Adderall Use and Abuse
Is Georgetown Part of a Growing Trend?
Margaret Marrer
Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Pressure. It is a force to be reckoned with for all people, but it can take a complete hold of the lives of college students, especially at a high-speed, high-stress school like Georgetown. Students are faced with pressures from every direction, some expected like work, school, friends, extracurricular activities and family, and others unexpected. These factors combine to consume the already scarce time and energy of Georgetown students, leaving many with a feeling of entrapment. The high emphasis the university places on academic honesty and The Honor System only compounds these pressures.
The methods students use to deal with pressure are as varied as the sources themselves. From exercise and meditation to self destruction and substance abuse, Georgetown is no stranger to the high's and low's of a stressful life. While most students appear to lead a normal life, some become so overwhelmed by the academic and social pressures that they turn to unhealthy measures to deal with them. This is becoming more and more prevalent in the form of prescription drug abuse among students at Georgetown and elsewhere. Best known among these is the amphetamine stimulant known as Adderall.
Adderall, a chemical compound of dextroaphetamine and amphetamine which normally is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and similar conditions, is being abused with particular frequency by students around the Hilltop and around the country. Adderall and other prescription amphetamines, such as Ritalin, have become such a crutch for many college students that they believe that only through these drugs will they be able to deal with the pressures of academic life.
Students who begin to take these drugs, and who often become addicts, are often surprisingly unaware of the many negative side effects they may have. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin found that as many as one in every five college students are using Adderall, or similar drugs as "study aids." Along with the dangers to their health, the question is increasingly being raised about the fairness of the scholastic advantages users obtain. Here at Georgetown and with students around the country Adderall use and abuse is becoming a significant problem.
The Dangers Of Adderall Abuse
The use of prescription drugs, like Adderall, used to treat attention problems has grown exponentially in recent years, in both legally and illegally. In an interview with The Independent, Patrick Kilcarr, Director of Georgetown's Center for Personal Development, cited the fact that sales of Adderall for the treatment of ADHD have grown by as much as thirty percent in recent years equating to sales of over five hundred million dollars each year. The large growth of Adderall consumption is primarily due to the fact that ADHD diagnosis has seen great strides in recent times. However, the legal-use growth has been paralleled by an expansive growth of the drug on the illegal market, particularly among students.
Adderall is prescribed in order to regulate patients' dopamine functioning, and should only be used by those with a dopamine problem. However, because of the stimulant effects Adderall has on users, many students are taking the drug in the form or a pill, or by snorting it, as a way to increase their focus and gain more energy before a test or exam.
Jack, whose name was changed for anonymity, is one of these students. He has been using Adderall as a study aid since his first round of midterms here on the Hilltop. He said, "Adderall gives me focus when I go to the library or anyplace I want to study. I feel that I have trouble concentrating, Adderall helps me with that." While Jack does not use Adderall for everyday studying, he sometimes finds that work builds up, and that "necessitates study aids." Generally, Jack will ingest the pills, but "for that quick fix, you crush it up and stuff it up your nose." While some may find this method of getting through school work to be in bad taste, Jack stresses that desperate times call for desperate measures, "Adderall is that little whipper-snapper of energy and focus that you need to get through studying." Jack also feels that Adderall use at Georgetown is more prevalent than many would assume, stating "I'm shocked by the number of people who I never would have thought used it who have come up to me and asked if I had any."
When taken with a prescription under a doctor's supervision there are very few negative side effects of the drug, including sleep disturbance, dry mouth and increased heart rate. However, when taken in a non-prescribed setting without correct dosage under proper supervision, Adderall has had and can have drastically more severe side effects including paranoia, delusions and strokes. Users who inhale or consume the drug illegally tend to exhaust much larger quantities of the drug than those who are taking the drug with a prescription. This heightened effect creates more of a dependency, and also creates a stimulated state of risk accompanied by a harder crash.
When Adderall is snorted it carries its most serious consequences. While chemically different from snorted cocaine, both are stimulants that are not entirely divergent in their effects. Kilcarr said, "This [snorting] automatically moves the medication to drug status and the rush from snorting creates an intense reinforcement mechanism which demands further use." But snorting is not alone in its addicting mechanism. Adderall is habit forming in all of its forms, and many users soon become completely dependent on it, needing increased amounts of the substance to receive the same effects. Users are also known to move on to other drugs, creating further dependencies.
