome science and rationality, older ways of thinking are growing in influence. And hair plays an important role in Haitian voodoo and Southern hoodoo magic. A guide to voodoo explains:
Etc.etc.

Taki's Magazine is now on my daily read list.

Dagwood said...

I take it the drug is similar in chemical composition to Knowitall?

Infinite Monkeys said...

"He’s losing what little was left of his mind. He even retweeted a comedy Twitter account called ‘Trump but About Sharks.’ This is an account that takes his tweets and makes them about sharks. So he retweeted it.

This sounds like he can enjoy humor that's about him. I don't see how it's a sign he's losing his mind.

Bilwick said...

The bulk of them certainly seem to be on the deadly drug Statism. It rots the mind and self-esteem so that the addict wants either (a) to be ruled, or (b) to crack the whip at others,

William said...

This perhaps explains the Matt Lauer situation. Perhaps if he 'fessed up and explained that his bad behavior was caused by Adderall and the machinations of big pharma, then he could find a path to forgiveness and reinstatement. I'd like to see a big, tear filled reunion on the Today set where Savannah embraces him and says that she always knew that there was an innocent explanation for his behavior. All his coworkers could gush about his courage in coming forward and revealing this insidious problem. We all have problems but these brave souls sit in the front trenches of climate change and Trump abuse so who can blame them if they seek pharmaceutical relief from the vexations and terrors of their jobs.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Some people are natural-born cunning drugers.

William said...

The behavior of Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein have received some harsh criticism in these precincts, but it should be remembered that neither of these men were ever accused of anal rape. Their rape behavior was always within the bounds of decency and fair play. Matt Lauer's bad behavior has given celebrity rapists a bad reputation, but he's an outlier and far from a typical celebrity rapist. We should not stereotype celebrity rapists based on this one poor example and, besides, as noted above, there's a good chance that Lauer was acting under the influence of Adderall. This one regrettable incident should not define who Lauer is, nor even who celebrity rapists are.

zipity said...


Actually, that would explain a lot...

Harry Lime said...

I once spoke to a medical student who said that a lot of her fellow students used it to study. She said it takes a while to kick in but when it does you can study continuously and productively for hours or even days. There is risks though. If you get distracted and are doing something else when it kicks in, e.g. cleaning your kitchen, you tend to get fixated and do that for hours or days, wasting time that you should have been studying.

Michael K said...

Althouses out for a long walk or a trip again.

madAsHell said...

Is it wrong to comment here under the influence of marijuana? Asking for a friend!!

Freeman Hunt said...

I think we've hit a tipping point when so many people are talking about their ADD or their kid's ADD that the problem isn't with the people. The problem is the society we've created that causes so many people to think that they have disorders and need to be drugged to cope with it.

More plainly, if a ton of kids at your school need ADD meds to be successful, the problem is with your school not ADD. The same goes for workplaces.

Jeff Brokaw said...

Not the first time I’ve heard rumors about journalists being a bunch of Adderall-fueled maniacs with paranoid tendencies and unshakable confidence bordering on arrogance, who won’t “shut the f*ck up”.

Sure would explain a lot, wouldn’t it?

Dave Begley said...

Could the Fourth Estate lose any more credibility?

Yes!

When all this Russia, Ukraine, China and impeachment stuff is over and Trump is cleared and wins re-election, they will have less than zero credibility.

stever said...

As Chris Cuomo would say, "let's get after it"

Eric said...

Sounds like one of these "open secrets" that go unreported until it gets out, at which point everyone knew about it all along.

At any rate, confidence beyond competence describes a lot of journalists.

Terry di Tufo said...

I won't be a hypocrite. If I were a television news reader I would definitely be on drugs. In fact, it makes me upset to think that the behavior of most cable news anchors is not drug-fed. How do you act like Rachel Maddow without chemical stimulation? Everyone on The View. I think that's more than adderall. If I had to guess I would say cocaine, given the hyperactivity combined with growing paranoia.

Temujin said...

Trump on Adderall would make sense. I've often wondered how a guy his age, with no apparent physical fitness program, keeps going at his level. He's non-stop. Tweeting, speechifying, dinnering, meeting, golfing, planning a world takevovering.

