>I have a good friend who has ADD and is of a similar opinion as you. He has strong libertarian leanings and I asked him how does he reconcile his political philosophy with his use of ADD medication.
What an odd thing to ask. Libertarians aren't 7th Day Adventists. Why would there be a conflict between Libertarianism and medication?
It's not a conflict between Libertarianism and medication. It's a question of the role medical technologies (or any technologies) in opportunity and liberty.
If we come from the frame that certain mental conditions are neuro-chemically-based, and that these conditions prevent someone from being able to be productive members of society, medication might be seen akin to the freedom to participate in a market economy.
When I asked my friend that, I was probing for underlying narratives. From my perspective, there seems to be a heroic element to libertarian narratives, one in which medication like this seem to cheat.
I don't know where you're getting that. Even in the case where the drug provides a big advantage to perfectly healthy people the libertarian position is going to be "society has no business dictating what you put in your body".
What an odd thing to ask. Libertarians aren't 7th Day Adventists. Why would there be a conflict between Libertarianism and medication?