Adderall users usually do not deny that the drug has some negative effects but are often unaware of some of the more serious risks associated with Adderall abuse. Jack also experiences the increased heart rate characteristic of Adderall use and abuse. But the greater concern for Jack is the process of coming down off of an Adderall high than about the risks undertaken while actually taking the drug. He described how difficult, painful and upsetting to one's body the crash that follows Adderall use can be. He said, "[Adderall] throws you off schedule because you are alert and awake for more hours than you are suppose to be. But when the effects wear off, you crash, it's like hitting a brick wall and it's utterly exhausting. The nature of the drug is a high and a crash." However, Jack finds the amount of work he is able to complete worth the risks and energy crash.
The Academic Benefits of Adderall Use
With all of these harmful effects Adderall abuse is likely to bring about, one may wonder why so many otherwise healthy students choose to take Adderall without medical supervision. But there are some very compelling reasons, like the heightened concentration experienced while under the drugs influence that Jack described. These benefits, combined with the lack of knowledge about the drug and its harmful effects help explain the phenomenon. Kilcarr described the mentality many students hold toward Adderall abuse, "Students feel they are bulletproof and taking the meds is no different than slurping down a triple shot of high octane coffee." Kilcarr went on to discuss the lack of information that is available about Adderall abuse, especially when compared to the overwhelming amounts of information available to college students on other high use drugs. He also discussed the student mentality that Adderall is safer to use than non-prescription drugs by virtue of it being commonly prescribed for people who have ADHD. He explained that many students assume that if it is safe for one person to use Adderall, it is safe for everyone to use the same prescription, saying, "Students feel if a friend had it prescribed it can't be harmful. The use then is completely random, unsupervised and unregulated." Kilcarr's views hit the mark as many students believe that Adderall is not as harmful as taking other drugs, and not really that big of an issue, particularly when used only to increase academic focus. Jack agrees that Adderall is not a serious issue when used for academic enhancement, arguing, "Other drugs are used recreationally and Adderall is primarily used for studying."
However, recreational use of Adderall is undeniably prevalent here at Georgetown and elsewhere. Kilcarr expressed the seriousness of this issue by citing some examples of extremely dangerous student consumptions of Adderall. He noted a situation that took place last year at nearby George Washington University, where after taking about sixty milligrams of Adderall, a female student experienced anaphylaxis. Jack recognizes that a large section of the Adderall using population does partake in this recreational use of the drug. He compared it to cocaine and the high, in control feeling associated with the drug. Smith calls it "the poor man's coke." Social use of the drug is more commonly associated with "bumping it up the nose" than the academic use, when the drug is usually consumed orally. The snorting associated with social use can be the most dangerous sort because it generally involves consumption of much larger quantities of the drug than are medically sound.
Increased availability has also contributed to the recent spike in Adderall use. Students who hope to use Adderall as a study aid will often be dishonest with their doctors in an attempt to get a prescription while other students who use the drug legitimately may try and get multiple prescriptions, hoping to sell the additional pills for a profit. Kilcarr explained how students who have begun to take Adderall and have become dependent on the drug often attempt to convince their doctors that they have ADHD. He also cited incidents in which users have been driven to actually stealing the drug from friends or acquaintances. Jack says that many of the Adderall dealers he has encountered have maintained their supply by obtaining multiple prescriptions for the drug.
The market price of Adderall varies, but here at Georgetown it can become a very expensive habit. Jack has paid between five and eight dollars for a fifteen to thirty milligram pill, but prices go up around midterms and finals. He gets most of his pills from students with legitimate prescriptions, " Generally students who have prescriptions like to make some extra money and will sell their pills. A small and steady group has been fulfilling my needs for three semesters."
Student Views On Adderall Abuse
It is evident that a growing group of Georgetown students are turning to Adderall for a crutch to get them through the heavy course work and everyday pressures that they face. Many Adderall users such as Jack believe that at a school such as this, where students are faced with great pressure to succeed, Hoyas are naturally driven to Adderall use and abuse. He described the drug as a way to create more hours in a day , to "make sure they're on top." Users of Adderall, even when completely informed about its risks, seem to feel that the benefits they receive from its use outweigh the potential harm they may experience. Kilcarr also believes that the major, though not unique, cause for Adderall abuse is for academic purposes. However, as Adderall use as a study aid increases, a whole new issue is brought to the table, do Adderall users gain an unfair advantage in the classroom?
