A new fruit-flavored, chewable ADHD medication marketed toward kids is raising some red flags with drug experts.
The drug is meant to make the medication more enjoyable and ease compliance with children, but some experts said it could open the door to addiction.
The medication is called Adzenys, and Brandon Short of White Sands Treatment Center said he's not against making taking medication more positive for kids.
"However, let's keep in mind that this is a therapeutic medication. This is not Halloween candy," he said.
Short said the bigger picture is addiction.
"You mix convenience with accessibility and it tastes good, it's a recipe for disaster, because all you're doing is creating a new generation of addicts," he said.
Short is also concerned about the new medication playing into ADHD pills' rampant use and abuse in college-aged students. It's a fact one college student, Nathan Paraison, is frustrated with.
"I myself was diagnosed with ADD at a young age, and I've never taken a prescription for it," Paraison said.
He believes if he can do it, students without attention deficit disorders should be able to, too.
Paraison also said a tasty ADHD drug could make America's addiction problems even worse.
"If it has a good taste to it, it's going to be like eating Skittles or Starburst. Sweet tasting. So those two association, I think, would cause a huge spike in addiction rates," Paraison said.
