The Octagon
Side effects may include...A's?Tuesday, May 29, 2012 By Shaun Shah
It was getting late, but he had finally finished all three of his assignments. If he’d been asked, Paul Kessler, ‘11, would’ve said that he’d been studying for only 45 minutes. However, the clock told a different story: two hours had passed. The Adderall worked. That night, Kessler had purchased Adderall, an ADHD drug, without a prescription — something that many college students across the nation are doing in order to focus. “I would say it’s easier to get your hands on Adderall than it is for an underage student to get alcohol,” said Ian Benjamin, ‘08, a senior at UCLA. Study-enhancing drugs are so readily available because students with prescriptions sell the drugs to their friends. “I could get Adderall, in the next 15 minutes, if I tried hard,” said an alumnus currently attending a university in the Southwest. Adderall is prescribed to ADHD patients who have trouble focusing. The drug improves their attention span. A study at Duke University revealed that about 9 percent of undergraduates there take ADHD drugs like Adderall to help them focus. However, Duke’s numbers pale in comparison to those of other universities. According to a study by the University of Wisconsin, about 20 percent of students there have used ADHD medications as a study aid. At the University of Kentucky, 34 percent of undergraduates admitted to using drugs like Adderall. The prices fluctuate throughout the year, and reach their peak during midterms and finals. Many students stock up so they don’t have to pay more later, according to an alumnus attending college in Los Angeles. “I’ve heard of Adderall going for $3-5 a pill. However, the seller will give a price depending on the time of year and who the buyer is,” the alumnus said. The pill lasts up to 12 hours, according to the manufacturer. Adderall stimulates the brain to release an increased amount of dopamine and norepinephrine. These are the two chemicals that allow one to focus. By taking Adderall, people use up these chemicals. Therefore, to get their release of sufficient dose, they rely on the drug. This is when addiction occurs. “I find that concentrating without these drugs is much harder than it ever was before I took them. I definitely feel less inclined to do work once the medication clears from my system.” said Benjamin, who is prescribed Adderall for his ADHD. Adderall also stimulates the brain, allowing one to stay awake longer. College students “pull an all-nighter” with the help of the drug. However, using Adderall to stay awake is something that many students regret. “I slept one hour each night of the week when taking Adderall. I don’t feel like I’m living in the moment,” said Justine, a student interviewed in “Smart Pills,” a documentary featuring four college students discussing their negative experiences with the drug. Justine also complained that Adderall ruined the cycle of her daily life. Once she became addicted, the drug kept her up all night. As a result, she would sleep throughout the day. “I would just eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. I mean I would just sleep for days.” she said. All of the alumni interviewed list insomnia as one of Adderall’s side effects they experienced. Of the Duke students who admitted to using Adderall as a study aid, 15.6 percent claim that they have trouble sleeping. In addition, almost 24 percent say that Adderall “always” reduces their appetites. “I didn’t feel hungry until the next day,” an alumnus currently attending a university in Oregon said. Justine, the student from “Smart Pills,” lost 12 pounds during finals week when taking Adderall. Other side effects include irritability and a rapid heart beat. However, these are considered insignificant when compared to the serious side effects. In 2005, the FDA issued a warning that links Adderall to heart problems including hypertension (increased blood pressure) and heart attack. The drug was banned in Canada after 12 cases of sudden death with Adderall were reported. According to cardiologist Sailesh Shah, Adderall can cause the heart to beat irregularly. “An increased heart rate can cause irregular heart rhythms, which can lead to ventricular tachycardia, or even worse, ventricular fibrillation,” he said. With ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, the heart beats 4-10 times faster than it should. Such rapid contractions don’t allow enough blood to enter the heart, often causing death. Over 300,000 people die from these irregular heart rhythms annually. Most major colleges — Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, etc. — have posted online articles about Adderall abuse amongst their students. Duke and Wesleyan University both banned Adderall for non-medical use. Besides viewing Adderall as a health risk, they also felt it would give students an advantage over students not using it. “I think a lot of colleges don’t want to admit they have kids doing this. They don’t want to be first,” said Arthur Caplan, bioethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, in a “60 Minutes” interview by CBS. However, college students aren’t the only abusers. At Country Day, seven students say that they know of fellow students who take drugs like Adderall without a prescription. Five admitted to doing so themselves. “I know that taking Adderall just to study could be bad for me, but it really helps me get my work done,” a current student said. “That’s a good enough reason for me to take it.” |