Jack does not believe that the drug gives him any advantage over non-users in the classroom. He explained that although the drug has some beneficial effects on schoolwork, users also have to deal with the repercussions, particularly the crashes, that the drug causes. He said, "I think that the negative effects balance out the positive effects. Adderall just lets you use a smaller time frame. If you learn the material in two weeks or two nights it doesn't really matter. It takes more time for them [non-users], but they're healthy, their body isn't saying 'You're gonna crash, fix yourself.'" However, some non-users see the matter in a very different light. Katie Keegin (SFS '07) explained that she does not really see illegal Adderall use as justifiable. She said, "I think it [Adderall] gives people a temporary unfair advantage to people trying to study, but in the end, it's unhealthy and not sustainable." Keegin went on to explain her sentiments against the use of Adderall, and explained that she has never felt that Adderall would have been beneficial to her in an academic setting. She compared the abuse of this drug to cheating on an exam, that those who cheat may do better than those who do not in the short run, but in the long run, the cheaters are facing much greater consequences. Not all students, however, disapprove of others use of Adderall. Katy Welter (NHS '08) did not think that Adderall use was that big of an issue when it came to the creation of academic advantages. She cited the fact that although Adderall does give its users some immediate advantages, there are also some immediate disadvantages. "I don't think it would give them an unfair advantage necessaril. I think it probably just helps make up for the fact that they are most likely losing sleep to stay up and study for long periods of time," she said. Welter did not consider the use of Adderall as much worse than that of caffeine to increase some students' attention, alertness and focus.
It is evident that there is no consensus in students' opinions on the issue; however, some degree of this discrepancy is probably due to the lack of information available to them. Adderall abuse is not given much attention as students make their adjustment to college, and many students may be in a position to use the drug before they understand what it really is, and what its negative effects are. Georgetown is just beginning to recognize that there is a glaring lack of information on this problem and is attempting to correct the situation. Kilcarr discussed a new series of public service announcements the university is developing to make students more aware of the negative side effects of using Adderall illegally. However he did not think that this was all that could be done about the situation. He said, "We always can do more regarding substance use and abuse."
The use and abuse of Adderall is not an issue that will be removed from the table in the near future. Even with all the risks associated with improper use of the drug, students cannot ignore the advantages it gives them. Universities and colleges across the country can only hope to better educate their students on the matter, so that they are able to make more informed choices. However, as long as students' college lives remain completely dominated by competing pressures, the temptation to use drugs as study aids will prevail.
Marrer is news editor and an international political economy sophomore
The methods students use to deal with pressure are as varied as the sources themselves. From exercise and meditation to self destruction and substance abuse, Georgetown is no stranger to the high's and low's of a stressful life. While most students appear to lead a normal life, some become so overwhelmed by the academic and social pressures that they turn to unhealthy measures to deal with them. This is becoming more and more prevalent in the form of prescription drug abuse among students at Georgetown and elsewhere. Best known among these is the amphetamine stimulant known as Adderall.
Adderall, a chemical compound of dextroaphetamine and amphetamine which normally is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and similar conditions, is being abused with particular frequency by students around the Hilltop and around the country. Adderall and other prescription amphetamines, such as Ritalin, have become such a crutch for many college students that they believe that only through these drugs will they be able to deal with the pressures of academic life.
Students who begin to take these drugs, and who often become addicts, are often surprisingly unaware of the many negative side effects they may have. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin found that as many as one in every five college students are using Adderall, or similar drugs as "study aids." Along with the dangers to their health, the question is increasingly being raised about the fairness of the scholastic advantages users obtain. Here at Georgetown and with students around the country Adderall use and abuse is becoming a significant problem.
The Dangers Of Adderall Abuse
The use of prescription drugs, like Adderall, used to treat attention problems has grown exponentially in recent years, in both legally and illegally. In an interview with The Independent, Patrick Kilcarr, Director of Georgetown's Center for Personal Development, cited the fact that sales of Adderall for the treatment of ADHD have grown by as much as thirty percent in recent years equating to sales of over five hundred million dollars each year. The large growth of Adderall consumption is primarily due to the fact that ADHD diagnosis has seen great strides in recent times. However, the legal-use growth has been paralleled by an expansive growth of the drug on the illegal market, particularly among students.
Adderall is prescribed in order to regulate patients' dopamine functioning, and should only be used by those with a dopamine problem. However, because of the stimulant effects Adderall has on users, many students are taking the drug in the form or a pill, or by snorting it, as a way to increase their focus and gain more energy before a test or exam.
