Adderall use increases in college as more students look for performance enhancement
By Laura Frazier, News Editor frazier13@up.edu
Editor's note: The Beacon has a policy to generally avoid the use of anonymous sources because we believe that our readers are entitled to know the identities of sources of information so they can evaluate their credibility.
We may make exceptions when we believe the public benefit of publishing a story that could best be told only with an anonymous source or sources outweighs the value of the policy.
In this case, we decided that because the story of student use of Adderall illuminates a public health issue, we would grant anonymity and the pseudonyms "Tom" and "Mary" to the students who spoke to us for this story. We do not make this exception lightly, but with the hope it will spark awareness and constructive discussion about the use of Adderall.
The first time Tom took Adderall, a prescription drug to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), he was fascinated in class like he had never been before.
"It makes everything you're doing really interesting," he said. "And [I want] to actually do the work, not just get through the class."
Tom said he knows he doesn't have ADHD, or even a problem focusing, but he takes Adderall illicitly to make it through challenging courses.
"It's easy to tell when it first kicks in," he said. "It's like to the face, you're so focused. It makes it easier to do stuff I hate."
Mary was struggling to keep up with class work, so she took Adderall when a friend offered it.
"It motivates me to want to do my work, which is needed because I lack so much focus," she said.
She also doesn't have ADHD but takes Adderall because it makes school easier. She can work at her computer for five hours without losing focus.
"I take it when I know I'm going to the library to study for a long period of time," she said.
"Once it starts to kick in, I just want to do work."
Tom and Mary agree that even though buying Adderall is illegal, it's easy to do. They just ask around, buy the pills and study. They take Adderall only when they have a lot of work to get done, and if their dealer isn't out.
"I've never felt like I've had to really hide it," Mary said.
Nonmedical Adderall use is increasingly prevalent among college students, with more students taking Adderall when they don't have a prescription. According to a study from Informa Healthcare, in 2008, 43 percent of surveyed students had used Adderall nonmedically, and 84 percent of those students took it to improve academic performance. A 2010 study showed ADHD stimulants like Adderall are often the most frequently distributed illegal medications on college campuses.
The study also shows Adderall has high potential for abuse and dependence and can be addictive if not taken in its prescribed form. It's in the same classification group as cocaine, and it's a federal offense to distribute or sell the medication for non-prescribed use. Not only is it addictive when incorrectly used and illegal to sell, but it can also cause health problems including weight loss, fast or irregular heartbeat and sleeplessness.
But for college students who feel they are over their heads in competitive environments, the benefitsoftakingAdderallmake it worth the risk.
'Testing the drug's ability'
Mary said she would take Adderall a couple times a week. She's not worried about getting addicted but is concerned that taking someone else's medication is illegal.
"I'm a little bit [worried], but I kind of just overlook that," she said.
She said most people are "more than willing" to sell their Adderall.
At first, Tom took Adderall a few times a week, especially when he had dense reading to do or a 15-page paper to write in a day. He could work for 10 hours straight or stay up for an entire day if he took enough. He'd buy $20 dollars worth of pills at once, with a 30-milligram pill costing about $7, or $3 for a lower dosage.
By the end of the semester, Tom could tell he was building up a tolerance to a drug he knows his body doesn't need.
"I worry about how much I'm taking and what it's going to do to my body later," he said. "It can't be the best thing for you to take if you don't need it."
Tom stopped taking Adderall over winter break but began using it occasionally again second semester to help him keep up with a tough course load.
But sometimes he worries using Adderall is the easy way out.
"I kinda feel like I'm cheating," he said. "I'm not testing my ability, but the drug's ability."
Increased use in college
The UP Health Center tracks data through its annual CORE study but has numbers only on prescription drug abuse, not Adderall in particular.
But Paul Myers, director of Health Services, does think non- prescribed use of Adderall is becoming more of a concern on campus. It's easily available and hard to track if a prescription is being abused.
pressure. "[Students think] 'Everybody's doing it. If I'm not doing it, I'm going to be left behind,'" he said. "There's definitely a peer dynamic."
Like any prescription, Adderall can have serious side effects, but most people who take the drug correctly do not have problems.
But Nigg said many college students use Adderall without being properly examined, which increases their risk for serious side affects that harm the heart and mind.
Stimulants like Adderall can affect a person's cardiovascular system, and Nigg said one of the greatest risks of passing around Adderall is that it will go to a student who doesn't know they have a heart condition.
"The bottom line is prescriptions are never recommendedwithoutahealth test," he said. "Passing a controlled substance around on campus is risky in that sense. You could hurt someone unwittingly."
When used correctly, Nigg said psychological effects from Adderall are rare, but people are most at risk to develop psychosis at around the college age.
"It is rare, but possible," he said.
Concerns about dealing
Adderall is also worrisome in its potential to harm students that are willing to sell their pills.
Nigg said it can be detrimental for students who need the prescription but don't keep enough for themselves.
"There's obviously a legal concern," he said. "They are vulnerable to prosecution if caught." That's one risk not taken seriously enough, Nigg said. According to Director of Public Safety Gerry Gregg, they haven't caught students distributing their prescriptions, but he doesn't doubt that it's going on. "It's nothing to be messed around with," he said. "There needs to be a very clear understanding of how dangerous it is."
But students with ADHD may not consider the dangers of taking a prescription inconsistently. Students who don't take a prescription regularly won't function as well as they could.
"They don't have the meds when they need them," Nigg said. "Kids start taking it when they think they need it, not on a regular basis. They don't get the stability they want."
Myers emphasized that Adderall affects several aspects of a person's life if they choose to use it, no matter the circumstances.
"For me, one student is too many," he said. "It puts their academics at risk, it puts them legally at risk, it puts their friend at risk they think they're helping."