Yes, Trump on Adderall makes sense. As does journalists on Adderall. I've wondered why Jim Acosta has that raving crazy look in his eyes half the time. Or just what is in the water at CNN. Now we know: Adderall.

And Paul Krugman! Well, don't get me started there. We could go on. Who knew how widespread the Adderall addiction was in the US?

Wait...has anyone ever seen any Russians on Adderall? Me neither. Hmmm....

mandrewa said...

"Like Ritalin, Adderall is a stimulant, but instead of being made of methylphenidate, Adderall is a mixture of different amphetamine salts. It can help to reduce or improve the symptoms of ADHD, including having a short attention span and/or being hyperactive and impulsive."

"Adderall is a short-acting stimulant and is generally given twice a day."

"Adderall XR is a long-acting form of this stimulant that can be given just once a day so that children don't have to take a lunchtime dose. It usually lasts 10-12 hours in many children."

I see you're right, rehajm.

God, I hate the war against males that the schools are waging.

I would expect that any mind-altering drug given to a child might have more profound and unexpected consequences, than the same thing given to an adult.

Fernandinande said...

Those anecdotes are giving me a moral panic.

++ A writer of some sort writes -

"When I tried writing on the drug, it was like I had a choir of angels sitting on my shoulders. ...

At the same time, I felt less like myself. ...

Kerouac and the Beats ingested [amphetamines] in such heroic quantities that it didn’t just make them more focused, it completely transformed their writing. According to legend, On the Road was drafted in a 120-foot-long single-spaced paragraph that burbled down a single continuous scroll of paper."

Maillard Reactionary said...

Huh. I assumed it was mescaline, from the symptoms.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I never do drugs - tried pot 3 times and it only worked once. Which is good since I am banned in three states, from drinking Old Grand Dad 100 proof.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Drugs do turn most people into assholes so Rogan's claim is very believable.

Karen of Texas said...

Years ago my future son-in-law's sister wanted a script for Adderall - so she saw her MD uncle who listened to her complaints about not being able to concentrate, stay focused, etc. She asked for something to help. She claimed she was falling behind - second year law student. She told my daughter everyone was doing it or some version thereof to be able to stay competitive.

Sadly, within about two months of starting it she died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Apparently she had an undiagnosed brain aneurysm. She hadn't told her uncle she was on birth control pills. A clot was discovered near the site of the ruptured aneurysm. BCPs can cause clotting in some unfortunate users. Perfect storm? Bad luck? She was a highly motivated, hard working, 'A' student in high school and as an undergrad.

Were you aware students in your classes were probably scarfing Adderall or Ritalin or some other legal, prescribed form of speed, Althouse? Did you suspect?

MacMacConnell said...

"Hitler and the Nazis had meth (pervitin). AOC and the Democrats have Adderall."

JFK used meth and the US military used it during WWII. But, you are correct about AOC and the Democrats. Checkout eyes of AOC's quad squad, Adam Shiff and Pelosi.

sean said...

As we used to say when I lived in Berkeley, speed kills. (Which didn't stop us from doing it.)

Marc in Eugene said...

Better that they are all druggies or that they all regurgitate the partisan propaganda they've been fed?

Narr said...

Useta was, the journalist drug of choice was booze . . . Prof gets it exactly right--it's tiring to watch these addled nitwits, at best. (But then, how would say, five randomly-selected Althousers look and sound in the same setting?)

Narr
BTW, it wasn't just the Nazis who used amphetamines, and not just in that conflict either.

Pillage Idiot said...

That's funny, RNB.

I fully expected it would be the Democrats that were using a drug with "perv" in the name!

Matt Sablan said...

Man. Even today's journalist's addictions are lamer than the coffee and liquor swilling journalists of yesteryear.

Earnest Prole said...

I would not watch a newsperson or commentator on TV if I knew they were on such drugs.

The effects of Adderall are identical to drinking three cups of coffee. If that bugs you in a journalist your beef is more with journalism than the drugs -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

Tina Trent said...

I used to know people in the CNN newsroom in Atlanta. They would snort coke on commercial breaks at their desks.

It wasn't a good thing.

