--- title: "RFK Jr., Who Hates Adderall, Says Heroin Was Great for Treating His ADHD" description: "RFK Jr. admitted that using heroin helped him become a better student — but when it comes to actual ADHD meds, he's not having it." date: "2024-11-29" modified: "2024-11-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/rfk-jr-adderall-heroin" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "adderall" - "heroin" - "politics" - "rfk jr" --- # RFK Jr., Who Hates Adderall, Says Heroin Was Great for Treating His ADHD ![RFK Jr. admitted that using heroin helped him become a better student — but when it comes to actual ADHD meds, he's not having it.]() *\Image: Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC via Getty / Futurism\* The man Donald Trump has chosen to lead the United States' health system claimed that doing heroin helped him become a better student — the same month [he said]() that people on Adderall should be sent to "wellness farms." "I was at the bottom of my class, I started doing heroin, and I went to the top of my class," [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. told podcaster Shawn Ryan]() in a newly-resurfaced clip from July. "Suddenly I could sit still, and I could read and I could concentrate. I could listen to what people were saying." The political scion went on to acknowledge that he would "probably today be diagnosed with ADHD" and that using heroin and other drugs like cocaine were a form of self-medication. When it comes to actual prescription medications, however, the [70-year-old anti-vaxxer]() sings a different tune. The same month that the Ryan interview was posted, Kennedy told *another* podcaster that he would like to see what he calls "wellness farms" where people on medications including Adderall can go and get clean — while remaining pointedly vague on whether these stays would be voluntary. "I’m going to create these wellness farms where they can go to get off of illegal drugs, off of opiates, but also illegal drugs, other psychiatric drugs, if they want to," he told the "[Latino Capitalist]()" podcast, "to get off of SSRIs, to get off of benzos, to get off of Adderall, and to spend time as much time as they need — three or four years if they need it — to learn to get reparented, to reconnect with communities." And a few months prior, he made similar comments, sans the ominous mention of labor camps, in yet another podcast interview. "Our kids are all on Adderall. They’re all on \[anti-depressant\] SSRIs. Why?" [Kennedy told Todd Ault](). "Doctors didn’t just start prescribing these for no reason. We have damaged this entire generation. We have poisoned them." Taken together, these three remarks make it seem that in the mind of the man tapped to be our next Health and Human Services secretary, a powerful opioid is less severe a drug than Adderall — and to our minds, there's nothing healthy about that. **More on RFK Jr.:** [*Trump's Raw Milk Zealot Accused of Inappropriately Touching Babysitter*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()