Jack, whose name was changed for anonymity, is one of these students. He has been using Adderall as a study aid since his first round of midterms here on the Hilltop. He said, "Adderall gives me focus when I go to the library or anyplace I want to study. I feel that I have trouble concentrating, Adderall helps me with that." While Jack does not use Adderall for everyday studying, he sometimes finds that work builds up, and that "necessitates study aids." Generally, Jack will ingest the pills, but "for that quick fix, you crush it up and stuff it up your nose." While some may find this method of getting through school work to be in bad taste, Jack stresses that desperate times call for desperate measures, "Adderall is that little whipper-snapper of energy and focus that you need to get through studying." Jack also feels that Adderall use at Georgetown is more prevalent than many would assume, stating "I'm shocked by the number of people who I never would have thought used it who have come up to me and asked if I had any."
When taken with a prescription under a doctor's supervision there are very few negative side effects of the drug, including sleep disturbance, dry mouth and increased heart rate. However, when taken in a non-prescribed setting without correct dosage under proper supervision, Adderall has had and can have drastically more severe side effects including paranoia, delusions and strokes. Users who inhale or consume the drug illegally tend to exhaust much larger quantities of the drug than those who are taking the drug with a prescription. This heightened effect creates more of a dependency, and also creates a stimulated state of risk accompanied by a harder crash.
When Adderall is snorted it carries its most serious consequences. While chemically different from snorted cocaine, both are stimulants that are not entirely divergent in their effects. Kilcarr said, "This [snorting] automatically moves the medication to drug status and the rush from snorting creates an intense reinforcement mechanism which demands further use." But snorting is not alone in its addicting mechanism. Adderall is habit forming in all of its forms, and many users soon become completely dependent on it, needing increased amounts of the substance to receive the same effects. Users are also known to move on to other drugs, creating further dependencies.
Adderall users usually do not deny that the drug has some negative effects but are often unaware of some of the more serious risks associated with Adderall abuse. Jack also experiences the increased heart rate characteristic of Adderall use and abuse. But the greater concern for Jack is the process of coming down off of an Adderall high than about the risks undertaken while actually taking the drug. He described how difficult, painful and upsetting to one's body the crash that follows Adderall use can be. He said, "[Adderall] throws you off schedule because you are alert and awake for more hours than you are suppose to be. But when the effects wear off, you crash, it's like hitting a brick wall and it's utterly exhausting. The nature of the drug is a high and a crash." However, Jack finds the amount of work he is able to complete worth the risks and energy crash.
The Academic Benefits of Adderall Use
With all of these harmful effects Adderall abuse is likely to bring about, one may wonder why so many otherwise healthy students choose to take Adderall without medical supervision. But there are some very compelling reasons, like the heightened concentration experienced while under the drugs influence that Jack described. These benefits, combined with the lack of knowledge about the drug and its harmful effects help explain the phenomenon. Kilcarr described the mentality many students hold toward Adderall abuse, "Students feel they are bulletproof and taking the meds is no different than slurping down a triple shot of high octane coffee." Kilcarr went on to discuss the lack of information that is available about Adderall abuse, especially when compared to the overwhelming amounts of information available to college students on other high use drugs. He also discussed the student mentality that Adderall is safer to use than non-prescription drugs by virtue of it being commonly prescribed for people who have ADHD. He explained that many students assume that if it is safe for one person to use Adderall, it is safe for everyone to use the same prescription, saying, "Students feel if a friend had it prescribed it can't be harmful. The use then is completely random, unsupervised and unregulated." Kilcarr's views hit the mark as many students believe that Adderall is not as harmful as taking other drugs, and not really that big of an issue, particularly when used only to increase academic focus. Jack agrees that Adderall is not a serious issue when used for academic enhancement, arguing, "Other drugs are used recreationally and Adderall is primarily used for studying."
However, recreational use of Adderall is undeniably prevalent here at Georgetown and elsewhere. Kilcarr expressed the seriousness of this issue by citing some examples of extremely dangerous student consumptions of Adderall. He noted a situation that took place last year at nearby George Washington University, where after taking about sixty milligrams of Adderall, a female student experienced anaphylaxis. Jack recognizes that a large section of the Adderall using population does partake in this recreational use of the drug. He compared it to cocaine and the high, in control feeling associated with the drug. Smith calls it "the poor man's coke." Social use of the drug is more commonly associated with "bumping it up the nose" than the academic use, when the drug is usually consumed orally. The snorting associated with social use can be the most dangerous sort because it generally involves consumption of much larger quantities of the drug than are medically sound.
