Why are drugs like Adderall prescribe more often than drugs like Xanax?

Question

Most amphetamines like Adderall are Schedule II drugs, while drugs like Xanax (depressants) are Schedule IV. It seems to me that Adderall would be much easier to get prescribed, however, than Xanax. Why is this?

Answer 1

I don't know the number of prescriptions per year for either drug, but like you, I would have guessed that more benzodiazepines (e.g. Xanax) are prescribed than amphetamines.  Still, the prescription rate depends on the prevalence of the condition that the drug treats, rather than the schedule of the drug  

Amphetamines are prescribed mostly for ADHD, which is certainly a common disorder.  Benzodiazepines are prescribed mainly for anxiety disorders and insomnia, which are also very common.  But benzos are also prescribed off-label for a wide range of purposes, so I would expect them to be prescribed more often than amphetamines.  If anyone does have the number of prescriptions for these drugs over the past year, I would be interested to know which is more prevalent.

On the broader topic though, being on a more restricted schedule doesn't mean that a drug is prescribed less -- other than Schedule I, of course.  For everything else, doctors can use whatever they think will be best for the patient.