No one thinks working out should be illegal. So why should doing the same thing via other means be illegal?
Maybe it's the lingering Protestant-work-ethic-laced morality of the U.S., but we seem to be disproportionately likely to exaggerate the dangers of anything that seems like a drug, relative to things that don't seem like drugs (even when they clearly are -- i.e., alcohol).
It's part of my life's work to make sure that kind of drugging of children becomes a thing of the past. It's criminal.
Can you imagine giving a child amphetamines to 'help' them in a non-coercive environment like a Sudbury School? https://ia801305.us.archive.org/19/items/TheSudburyValleySch...
In your post you talk about on and off and don't give us any insight whether you (always? most of the time?) made that decision yourself.
It's not that I didn't care about paying attention, I really wanted to pay attention, it just wasn't happening. I think that's the difference - you wouldn't be forcing me to do something I didn't want to do, you'd be helping me do something I did want to do.