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Last week a claim made by CS:GO pro player and Nihilum team member, Kory “Semphis” Friesen, that a large number of players on the professional scene take the prescription medication Adderall prior to competing, has made real waves in the game's Esports community. However its impact is going to be felt far more at real competition, as the Electronic Sports League has now announced changes to its policies in light of the revelations.
“The integrity of our sport is and always will be our biggest concern,” said Anna Rozwandowicz, head of communications at ESL in a chat with Wired. “We have worked on changes in our rules, reached out to authorities for support, and will be ready to announce our next steps in a couple of days.”
While she didn't elaborate on what specific changes would be made, the mention of a third party ‘authority' suggests that drug testing could become part of the pro-gaming process, at least within the ESL's sanctioned tournament scene.
With regards to punishing those that are said to have been involved in drug taking already, the ESL was less reactionary. It claims that it takes into consideration that Friesen is an ex-Cloud9 member, so may not have the most objective of opinions on it. Rozwandowicz also pointed out that he was let go “due to his and [his] team's poor performance.”
Ultimately the lack of proof about drug taking at the event and the potential shenanigans Friesen could be taking part in with his claims, is leading to the ESL not taking any action against him or Cloud9. However its policy changes may make actions like (allegedly) theirs impossible in the future.
It will also look to create a fully fledged system for dealing with performance enhancing drugs in Esports. “There needs to be a policy, a process, a governing body, an appeal system,” said Rozwandowicz. Just like in more traditional sports.
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KitGuru Says: No time frame has been put on any of this, so it may be some time before blood tests take place at major Esport events, but it looks like we're moving in that direction.
Image source: Wikimedia
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t taking Adderall without actually having ADD (or a similar disorder) cause negative effects rather than positive? I’m pretty sure there was a scandal about this in the CoD pro community a few years back and that was the conclusion people came to…
If so, why is the drug testing thing going to be a thing?
It is is a stimulant, when you have ADD and take a stimulant (like coffee or Adderal) it actually relaxes you, and slows down your thoughts (which are all over the place) When you do not have ADD and take a stimulant it stimulates you, gives you more energy etc… So it is not really negative effects, moms used to take it to lose weight and stuff. It is basically super powered coffee for non ADD people.
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For what it’s worth, Adderall is a brand name; its generic name is “Amphetamine Salts”.
It’s prescription meth.
This is just wrong. Adderall is a mix of Dextro and Levo Amphetamine, which are both SIGNIFICANTLY less neurotoxic than Methamphetamine. They’re not even comparable to be honest. Do some research before throwing out ignorant phrases like this.
Calm down, princess, it was an oversimplification for conversation’s sake. Neurotoxicity isn’t the issue here, psychoactive effects are. If you want to be all scientific about your comment thread over-aggression, then cite your sources.
And lay off the prescription meth, you’re WAY too angry.
Thank God, I was about to stop watching Cs Go, as I’m never inerested in who is juiced up more.
Also: the short lived Clown 9 success is about to get stomped in Germany.
So no negative effects at all, and all people can take Adderal (or the same drug by another name) and instantly get benefits in their ability to focus and game above their normal abilities?
Meth base is made out of pseudoephedrine. Not adderall.
Every single pill created by science has negative side effects for anybody that takes it.
You know exactly what I was asking.
If taking Adderall without having ADD would have more negative effects than positive, pro players wouldn’t take Adderall in the first place.
That’s exactly the point I’m trying to make… as I said, when this scandal hit the CoD community (which nobody on PC apparently ever batted an eyelash at, because “PC Master Race” or whatever) the resultant thing was that not having ADD and taking Adderal would actually make you sort of shut down, rather than give you superhuman concentration, and that the person taking Adderal did so because he actually had ADD and it was required for him.
So my question is: Is that previous conclusion false? Is taking Adderal as a normal healthy human being simply a concentration booster with minimal side effects that don’t prevent someone from properly playing in a championship game? Has something changed in the 2-3 years since the scandal hit the CoD community with it now hitting the CS:GO community?
So far, nobody has actually given me a clear answer. David Birney has come close by claiming it is a stimulant, but his description clashes hard, and he hasn’t given me anything further on it.
It’s easy for you to say “calm down, it was a oversimplificaiton” when that oversimplification supports your point, and demonizes a medication. keep trolling.
Another drive-by commenter? Or perhaps the same one, upvoting yourself while accusing me of trolling? Doesn’t matter. You obviously didn’t understand my point to begin with.
For those who have the peculiar brain chemistries that manifest as ADHD, Adderall is a medication that does worlds of good. For those who don’t, and who abuse it for the same purposes as these E-sports competitors (as well as college students, overwhelmed waiters and waitresses, graveyard-shift workers, et al), it basically IS prescription meth, with the same or similar psychoactive – and addictive – properties.
These guys aren’t taking Adderall because they have ADHD. They’re taking it because of their perception that being on speed gives them a competitive advantage. OP asked, “why is the drug testing thing going to be a thing?” That’s why.
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made a profile just to post dumb troll message. GET_TROLLED! xD I owe you now.
Oversimplification aside, any stimulant makes you better at twitch shooter games. I remember when I was in college and we had a counter-strike LAN gaming tourney every weekend on campus, a ton of us were taking mini-thins and downing them with mountain dew, and chain smoking between round sets. (Not to dope so much as that was sort of our lifestyle, eh, not great for the heart.) Basically the twitchier you are (within some limits) the faster your reflexes. You can eek some of that out by just turning up your mouse sensitivity and getting used to that, but most of it is your brain firing in smaller time intervals. Mini-thins have not been sold over the counter for quite a few years now, but they were basically just ephedrine. *after a brief google* Ah, they are selling them again, but they don’t have the same thing in them, it’s just a brand name thing recognition act.
Well that makes sense I suppose, but it still doesn’t really answer whether or not Adderal consumption by a normal person is beneficial without enough detriments to hinder their game. You said mini-thins back in the day worked, but I dunno about now.
All I know is, as I said in a comment elsewhere in this comment thread, is that when this “scandal” hit the CoD community, the resultant things found were that Adderal is only useful to a player who has ADD, and to a normal person it actually makes things worse. I’ve just been waiting for someone who wants to clash with that result to show me something about it, or even to claim that they’ve used it and vouch for its benefits. So far, people are giving me similar things and conjecture about what “could happen”.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/2bn7zt/what_are_the_differences_of_adderall_on_a_person/
I agree with you D2. It just feels like your game improves at first because you have lots of energy and excitement for the game due to being on a higher dose of stimulants than you’ve ever been on. The fact is that like all things, after a few times you will get used to it, the excitement will wear off and you will just be playing games high on a stimulant.
What about those who are prescribed the medicine? Do they get a pass?
If they are gonna go as far as to drug testing, they should be imprisoning people who throw games for money and skins.
I took ritalin for 12 years. pretty much the same thing.
If you require Aderall you cant compete for money. Its like allowing aimbot coz you are left with single hand afyer accident.
I’ve taken stratera, aderall and ritalin for the past 20 years.
i took 120mg a day, never noticed anything from it, or caffeine for that matter.
OMG Your here too!!?!?
*You’re