Adderall on campus: Pop pill, study hard and ace test
In a recent conversation with a UGA sophomore, the student suggested to me that the AJC pursue a story about the widespread use of the drug Adderall on campus. He said almost all his friends in Athens turned to the prescription drug during testing.
College students are turning to ADD drugs for help in test taking. CHARLOTTE B. TEAGLE/AJC staff)
Most often prescribed for attention deficit disorder, Adderall and Ritalin enable students to focus longer on their school work and to stay awake.
The source of the pills — which cost about $5 each — are students with valid prescriptions for their ADD. (These kids are continuing to get their prescriptions filled, but are only taking the medications when they need to cram for an exam so they have plenty of extra to either share or sell.)
I just interviewed the author of a college guide, who confirmed that Adderall is taken by kids during finals on many campuses and that there are hardly any second thoughts among students about these “smart” or “study” drugs, as they’re called.
Then, I found this student editorial in the Michigan Review, which describes itself as a University of Michigan publication serving as “a voice of conservative, libertarian, and contrarian students at an otherwise liberal university.”
Written two years ago, the editorial says:
Although Adderall use among University students is undoubtedly on the rise, the University should resist the urge to get involved in the personal matters of students. From coffee to Ritalin, college students have been using chemicals to improve academic performance for decades. The dramatic increase in Adderall users, while noteworthy, isn’t a reason for grave concern. No one at U-M has died of an overdose on Adderall. It seems to us that this is more than conclusive to prove that students can be trusted to make decisions themselves.
We cannot underscore enough that Adderall use is a victimless action. In fact, unlike heavy alcohol use, the externalities of taking Adderall are, to an extent, positive. There will not be fights, loud behavior, or DUI’s; rather, it will lead to more school work getting done. The University should seek to educate students about the effects of the drug, especially the possibility of dependence. More aggressive physical tactics, such as room searches or arrests, are an insult to individual responsibility. College students are adults and should have the responsibility of making the choices that regard their own bodies.
The editorial goes to advise students to use the drug wisely, but urges the university to keep out.
An article about Adderall and Ritalin in the journal Nature cites a a survey in which as many as 25 percent of students on campuses say have used study drugs in the past year. The downside, of course, is that these amphetamine-based drugs can be addicting.
The drugs apparently work to enhance concentration and cognitive abilities. Should we be more concerned? We are a nation of pill poppers. Is it any surprise that stressed college students are looking for relief in the medicine cabinet?
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12 comments Add your comment
catlady
October 8th, 2009
3:01 pm
I know you are talking about college campuses, but I would like to note that in the 37 years I have been teaching, I have taught about a dozen kids (other than the severely retarded I taught for 2 years) who are/were on ADD meds. Now, you know I don’t live in AECC (Affluent East Cobb County), but from my experience the percentage of kids on ADD meds is vastly overstated. I could name you about 20 more during that time who SHOULD have been evaluated and probably medicated. Not a one of them who are old enough to have graduated actually finished school, and quite a few are in jail/prison.
Am I surprised that Adderall et al are used for “alternative purposes?” Heck, no. I believe many of my students’ parents routinely have appropriated their kids’ meds for their own purposes.
This misuse goes along with many of the other ills in our society where we seek an advantage over others, IMHO.
ScienceTeacher671
October 8th, 2009
9:04 pm
30 years ago it was “uppers”….
Jessica
October 8th, 2009
10:33 pm
For a long time, it seems that every kid who has trouble concentrating is put on some sort of medication. Instead of the last resort, drugs are the first. Now, there are a bunch of college kids and young adults who never learned how to focus their attention and energy. No one knows how to teach kids to concentrate anymore, and very few people seem to realize that paying attention is a learned skill. Because of this lack of training, even the kids who don’t have serious attention problems fail to learn to focus on anything.
