Adderall Abuse Among College Students

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, or ADHD, is neurological disorder that affects three to seven percent of school-aged children and four percent of adults in America. It is most commonly classified by the symptoms of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inability to concentrate. Though there are several ways to treat ADHD including the building of study skills and behavioral therapy, prescription medication is the most common form of treatment. Amphetamine salts such as Adderall are the most commonly prescribed medications to patients with ADHD. Adderall helps those with ADHD study, concentrate, and fulfill tasks in the same way that a normal person would.
In the last 10 years, Adderall use among those without ADHD, especially college students, has risen significantly. College students not prescribed to Adderall find themselves obtaining the medication illegally to magnify their studying and focusing abilities; which many times allows them to complete their work in far less time than it would normally take them.
Most side effects from Adderall are minor such as appetite loss and difficulty sleeping. However, taking Adderall with out a doctors prescription can lead to some potentially dangerous side effects including sudden death in individuals with heart problems. Students that illegally take Adderall risk overdosing since a doctor is not supervising their dosage. Dependency can also result from illegal Adderall abuse since many times a proper dosage is not being consumed.
The pressure to succeed in college is immense, and many students find themselves stressed with the amount of work required of them. Most students practice time management and good study habits to complete what is required. However, the use of Adderall by college students that do not necessarily need it is very common as well. Is Adderall use by these students giving them an unfair advantage above the rest?

Works Cited
Jenkins, Kristin. Adderall, College Students Best Friend or Worst Enemy? Serendip. 17 April, 2007. 14 March, 2010. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/366

Page, Caroline. "Students look to Adderall to Focus on Finals." The Daily Texan. 17 December, 2007. 14 March, 2010. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2.4489/students-look-to-adderall-to-focus-on-...

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People & Blogs

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• Adderall abuse
• prescription medication
• college students

[TheDescentJatt]

@purebeet2k9 I take 'Inspiral'.Ritalin or Concerta is not available in my county,I guess.

[purebeet2k9]

@TheDescentJatt now do you take ritalin or concerta because i took ritalin and it made me paranoid and i got addicted to it basicly double dosing because lol this sounds funny but its true when my ritalin kicked in and i had a ciggerette i felt i was smoking legal weed lol but anywayz are you taking ritalin or concerta because if its concerta then watch cause i double dosed on that stuff and its not good my parents took it off me because my moods were becoming worse then they originaly were

[TheDescentJatt]

• Is Amphetamine more harmful or methylphenidate?

• How much high doses would be harmful?

• What would you suggest me if I suspect memory loss? And how can I check if I really do have memory loss or its just poor concentration that makes me forget stuff? I don't know if i really forget o.O

I 20 and take 20mg methylphenidate once a day ,and I don't feel it is benefiting me much :(

[TheDescentJatt]

• Does amphetamine/methylphenidate affect brain when taken over a long period?How long should be that period?how high should drug doses be 2 cause such damage? what about heart?

• These drugs r 'only' harmful bcoz we becum addicted nd start increasing d doses?Or they r still harmful when we keep on taking them bt don't raise d doses to dangerous levels?

• Wt if I try skipping doses nd take them only when I need them?nd not making habit of taking the everyday?like 2 days on drug and skip 1 so on?

[TheDescentJatt]

Do 50mg(arbitrary value) extended release and 50mg immediate release are equally harmful (either amphetamine or methylphenidate)? With immediate release we will fell more concentrated but for a short time and with time-release we feel comparatively less concentrated but for long time,right or wrong? I mean the (concentration*time) factor remains constant for a particular quantity of drug whether time-release or immediate release?

[TAXavier]

The majority of dangers assotiated w/amp use is from not drinking enough water & sleep deprivation, and then the downward spiral assotiated with those 2, which btw is the fault of the user not the drug. Let's all learn to blame ourselfs when at fault &accept resposibility for our own actions. If you are unsure about how much to take, how often, how to avoid sleep deprivation, etc. then go arm yourself with some FACTUAL & UNBIASED knowledge, Lastly, to those that abuse them: MODERATION IS KEY

[TAXavier]

Accept responsibilty for your own choices and actions people. Most of all, KNOW what you're putting into your body and "doing" to yourself. Don't know?..well, the internet is quite the grand source of information. Convert that info into knowledge. One should have an infinte appetite for more and more knowledge when putting ANY foreign substance(s) into their body; and a simple Wiki read on is far from sufficient. Knowledge is power. Better living through chemistry.

[TAXavier]

@TAXavier -BTW, the U.S. Military has been giving our soldiers "go pills" (give or take some years) since they've exhisted. There's all different sorts of different amphetamines and stimulants. Amps used right (with a good deal of self knowledge about them), for a specific person and purpose (as they're obviously not for everyone, including people with ADD/ADHD, just like I HATE caffiene) are fine to use. Btw, METH-amphetamine is very neuro-toxic, whereas "regular amps" are pretty harmless.

[TAXavier]

@TAXavier -The dangers assotiated with taking adderall as a study aid (without having ADD and/or a prescription), are the same with people that are on a script of it because they have ADD, and both types of people CAN abuse the drug. People with ADD/ADHD can still get high off amps if they wanted to; they'd simply need to take more, and again it really all boils down to invidividual body chemistry and personal knowledge on wtf one is putting in their body.

[TAXavier]

I mean't to do thumbs up on your post, however, my 2 cents must be posted...You said (in regards to people that don't have ADD) that Adderall doesn't help them in their studies. That's only a half truth, because it's different for everyone, and depends on how much they dosed, their experience/knowledge with and about it, knowing the correct dose for oneself, etc. Now if you want to talk about college kids abusing them to get high, that's an entirely different story.

[TAXavier]

How does taking adderall (as long as you have a prescription!) make it any more safe and better for you versus someone taking the same exact dosed amount to study? Is it because they actually have ADHD, or is it because they store their pills in a bottle? One that has ADHD (and is RX'd this) takes the drug every day many of them for years on end. So that's safe as opposed to a student taking just enough to pull an occasional all-nighter study session (which you deemed deadly)? Come on now

[bubagumpshrmp]

need to do your research.i have ADHD i see a psychiatrist on a monthly basis. most amphetamines similar to addaerall and vyavnse act different upon people not diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. for people with ADHD all the medicine really does in the shortest summary is gives them time to think and be less impulsive and helps them concentrate on anything and everything. someone that's not diagnosed with ADHD it relaxes them it stimulates the nervous system. if anything it doesn't help them in studies