Increased availability has also contributed to the recent spike in Adderall use. Students who hope to use Adderall as a study aid will often be dishonest with their doctors in an attempt to get a prescription while other students who use the drug legitimately may try and get multiple prescriptions, hoping to sell the additional pills for a profit. Kilcarr explained how students who have begun to take Adderall and have become dependent on the drug often attempt to convince their doctors that they have ADHD. He also cited incidents in which users have been driven to actually stealing the drug from friends or acquaintances. Jack says that many of the Adderall dealers he has encountered have maintained their supply by obtaining multiple prescriptions for the drug.
The market price of Adderall varies, but here at Georgetown it can become a very expensive habit. Jack has paid between five and eight dollars for a fifteen to thirty milligram pill, but prices go up around midterms and finals. He gets most of his pills from students with legitimate prescriptions, " Generally students who have prescriptions like to make some extra money and will sell their pills. A small and steady group has been fulfilling my needs for three semesters."
Student Views On Adderall Abuse
It is evident that a growing group of Georgetown students are turning to Adderall for a crutch to get them through the heavy course work and everyday pressures that they face. Many Adderall users such as Jack believe that at a school such as this, where students are faced with great pressure to succeed, Hoyas are naturally driven to Adderall use and abuse. He described the drug as a way to create more hours in a day , to "make sure they're on top." Users of Adderall, even when completely informed about its risks, seem to feel that the benefits they receive from its use outweigh the potential harm they may experience. Kilcarr also believes that the major, though not unique, cause for Adderall abuse is for academic purposes. However, as Adderall use as a study aid increases, a whole new issue is brought to the table, do Adderall users gain an unfair advantage in the classroom?
Jack does not believe that the drug gives him any advantage over non-users in the classroom. He explained that although the drug has some beneficial effects on schoolwork, users also have to deal with the repercussions, particularly the crashes, that the drug causes. He said, "I think that the negative effects balance out the positive effects. Adderall just lets you use a smaller time frame. If you learn the material in two weeks or two nights it doesn't really matter. It takes more time for them [non-users], but they're healthy, their body isn't saying 'You're gonna crash, fix yourself.'" However, some non-users see the matter in a very different light. Katie Keegin (SFS '07) explained that she does not really see illegal Adderall use as justifiable. She said, "I think it [Adderall] gives people a temporary unfair advantage to people trying to study, but in the end, it's unhealthy and not sustainable." Keegin went on to explain her sentiments against the use of Adderall, and explained that she has never felt that Adderall would have been beneficial to her in an academic setting. She compared the abuse of this drug to cheating on an exam, that those who cheat may do better than those who do not in the short run, but in the long run, the cheaters are facing much greater consequences. Not all students, however, disapprove of others use of Adderall. Katy Welter (NHS '08) did not think that Adderall use was that big of an issue when it came to the creation of academic advantages. She cited the fact that although Adderall does give its users some immediate advantages, there are also some immediate disadvantages. "I don't think it would give them an unfair advantage necessaril. I think it probably just helps make up for the fact that they are most likely losing sleep to stay up and study for long periods of time," she said. Welter did not consider the use of Adderall as much worse than that of caffeine to increase some students' attention, alertness and focus.
It is evident that there is no consensus in students' opinions on the issue; however, some degree of this discrepancy is probably due to the lack of information available to them. Adderall abuse is not given much attention as students make their adjustment to college, and many students may be in a position to use the drug before they understand what it really is, and what its negative effects are. Georgetown is just beginning to recognize that there is a glaring lack of information on this problem and is attempting to correct the situation. Kilcarr discussed a new series of public service announcements the university is developing to make students more aware of the negative side effects of using Adderall illegally. However he did not think that this was all that could be done about the situation. He said, "We always can do more regarding substance use and abuse."
The use and abuse of Adderall is not an issue that will be removed from the table in the near future. Even with all the risks associated with improper use of the drug, students cannot ignore the advantages it gives them. Universities and colleges across the country can only hope to better educate their students on the matter, so that they are able to make more informed choices. However, as long as students' college lives remain completely dominated by competing pressures, the temptation to use drugs as study aids will prevail.
Marrer is news editor and an international political economy sophomore