For the likely one in a thousand who actually do have ADD ADHD then they likely would need it in the same respect an epileptic needs some very strong medications as well capable of possibly doing harm. Then again massive doses of Caffeine might work as well.
The use of a medication must weigh benefits vs risk in everything including an Aspirin. Then again some meds get bad names no matter how they are used. That happens because a minority abuses them and many doctors simply do not know how to correctly dispense some meds.
Most doctors would freak out at what I have taken every day 3-4 times a day for 17 years {Xanax} and tell me I can't do that. My wife is a 26 year user. But it's the only way I can function at all. Yea it can be dangerous especially higher dosages at 1-2 times a day. On the other hand a lower dosage 3-4 times a day keeps the seizures and brain fog away. {most the time anyway} LOL.
The ADD/ADHD diagnosis has no valid diagnostic criteria. If you look at the DSM IV, which provides diagnoses for psychiatric “diseases”, you will find a list of highly subjective criteria that could fit anyone. Further, there are NO physiological markers of ADD/ADHD at all. In these respects, ADD/ADHD is in the same category of bogus diagnoses as “oppositional defiance disorder”, which is also in the DSM.
Although the DSM IV is officially a diagnostic manual, it can also be seen as the source of cashflow for psychiatrists and psychologists. If something is in the DSM, it has a “code”. That code allows the psychiatrist or psychologist to get paid by insurance and the government.
There are physiological problems that do give rise to what we call mental illness, but ADD/ADHD isn’t among them.