While I don’t think these college students should be taking Adderall to help their grades, I understand why they are doing it — they are trying to compensate for this huge gap in their early education.
cricket
October 8th, 2009
10:45 pm
Jessica,
If you know how to “teach” kids to concentrate, can you share it with the rest of us? Really… how do you teach that? Do tell!
ScienceTeacher671
October 9th, 2009
5:47 am
There is some evidence suggesting that early television watching – perhaps especially of shows like Sesame Street that jump from subject to subject quickly – contributes to later development of ADD & ADHD.
BlackGirl
October 9th, 2009
8:24 am
Well, my child is on meds for ADHD. It’s not Adderall but it is a stimulant. We saw an immediate change. Meds were our last resort when everything else was not working.
I heard several years ago that these meds were being used by college students to help them concentrate. My teenager told my hubby that she wanted to take one during exams for her AP classes so she could concentrate. She thought it was funny, we didn’t and had a long discussion as to why. Needless to say, they’re with me just in case. She’s a bit of an overachiever.
Jen
October 9th, 2009
8:53 am
As a very LAST resort my son had to be put on Strattera. His teachers are thankful, our neighbors are thankful and my son can actually sit still and pay attention now. You cannot teach anyone to pay attention. That’s retarded. And if you don’t believe in ADHD just come on over to my house. Play with my children and you will see that my son is different. I hate it and will always wonder if I did something wrong or didn’t eat enough vegetables when I was pregnant or whatever. The fact of the matter is that when something is wrong, you try and fix it, not wait until they end up failing in school and becoming a problem to society.
BlackGirl
October 9th, 2009
9:00 am
@Jen, amen!
DB
October 9th, 2009
11:40 am
@ScienceTeacher671 – FINALLY!!!! I have been suggesting this for years, and people thought I was crazy. Everyone thought that “Sesame Street” and others of it’s ilk was so ahead of its time in presenting information in such quick, chop-chop bits, whereas I always felt that it was doing kids a disservice by not allowing them to concentrate on anything for more than five seconds at a time.
Yes, SS was “educational”, but that doesn’t mean it was the BEST way to learn numbers and alphabets! It’s not to say that every kid who watched SS developed ADD, but for those with the propensity, I sure don’t think it HELPED.
Neither of my kids could stand “Sesame Street” — my daughter said that it made her head hurt. She loved “Mr. Rogers” and “Barney”, though, and it dawned on me that on those two shows, there was usually only one or two cameras, and the information was presented in a calm story format that required a child to pay attention and follow, instead of the nerve-jangling bam-bam-bam of “Sesame Street.” Interestingly enough, the rise in ADD diagnoses seems to track pretty well with the introduction of “Sesame Street”. I also read an interesting article a few years ago about the low incidence of ADD in kids whose families were very strict with TV viewing — less than three hours a week.
And yes, I do think you can teach a child to concentrate. It starts very, very young, when you want a child to focus on a particular task, remove all distractions, make the task interesting, and praise them for staying on task. It’s hard for parents to do, because so many parents are pulled in so many directions between work and home. But the older kids get, the harder it gets, because if they are accustomed to the adrenalin rush they get from getting things in short spurts, such as TV, movies, etc., it’s a really, really hard addiction to break.
Terry
October 9th, 2009
5:51 pm
My oldest had difficulty sitting still in first grade. He also was one of the youngest in the class and being a boy, I think think they mature at a slower pace than girls. It was suggested that I get him medicated. I rejected that idea immediately. And I am very glad I stuck to my guns. He eventually learned how to sit still and compensate for his inattentiveness. It was not easy though. I believe that a lot of our society looks for quick fixes with medications. I am not in favor of medicating children. There are long term effects that this generation will not realize until years down the road. There is not enough studies on what it does to young brains. The teachers need to realize that every kid is not going to be a robot and sit still fro 8 hours out of the day in first or second grade. I am curious as to why there is so many kids with add these days. I do not doubt that it exists at all, but I think there is better ways to treating it than medicating it. I think a kid who suffers with this needs to be adequately assessed to make sure it isn’t a lot of other things, like being on the autism spectrum for example.
