DEVILDRIVER Frontman Speaks Out Against Use Of Prescription Drugs To Treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara has spoken out against the use of medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, saying that prescription stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin "pushing kids to the most fucking darkest place possible."

The former COAL CHAMBER singer, who has previously described himself as a "really bad" sufferer of ADHD, opened up about his experience with the neurological condition during a recent interview with Ireland's Overdrive.

He said: "Let me tell you what's happening. ADHD and ADD [attention deficit disorder] are pushing kids to the point of suicide and with doctors and psychiatrists — who mostly treat it like some kind of disease — feeding people with shit like Adderall and Ritalin is pushing these kids to the most fucking darkest place possible and that is leading to manifesting suicidal thoughts, with a majority, sadly, taking their own lives.

"I treat ADD and ADHD like a fucking miracle," he continued. "I can run four businesses on about five hours sleep a night and have no problem getting all my shit done because I have ADD and ADHD and people try to back that down. If you have a hyperactive dog, you don't just chain him to a fence, you let him run around. That's what needs to be done with people who have ADHD. They need focus, tasks and goals to achieve, and when they put their minds to something, it's a fucking incredible force that is so powerful compared to the normal or what is considered 'normal' brain.

"Most parents are fucking lazy and spend most of their time listening to doctors, who are straight-up wrong when diagnosing ADD/ADHD," Dez added. "They are saying, 'Hey, give your kid this pill and he/she will be more focused.' They might get more focused, but six months down the line, there is a possibility they might kill themselves.

"I'd like to see the end of all of these fucked-up drugs for good."

Fafara went on to recount a personal experience with prescribed pills, saying: "I watched my old bass player abuse Adderall to the point that he fell apart mentally at 27, 28 years old. This just needs to stop. Marijuana is the cure for this — it's the cure for cancer, seizures, ADHD, ADD, pain, etc. When you think about it, this is a natural plant that has all of these healing powers and instead we are being fed a man-made pharmaceutical pill that totally fucks with your brain. All the while, they are making billions of dollars and kids are dying. It's so fucked up, man. It's time for everyone to get together and revolt against this shady corporation bullshit and take to the streets. Enough is enough!"

The Center for Disease Control (CDC),citing data from the 2010 U.S. Census, reported that five million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are suffering from either ADD or ADHD. Rates of ADD/ADHD rose at an average of 5.5 percent a year from 2003 to 2007.

DEVILDRIVER's full-length album of outlaw country-gone-metal anthems, "Outlaws 'Til The End: Vol. 1", was released in July via Napalm Records.