Jolly Roger: Students Abuse Study Drugs

At The Jolly Roger Corner, you get a glimpse into Drake's oldest high school newspaper The Jolly Roger. Check out more articles, photos, reviews and insight into our local school at drakejr.com.

In this article, Jolly Roger reporters examine the use of study drugs in school.

BY MATT ACORD and BLAKE PANNES

Finals week is usually five days of utter dread and hours of seemingly endless bubbling. Some students crumble under the pressure. Others turn to illegal amphetamines like Adderall to speed through their tests.

Adderall is a legal amphetamine that is prescribed to those who have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). For people who have trouble focusing for long periods of time, this drug can be a lifesaver. Adderall is commonly associated with Ritalin as the most popular drug for people diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

Adderall and other ADHD treatments are currently on the rise due to the increase in people being diagnosed with ADHD. A University of California-Berkeley study found that worldwide spending on drugs to treat ADHD raised 274 percent between 1993 and 2003. The United States accounted for 83 percent of the market by the end of that time period.

Approximately 9.5 percent of children 4- to 17-years-old have been diagnosed with ADHD. The biological origins of ADHD are not yet clearly understood, but in studies it has been shown that children whose close relatives have the disorder are more likely to be diagnosed with it.

Adderall is seen by some as a legal Methamphetamine. The two drugs are relatively close in molecular structure. In fact, the only difference between the two is that Methamphetamines have Methyl in them. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the drug commonly known as “Meth” is just a much more potent version of the amphetamines in Adderall.

Around campus, students take Adderall and Ritalin in order to perform better on tests and in classes. “Adderall helps me want to actually do work, and when tests come around I buzz through them way quicker than I would if I wasn’t taking it,” said an anonymous student that uses Adderall without a prescription for studying.

The increased alertness and concentration caused by these prevalent drugs don’t come without side effects. “You feel really strung up and you can’t sleep at night because it keeps you up,” added the anonymous student. These side effects do not deter students that have become reliant on the drugs to help them study; abuse still continues.

Many such students are taking these focus-enhancing drugs without a prescription. Adderall and Ritalin are not over-the-counter, so it is illegal to take them without a prescription. Many teens hurdle this obstacle by purchasing all the pills they need from other students. Depending on the dosage, the two popular drugs sell in the halls for $5-15 a pill.

The common side effects of Adderall and Ritalin include trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, and weight loss, according to Drugs.com. Senior Matt Kuhr was prescribed Adderall but stopped taking it.

“[Adderall] has been prescribed to me for a year, [but] I stopped taking it after about a month because I hated the idea of taking a pill every morning and because the come-down made me feel depressed and tired. [The pill] would probably help [me], but at the same time it’s just not worth it,” he said.

Teens that don’t take their medications can sell the pills and pocket a few extra bucks while helping out another student with their workload. Many such teens see the transaction as a win-win situation. Some students that choose not to take their drugs get pressured to sell or give theirs away — even if they weren’t intending to sell them.

“People call me and text me a lot, especially before dances, asking me if they can buy Adderall and it’s hard for me to say no,” said the anonymous student.

Adderall is a heavily abused drug on campus and at home. According to adderallabuse.net, the drug has three different types of abusers. The first type of abuser is students that illegally use Adderall to study, because it helps them focus on their work for hours on end.

The second group of abusers is students that use the drug for social occasions because the Dextroamphetamine found in all “study drugs” gives some people a feeling of confidence, enhanced energy, and helps users stay awake for long periods of time.

Lastly, some abusers of Adderall use it for weight loss, because one of the usual side effects is appetite suppression.

“When [I was] on Adderall I would take the suggested amount each day, and throughout the day I wouldn’t get hungry. [It got] to the point where I would try to eat, but my body would reject [food]. From there I knew that I would have to stop using this drug," said an anonymous student, who had been prescribed Adderall but stopped using it.

More and more children are being diagnosed with disorders such as ADD and ADHD. If you have problems focusing in school, you could have ADD or ADHD. But, if you go see a doctor for these problems, be prepared for a prescription of amphetamines and friends begging for your study drugs.                

How common do you think study drug abuse is in the Ross Valley?