Speed isn't as stupid as psychedelics if your job includes getting something done.

rhhardin said...

I hated TV news in the 60s, as moronic time wasters. The Gell-Mann effect didn't work. I felt that if they're that bad on stuff I know about then they're that bad at everything.

narciso said...

how about the two nbc reporters, macias and kube, at least one of them had a relationship with the dia contractor, henry frees, who has been leaking classified info through business insider and CNBC/MSNBC, there's an ironic retweet between them, about how the latter is the 'hardest working reporter' you know like ali watkins

BUMBLE BEE said...

Taki's is great stuff. Big fan of Joe Bob and Jim Goad!. Got hooked on Joe Bob's Drive In Theatre long ago.

Tina Trent said...

@Fernandinstein: Kerouac took crappy meth. His manuscript was written on a single long sheet of paper. It also sucked.

Mailer used speed much more productively in the early Sixties. By the late Sixties, he was a raving murderous wandering political id.

The writers who have no substance abuse issues are practically notable for the absence. John D. MacDonald did three books or more a year on Longboat Key as his neighbors and peers drank themselves to death. They'd hoist a flag when "writing" stopped and drinking began, and he didn't join in.

John Updike was kind to his drunken ilk but didn't encourage the behavior. He published at least two books of fiction and criticism a year, almost all keepers.

Jim Goad of Takimag, a gumdamn genius, hasn't had a drink in decades, which is apparently good based on prior activity.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Don Henley ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn4sJfNkimg

SEZ IT ALL

Guildofcannonballs said...

"I've had a lot of my happiness and time stolen by menstruating women who thought they had a right to do that to me without my knowledge. It's down right criminal. I want reparation from all women...:

Fuckin' A right.

Fuckin' A, right.

FullMoon said...

This a pretty fair description of over use of stimulants.
Is Adderall really the same? People turn into degenerate junkies from doing Adderall.Open sores, rotten teeth?
Serious question. Any commenter have personal experience or observation?

Amphetamine Annie
Canned Heat

This is a song with a message
I want you to heed my warning

I wanna tell you all a story
About this chick I know
They call her "Amphetamine Annie"
She's always shoveling snow

I sat her down and told her
I told her crystal clear
"I don't mind you getting high
But there's one thing you should fear"

"Your mind might think its flying, baby
On those little pills
But you ought to know it's dying, 'cause
Speed kills"

But Annie kept on speeding
Her health was getting poor
She saw things in the window
She heard things at the door

Her mind was like a grinding mill
Her lips were cracked and sore
Her skin was turning yellow
I just couldn't take it no more

She thought her mind was flying
On those little pills
She didn't it was going down fast, 'cause
Speed kills

Well I sat her down and told her
I told her one more time
"The whole wide human race has taken
Far too much methedrine"

She said I don't care what a Limey says
I've got to get it on
I'm not here to just see no man
Who come from across the pond

She wouldn't heed my warning
Lord, she wouldn't hear what I said
Now she's in the graveyard, and she's
Awfully dead

narciso said...




this guy who retreats deep state propaganda, while not plugging for snowden

https://heavy.com/news/2019/10/henry-kyle-frese/

BUMBLE BEE said...

AND... As I recall, tobacco was the foundation funding that built network news. Lucky Strike, Chesterfield Kings all along the way.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Plausible theory. How else can we explain the psychosis that grips at least 40% of the population?"

Bad parents, even those successful by any measure except raising happy, well-adjusted children.

Michael K said...

My nephew got through med school on them.

Generally a bad idea. I had a routine that I would study until I was too sleepy then go right to bed. There was some research that exercise after studying hurt short term memory. I used to tutor the guys who used stimulants.

readering and Howard are trying to make a case that Trump uses drugs. It does not fit with the rest of his lifestyle. The left wing druggies might try avoiding booze. Hillary most affected.

FullMoon said...

The effects of Adderall are identical to drinking three cups of coffee.

Makes no sense.
Pretty simple, cheap and convenient to access coffee.

Michael K said...

I knew two MD friends who died as a result of using speed to study in med school. Both had aneurysms which is a known complication of speed use. One was a terrific neurosurgeon but crazy as so many of them are.

narciso said...

some form of ergot, or other toxic substance,

Peglegged Picador said...

