Finals week is a time when students try to cram a semester of knowledge into three days of studying. This difficult task sometimes prompts students to engage in illegal activities: namely, taking perscription drugs that are not perscribed to them. Many students take psychostimulants, drugs that can create temporary mental changes, like Adderall and Ritalin.
Adderall is a drug that combines two forms of amphetamine-dextroamphetamine and amphetamine-that helps treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ritalin is Methylphenidate, another amphetamine that treats ADHD, a learning disorder. Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) is a not-for-profit organization that serves those suffering from ADHD. CHADD says that heredity is the most likely cause of ADHD, noting the strong neurological base of the disorder.
Kevin Frentz, a health educator at Thagard Student Health Center, explained how brain functions can be distributed.
“It’s like a normal distribution curve,” Frentz said. “There are some people that just are always on top of everything. It’s like they’re born that way. There are, of course, other people who have [ADHD] to such an extreme amount that even on medication they’re still all over the place. Majority of people have good days and bad days. ”
Surveys have been done to estimate the number of students using stimulants without a prescription, but these surveys can lack scientific validity due to the lack of incentive for students to honestly answer questions. Less than 5 percent of college students reported to the American College Health Association (ACHA) that they had been professionally diagnosed or treated with ADHD in the last year. Of the 1,796 students that admitted to taking non-prescribed stimulants, 7 percent of men and 5 percent of women took it non-prescribed. Only 834 students said they were prescribed medication to assist with their ADHD. Six percent of students who took the survey-nearly 2,000 students-admitted to taking stimulants that were not prescribed.
Frentz compared psychostimulants to steroids for a student’s brain.
“Some people still want the easy way out,” said Frentz. “They feel, just like people on steroids for sports, you might be gifted or you might be a good athlete, but you’re thinking, ‘Well, I don’t need to take those steroids but that guy who’s really gifted and better than me without steroids is on steroids and I’m going to fall behind-I need to take them.’ The same mentality comes about with people taking Adderall.”
Ilese Weingarten, outreach coordinator for the FSU counseling center, said that many of these students have misconceptions about this drug.
“Students think that, because it’s prescribed to people, it’s a safe drug,” said Weingarten. “Well, it’s a safe drug under a doctor’s supervision prescribed to you because someone has gone through a lot of assessment to say that this is a medicine that can help.”
This medication can definitely help, but it only helps if there is a legitimate need for it. It does not come without some significant risks.
“It can be potentially dangerous,” said Weingarten. “For people who don’t have ADD, it’s an amphetamine.”
Not only does the amphetamine of Adderall have a similar effect to speed, it also gives students a false sense of confidence, according to Frentz.
“For people who need Adderall, it really has a place and it really does help them focus, but when you get a person who doesn’t need it taking it, the drugs show a small effect,” Frentz said. “More often, researchers come up with negative findings, unable to show a clear cut across the board improvement on any of a wide variety of tasks. Adderall, researchers found, makes you think you’re doing better than you actually are.”
Side effects can be serious. An 80 milligram bottle of Strattera (the only non-stimulant ADHD medication on the market) comes with warnings of “serious cardiovascular events (e.g., sudden death stroke, myocardial infarction), serious liver damage and major effects on blood pressure and heart rate.”
“Even a small dose makes you very shaky, and you could end up in the hospital,” Frentz said. “Kids have been hospitalized from taking too much. They think they’re having a heart attack.”
These health risks are not the only risks that come with taking a psychostimulant without a perscription.
“I think the health issue is the primary concern; the secondary concern is getting arrested,” Weingarten said. “It is a felony charge to have amphetamines in your possession not prescribed to you.”
Maj. Jim Russell of FSUPD said that Adderall is not an uncommon drug when it comes to student arrests.
“Ritalin is less common, but Adderall is often used as the ‘study drug,’ ” said Russell. “What we normally find is a student in possession of a single, or a few pills. Dealers do operate on campus, [but] are harder to catch.”
According to the ACHA, the only type of prescription drug more college students took unprescribed were painkillers (e.g., Vicodin, OxyContin).
“Mark” (whose name has been changed to maintain anonymity), an FSU sophomore majoring in marketing, admitted to taking Adderall on occasion during this time of year.
“I take it because I feel as though it helps with concentration-helps you stay up,” Mark said. “It gets me in a zone where I actually enjoy what I’m studying.”
When asked about the risks, Mark said he was not very concerned, because it’s so infrequent that he actually takes the stimulant.
“I only take it maybe once a month for just one class, say financial accounting,” Mark said. “After this class, I probably won’t do Adderall again for school classes unless it’s the equivalent to organic chemistry or something harder. All in moderation, I say.”
“Sarah,” a senior graduating this week with a degree in art history, also admitted to taking Adderall on occasion. She said that she used it to help her finish a paper.
“It helps me stay focused; it doesn’t help me study,” Sarah said. “It helps me stay focused on studying. I’m not really concerned with the risks because I’ve only done it once or twice; I try to avoid it when I can.”