As college students, there are unfortunately so many types of drugs available to us. Whether they are prescription or non-prescription, in a majority of the cases their use is illegal. In the '60s, the trendy drug was LSD, the '80s cocaine, and more recently ecstasy or "molly." Over all of the decades, marijuana has remained a popular drug choice.
The newest epidemic: prescription stimulants. Adderall and Ritalin.
How easy is the access:
Adderall and Ritalin are increasingly popular because of their easy access. Students with legal prescriptions for these stimulants tend to sell pills to their friends for $15.00, $20.00 a pill.
An Auburn University student: "It's easy -- not sketchy or perceived in a bad way," he says. "Maybe a simple text or a phone call. 'Hey mind if I get some Adderall? I've got a long night ahead of me.'"
Those with prescriptions selling in the deal are under the impression they are helping a friend in need, without realizing the negative consequences. Those purchasing the drug are desperate for the motivation to complete an assignment or study for an exam, without realizing the harm they're doing to their bodies unnecessarily. The dangers of the stimulant drug deal are seriously underestimated; on both ends....not to mention its a federal crime they're committing.
How dangerous is the use:
The chilling fact most don't realize is that the chemical structure of prescription stimulants are very closely related to those of non-prescription stimulants such as cocaine, molly, meth, and ephedrine. This makes them highly addictive, as has been proven by their increasingly widespread recreational use after the initial use for schoolwork performance.
Stimulant use can affect the body by:
1) increasing blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate, temperature
2) constricting blood vessels
3) dilating bronchioles
4) acting as agonists in the neurotransmitter system
All of which, creates sensations of heightened focus and awareness, the ability to stay awake, and increased happiness and adrenaline....but will also create irritability, inability to sleep, suppression of apetite, and cardiac dangers.
As college students, we need all of the food and sleep we can get. Some students who are "spread to thin" in college classes and activities find themselves lacking in sleep and essential nutrients for sustaining their energy. They therefore turn to Adderall or Ritalin for a quick fix, but sleep and food are irreplaceable healthy essentials.
In the long run, it may cause heart issues, cardiac arrest, psychosis, stroke, seizure, hypertension, depression, hostility, paranoia, and even...death: especially when mixed with alcohol regularly.
One DEA pharmacologist states: "If you take Adderall, you face the same dangers as taking cocaine and meth. Your tolerance goes up; you can get addicted. But there's no data showing that it's happening." Not yet is there data, but soon enough statistics will prove the dangerous level of widespread addiction these stimulants cause.
How widespread is the use:
"It's abused more than marijuana and easier to get," he says. DeSantis' research found that 30% of students at the university have illegally used a stimulant, like the ADHD drugs Adderall or Ritalin."
"The statistics quoted on the 60 Minutes piece are staggering. 50-60% of college juniors and seniors, and >80% of college juniors and seniors who are members of sororities or fraternities use these drugs illegally."
I truly believe these stimulant drugs will be illegal in the next few decades as research on their affects proves health consequences, and they will become the next "Quualudes" we see in some pop culture film as outlawed substances.
The affects these drugs have on the body are dangerous, but there's a plausible reason why college kids would use them regularly...
Statistical evidence proves that those students who use a stimulant drug such as Adderall or Ritalin do in fact perform better academically. Some professionals have gone so far as to claim that the relationship of their drug use to their academic performance has been considered an unfair advantage over those who don't use these drugs illegally.
"The first time Lisa took the SAT, she scored 950. This time, with Adderall, she improved to 1050. Her father, a college professor, wasn't satisfied. She took an SAT class, dropped another 30-milligram dose of Adderall, and scored 1150. Now she's a freshman at George Washington University–thanks, she believes, to Adderall."
The same is true for many students who use the drug regularly to ace exams and standardized tests, achieve multiple honor society inductions, and make the Dean's List at their school.
The harsh truth: the use of it can become regular. Too regular. Dangerously regular. To the point where you end up in the hospital with a 103.5 fever, or worse: dead.
"Sudden death has been attributed to Adderall use."
I can't stress that point enough. While it is one thing to use the drug prescribed to you for a condition of your body, its entirely different to sell or give the drug to a friend for schoolwork or recreation. These stimulant drugs are not meant for the bodies of your friends, because they won't affect them in the same way and they're not necessary to aid the health of their body in any manner the way they aid your body. The next time you think its okay to take a non-prescribed stimulant in the library to write a paper, or in the hall of the frat house to get high for the social with your friends...stop. And think about it.
In this case, the risk is not worth the reward. And I really hope more students can come to that realization before its too late.