I started thinking about this back in the early aughts when a girlfriend (who had been a straight A student through high school and her undergraduate years at an Ivy) was prescribed adderall in her 2nd year at an Ivy league architecture school. They were expected to stay up working in the studio until the wee hours of the morning and then be ready to go for classes the following day. She went to the doctor, told them she had symptoms of ADHD and they wrote her a script. I'm not clear on where the line is wrt to abuse, it's crazy to me that we want to destroy athletes who use performance enhancing drugs, but are totally ok/oblivious with/to the fact that significant numbers of folks in certain professions rely on better living through chemistry to get to the top of their fields.

Tina Trent said...

I have a friend who preserves manuscripts for an extremely well funded research library. From the Seventh Century to Sylvia Plath. The boxes they arrive in are the really interesting thing. Writers don't practice excellent hygiene, including the female ones. It's never been a discipline for normal people, especially at the high levels.

I've come to associate it with dandruff.

narciso said...

watchdogs indeed,


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/ronan-farrow-book-how-harvey-weinstein-may-have-leveraged-matt-lauer-1246149

Tina Trent said...

Trump is a famous teetotaler. He doesn't brag about it. He lost his brother to substance abuse when he was young. He's never drunk alcohol. Imagine sitting through his lifestyle without reaching for a glass of wine. He's increased funding for drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

What does he have to do, screw Kim Kardashian? Because he would do that if it helps.

Kay said...

I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. And journalists certainly aren’t the only ones.

Kay said...

Whether these people are jacking themselves up with drugs or not, it's a bad idea to fill your evening staring into these anxious faces and hearing their intense chatter.

100%

Guildofcannonballs said...

If your starting point is God can't exist because an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God wouldn't, had being existent is what they say, well then God wouldn't allow bad things. Adding "to happen" is idiotic drollery. Such is life though.

I've nuanced my way on Adderall side-highs or "contact buzz" highs for decades.

I called out, here at the Althouse blog, Heilerman?/ That guy with the disgraced sex-pervert wierdo Helperin.

They did that "OMG TRUMP WON HOW COULD HE?" on the trail of the 2016 Hillary coranation.
Interesting today like the Weiner/Huma doc.

Still and doc, doc and all cameras love Huma. Probably the greatest New Yorker behind Trump.

I see through, because of Kid Rock, them trying to see through you.

narciso said...

como, 'winning the future'


https://gloria.tv/article/Bkegh27X6GVz3e3Fms6E9suCi?fbclid=IwAR08VFDFni0y31rcVAt64XZ1BdPX_rVy-nePFlKq-n0Hb95PKITUkYae13Y

Drago said...

readering: "Address for recent article on POTUS and possible Adderall use."

LOLOLOL

Newsweek!!! The Go-To "news" publication for Tentacle Porn fans the world over!!

The hack publication that sold for literally $1 dollar in 2010!!

The pathetic rag that has lunatic Kurt Eichenwald as Editor!!

It is so magnificently fitting that readering latches on to that nothing rag to buttress his/her/xer moronic assertions.

Maillard Reactionary said...

FullMoon @5:47 PM:

Canned Heat was a greatly underrated band.

I came across some videos of them playing behind some of the great American bluesmen of the last century. It was impressive.

Blues, that is blues clubs, used to be one of the few places where white and black Americans could share a social space and just be in the music for a while, and it was OK. We used to go to Warmdaddy's in Philly when it was on Front Street. We saw James Cotton in one of his last performances. His voice was not working that night but he sang with his harp, and no one was talking while it was going on.

It didn't seem right to go any more after Obama. I hope I am wrong there-- music is healing. I hope we can find our way back. To be in the music together.

PB said...

Given Rogan's description, I'd bet Adam Schiff is on Adderall.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Wow in hindsight the Great BetaMax3000 or Buyawaya Puti or even fuckin' Goldstein, J (this time) and sidekick Kanye.

I'v 'en erased.

I waned after the missing "t" talked ao:

You won. Trump and I are just batting away untriumphfantly.

But you won.

