College> Substance Abuse> Stimulants - Adderall and and Others

Ritalin, Adderall and Dexedrine

A direct result of a increase in prescriptions for ‘study’ stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin and Dexedrine has increased abuse and misuse in college students. These drugs are prescribed to treat ADHD and ADD.

In my opinion there are two forms of stimulant use in colleges; abuse and misuse. Abuse is the use of prescription drugs in order to get “high” or buzzed. Misuse is use by students who are not prescribed them in order to gain an edge while studying or taking a test.

It is estimated by a University of Michigan study that:

• 7% of all college students use or have used prescription drugs that they were not prescribed.
• 4% of all college students use them regularly.

These statistics are averages and a couple years old. I know that at Colorado University at Boulder prescription drug abuse and misuse is probably much, much higher. If I had to guess I’d say that it is probably closer to the 25-30% range.

The University of Michigan study also states that schools with higher binge drinking rates tend to have higher rates of prescription drug abuse. Schools with a large percent of white students in sororities and fraternities tend to have much higher rates of prescription misuse.

I know that at times I’ve witnessed people using stimulants for study purposes have felt overwhelmed by their schoolwork, a condition that can usually be linked to procrastination. Part of the freedom students’ gain in the transition to college is the choice of when to do their schoolwork and for many freshmen this means “as late as possible”.

The use of stimulants during midterms and finals is understandably higher than a normal school week. I can remember one late night studying for a political science exam with a group of 5 other students and asking them if any were on something other than caffeine, all of them nodded.

Why this is a concern

Use of Ritalin, Adderall and other stimulants is commonly thought of by students as “harmless” with no side effects other than decreased appetite and better focus. Unfortunately this is not true; the fact is that stimulants are addictive and can have detrimental health affects, especially when taken consistently.

Some of the recorded health costs of stimulants include:

Chronic use has been linked to heart disease.

Depression, Insomnia, Psychotic episodes, headaches and diarrhea are a few of the many short term side effects.

Stimulants are addictive; it isn’t uncommon for a student to begin to believe that they need it in order to be successful in school.

What you can do

If someone you know is taking adderal for studying that they aren’t prescribed there are a couple steps you can take.

Ask them why they are taking the stimulants and listen. If they are taking them for studying then you should mention that there are safer ways to get the same results.

Most students do not realize that stimulants are addictive and can be bad for their health. Tell them that these are powerful drugs and no matter what they've heard using them comes with a price.

You should understand that most students misuse stimulants in order to help them focus on studying. You might offer to help develop study habits and a realistic plan to help get the student back on track.

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