The adderalls and strateras are simply too easy to get a hold of, too easy to abuse and society should not be resorting to medicating its children.
tech kid
October 12th, 2009
11:36 am
I am currently a student at Georgia Tech, have ADHD, and take adderall. I am so sick of people who think I’m taking the easy way out, cheating in classes, or popping pills to stay up all night and study. ADHD affects so much more than schoolwork, I have always been very intelligent but often got in trouble in school, home, and with friends. As a girl, the hyperactivity component of ADHD made it very hard to concentrate on “girly” things –think to elementary school when all the boys are running around while the girls sit quietly and talk–, and I often had trouble making friends. After many years of using behavior therapy and lots of exercise, I finally went on medication in high school because my parents were worried about me driving safely and social skills. Before medication, I cannot tell you how many times I felt inadequate because I wasn’t on the same level as my siblings with general life skills …food burning in the oven I’d forgotten about, door left unlocked, milk put in the pantry instead of fridge, bedroom halfway cleaned. In college now, I still take a small dose of adderall. It helps me keep my room tidy and not disturb my roommates, better time management skills, I can carry on a normal conversation and make friends, and I can work well in a study group. It’s very frustrating to know that I’m just as smart as my classmates, but never get invited to join study groups because I need more “get up and stretch” breaks than everyone else. I’m only on medication about half the time, but it allows me to see the world from “normal” viewpoints and understand everyone else. Those of you looking at ADHD as a purely academic problem are sorely mistaken. Better grades is only one component of it, better life skills is the main goal.
Another ADHD Kid
October 21st, 2009
8:54 am
Growing up, I was “normal”. I kept up in school, and was actually seen as quite bright. But when I reached highschool, it was as if I hit a brick wall. While others were progressing and learning, I often found myself in the deans office for my “out-bursts”. My parent’s blamed it on laziness. I personally didn’t think anything of it. To me, I was “normal”, I just found other things more important than my school work or grades.
By the time I started sophmore year, I began to realize something; While I may have physically been in class, my mind was a thousand miles away. One minute I was thinking about summer break, the next second I would be peering out the window at the parking-lot. It wasn’t that I was trying to day dream, but instead that I absolutely COULD NOT do anything but. While other kids were able to multi-task (socializing while doing in-class work) I could not. In fact, when others were talking, moving, or even simply sneezing, I found myself getting further frusterated. This is when the out bursts began. I couldn’t get anything done, my mind was always on sensory overload and above all else, I was pissed; genuinly and entirely PISSED. Not because I was an angry kid, but instead because I didn’t know any other way to cope with and organize everything that was going through my head.
It followed me home too. My room was never clean. I would start and then five minutes later be bouncing off the walls. I would have outbursts at the kitchen table because thats where I did my homework. Even though it was away from the TV and other noise pollutants, there was always something to distract me. The dripping faucet. Foot steps up-stairs. The dog outside. You name it, if it made noise, moved, was brightly colored… you get the idea, if IT was there, I knew…and I’ll be God damned if it didn’t distract me.
I tried…for three years in highschool. My parents seeked guidance. I saw shrinks and went through therapy. They were at their wit’s end, I was borderline about to fail out of school. I felt like a failure, I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but suddenly I WASNT “normal”. They took me to a doctor and we pled our case. Without hesitation, he knew. I was ADHD, I DEFINED it.
You see people, I didn’t choose to be this way. I tried coping but couldn’t. I have since been on the medication for over 5 years and I wouldnt have it any other way. Things that used to take days to complete now take hours. I have that ability to do what “normal” people do; concentrate.
So, keep this all in mind. There are people out there that undoubtedly need this. Granted, there are also people who abuse it. It’s not the easy way out, in fact it was quite a difficult journey. It’s the help I needed. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I graduate from college in December of next year.
Thats all.
Sorry I know it’s long, I ramble when my medicine hasn’t kicked in yet.