I had a great set of words
bout to pop

Hit wrong words on keyboard, o joke k

Real dissappointing, is this predicable hatred of me and thoughts.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

they're all snakes, so Adderall is appropriate

Aspirin was already taken

Guildofcannonballs said...

Kane (Welles) broke the stage, and now Trump has broke China. What's next?

Feel(ing) safe about saying safe things?

Okay, safey.

Guildofcannonballs said...

There can be a lot of ruin in your nation, if you're not American and Trump is potUS.

BUMBLE BEE said...

They're WHITE PUNKS ON DOPE!

BUMBLE BEE said...

W. P. O. D. mom and dad live in Hollywood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJDQFLLdZ_k&list=RDXJDQFLLdZ_k&start_radio=1

Harold said...

I take adderall every day, it doesn't turn me into some kind of super competent computing machine, nor does it turn me into a jittering sweat soaked addict desperate for my next fix. It does let me more easily resist the distractions that would otherwise drag me off task. I was successful in my career without it and am successful on it. What really changed for me was my social interactions, I don't interrupt or talk over people in meetings, and I can actually focus on a conversation instead of being distracted by random things or just wandering away because I'm bored. It didn't stop my near pathological procrastination but actually being able to focus on a task, even if I don't find it interesting helps mitigate that. It also helps that I ended up in a career (high level technical and network support) that actually rewards a lot of my ADD traits. I don;t have the patience to run a network day to day, but it turns out that I am very good at diagnosing and restoring networks.

Laslo Spatula said...

Tina Trent at 10/9/19, 6:03 PM:

Wonderfully dry.

I am Laslo.

Sprezzatura said...

Other questions:

Are tech products from folks on this also canceled?

Law prof students?

POTUSs?


Follow up: is there causality data re such cancellations re work product being deserving of cancellation? Or, is Ahouse demonstrating foolishness, arrived at w/o A.

Ha ha.

Fritz said...

Blogger PB said...
Given Rogan's description, I'd bet Adam Schiff is on Adderall.

Given his exopthalmia, I’m guessing untreated Graves Disease.

Paul Ciotti said...


Joe Rogan says he has a writer buddy who says "almost all journalists" are on adderall.

Rogan is a good guy who gets a lot of things right. This isn't one of them.

Sprezzatura said...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P00HMxdsVZI

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

That would explain the young kid who does the Wall Street Journal videos on tech gadgets. Twenty percent of his words are dead-wood, but he talks so fast that important words are often reduced to some amorphous semi-syllable.

Would explain his Producer also. Watching him with the sound off, he seems intelligent and active. Listening without the video, his talk is just garble.

Both probably on drugs.

Marcus Bressler said...

My oldest daughter abused Adderall to the point of the side effects listed earlier. I had to Marchman Act her last Christmas due to it. When she came out of a few weeks of detox and treatment, her brain was pretty much fried. She could not hold down a waitress job because she had short-term memory problems and wound up working at a convenience store. Her ex-husband moved in with her to "help with the kids" and his previous opiate addictions merged with her. She overdosed smoking heroin on September 10 and I took her off life support on September 11th. Aged 40, she leaves behind two children, a son, 15 and a daughter, 11, and a father with a broken heart. I had DCF take the kids away from their father until he proves (to them) he is a fit parent, which I doubt will happen, since it involves a 90 day rehab requirement. The last time my daughter had her prescription for Adderall filled, she had 180 30 mg pills for 90 days. I took them away from her when I Marchman Acted her. Addiction is a terrible disease. I had NO idea she was smoking heroin.

glenn said...

So when I was working drug tests were mandatory for new hires and anyone who got hurt on the job. I can’t see a reason in the world that journalists whose work is so important would object to a random sampling program.

Narr said...

madAsHell asked about high-posting. If no-one can tell, what difference does it make?

Some of my college and grad-school buds swore by these things, both legal and otherwise, but I could drink coffee and take a No-Doz on the very few occasions I needed an all-nighter--maybe three or four times in a total of 4 years undergrad and 12 (part-time) years grad school.

To me a good night's sleep is better test-prep than all-night cramming. Of course, I wasn't in fields that demand energy, high-level work, and intense focus just to keep up.

About 30 years ago one of our wargaming friends was a medical student. According to him,
a surgeon could be competent for life if addicted to heroin-- as long as he could get his fix; alcohol abuse OTOH leads to inevitable systemic failure.

Narr
Potheads are more fun than drunks, too

Anonymous said...

Antidepressants and Atrazine destroyed America. Antidepressants - self explanatory. Atrazine, the most used farm herbicide, is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of ground, surface, and drinking water. Atrazine is also a potent endocrine disruptor that is active at low, ecologically relevant concentrations. Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs. Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile? It's in the water.

FullMoon said...

Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile?

Nope.

Earnest Prole said...

Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile?

Because it's the Fruited Plain?

MadisonMan said...

Marcus, that sounds dreadful and heartbreaking. I'm very sorry it happened. Any parent's nightmare.

Martin said...

Painkillers and uppers (to counter the drowsiness from the painkillers) distorted Anthony Eden's judgment leading up to, during, and after the Suez Crisis of 1956.

Unknown said...

"She overdosed smoking heroin on September 10 and I took her off life support on September 11th. Aged 40, she leaves behind two children, a son, 15 and a daughter, 11, and a father with a broken heart."

I'm so sorry, Marcus.

Drago said...

adSs: "Follow up: is there causality data re such cancellations re work product being deserving of cancellation?"

According to HoaxPPT/Ritmo, all negative aspects of US life regardless of location are driven by the Avg Sq Footage of Midwestern single family homes + light bulbs + Corporate Farms.

HoaxPPT assures us that as a leftist he is vastly superior in intellect and knowledge to all deplorables so it all must be true.

#Lefty"Science"

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

@Marcus
overlook the inadequacy of our words of condolence, and know we lift you up in our hearts.

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. --Psalms 55:22

Maillard Reactionary said...

Marcus @8:26:

That is a pitiful tale, Marcus. Many of us wonder how our children could have gone so wrong.

I hope you find peace, by and by.

effinayright said...

Slip said:

Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile? It's in the water.
***********

Where's your data?

rcocean said...

20th Century writers were known for their drinking. Partly because you can write sober in the AM, and then get drunk the rest of the day. Some would try to write drunk to get over writers block with usually bad results. Chandler finished a script on time by locking him self in his house and having the Studio deliver round the clock booze. He churned out a mediocre script - but he got it done. Hemingway said he could always tell when Faulkner had gone from writing sober to writing drunk.

wildswan said...

Behind this kind of drug use is a recognition that your own mind is not good enough as is and a decision to force it. It's just like steroids in athletics. The only thing I really think about it all is that this huge culture pressure is really what the Fifties were like. The Sixties were a relief from that - at least at first. Folk songs on guitars. "Be sure to wear a flower in your hair." A summer of love. Perhaps a version of the Sixties is coming round.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Earnest Prole has my vote as the thread winner with his 9:09 comment.



FullMoon said...

When Althouse posted about Adderall back in April someone seemed to take it very personal:

Chuck said...
"...This is really a new low for you, Althouse. You may thing it funny or entertaining. I don't see it that way. I see it as sick and perverted and this post should really haunt you. I cannot ever recall a more disgusting subject for you to provide space for, nor any more regrettable execution on your part.
4/5/19, 8:25 AM

FullMoon said...

Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs. Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile? It's in the water.

Now I am wondering how those frogs got into Midwestern waters.

wild chicken said...

gone from writing sober to writing drunk.


Like Guild o' balls up above?

Francisco D said...

Ever wonder why the Midwest produces the most homosexuals per square mile?

Too many Norwegians,

Narr said...

Wait, Midwestern African clawed frogs are turning gay? Where's Titus?

Western civilization has been on a chemical binge since, well, forever. The Greeks knew how to freak (though in the oh-so-PC world of academic history that's considered career-ending heresy BION), and everyone worthwhile since has sought altered states.

Anti-alcohol cultures like Islam are stunted by suppressing one of the most natural drives there is, while widespread trade in drugs and weapons is a bedrock of modernity and has built great empires.

Puritans religiose and secular are entitled to their chastity, but come on, we couldn't have done what we have and keep doing it without our drugs.

Narr
America couldn't make it to lunchtime w/o druuuugs

BUMBLE BEE said...

My favorite quote about the 60s was that the culture showed that drug abuse became America's favorite indoor sport.

Crazy World said...

I don’t even know what adderal is but it sure explains a lot of unnecessary behavior lately.

Crazy World said...

As always, great post and comments.

Crazy World said...



My heart goes out to you Marcus.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Condolences Marcus. Alcoholics Anonymous says there are three guaranteed outcomes, recovery insanity or death. In my lifetime, those truths have been borne out. Many dispute the concept of "gateway drug's" and their role in addiction. Seems there is a point that gets crossed in any addiction that is invisible to others where the die is cast. Those of us who survive the passing are left only sorrow.

BUMBLE BEE said...

How the legalization of pot works out, not gonna be pretty. Never heard any songs about Fentanyl in the 60s but it has had an effect on the number of singers from the era.

DarkHelmet said...

I've interacted with a lot of reporters. As a group they are not terribly bright, or inquisitive or knowledgeable. There are notable exceptions, of course. But the bottom line is, these people are not very good at anything. The ones on TV have a glamor element, but are no brighter. There is no drug that can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. What you see on TV is a whole bunch of sow's ears with good make up and lighting. When the lights go out and the makeup comes off you wouldn't take these people any more seriously than some schlub at the grocery store ranting about chem trails.

Do not take your view of the world from these people. The Gell-Mann effect is real, and it may be the downfall of our republic.

gilbar said...

My $0.02
Several folks here have gone on and on about how
"Adderal isn't like that! At prescribed does..."

That's true, of MOST drugs
But we're Not talking about prescribed does
We're talking about crackheads

Bill said...

I give you David Muir of ABC's World News Tonight. My God, you'd think the guy had a full bladder every newcast, given the panic in his voice and the speed at which he yammers on. Such a contrast with the almost blase style of Huntley and Brinkley, whom I'm old enough to remember, if barely . . .

Largo said...

If I write something Althouse is free to read it or not read it. She has agency. I promised her nothing. The choice is hers.

I owe Althouse nothing.

(Except my gratitude for her blog, but that is another matter.)

Steave Roger said...

Thank you, for this document.Yes, the cover is totally sweet. BuyLevitraGeneric.mobi provides an online platform with an overnight delivery option to order any medicine without any Prescription.
Order Adderall Online

Steave Roger said...

Thank you, for this document.Yes, the cover is totally sweet. BuyLevitraGeneric.mobi provides an online platform with an overnight delivery option to order any medicine without any Prescription.
Order Adderall Online

Steave Roger said...

Thank you, for this document.Yes, the cover is totally sweet. BuyLevitraGeneric.mobi provides an online platform with an overnight delivery option to order any medicine without any Prescription.
Order Adderall Online

pharmaceuticals said...

2mg xanax for sale online
purchase xanax 2mg online
buy 2mg xanax online usa
Buy Xanax 2mg Online
percocet for sale
percocet for sale usa
percocet for sale canada
order percocet uk
Percocet
buy viagra online uk
buy cheap viagra online
order viagra 50mg 100mg online
where to buy viagra online usa
Buy Viagra 50mg 100mg Online
order hydrocodone online uk and usa
where to buy hydrocodone online
best quality hydrocodone for sale
purchase hydrocodone online
Buy Hydrocodone Online
best quality Roxicodone for sale online
where to buy roxicodone online
Roxicodone for sale online
purchase Roxicodone online usa
Buy Roxicodone Online
Sour Diesel Shatter
Afghan Kush
AK-47
White Widow
where to order OG Kush online

Fahad Ummat said...

Generally I dont advocate HRT or TRT for individuals still in their prime but after about two months I am around ~750 total T and my other markers look normal. I cant believe how amazing I feel: no anxiety, fear, anger, etc. during those two months starting TRT I weaned off vyvanse from 50mg to 40mg, to cold turkey. I slept extraordinarily well the first three nights off, then felt normal with no depressive sx and havent looked back. I feel focused, calm, and driven.

Sorry for the long response. Just wanted to share and hear your thoughts. Thank you!Adderall 20mg