Addicted to attention
Increasing student abuse of drugs like Adderall has unhealthy side effects
By: Martina Ballard
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: News
Forget bottle popping, several college students are now all about snorting or popping pills - Adderall that is.
Adderall is commonly prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but it is widely abused by students to stay up later to study, party harder and even to lose weight. With so many students abusing to the drug, it is now being referred to as the Ivy League version of crack.
One U of M student admits that she has struggled with addiction for six years now. The 23-year-old senior spoke in depth about her experiences with Adderall, but wanted to remain anonymous.
"Adderall and cocaine abuse nearly killed me," the anonymous student said. "I had a serious problem with Adderall that spiraled out of control, my intentions were good at first - I just wanted to do well in school, but then I started taking it outside of school, and it all went downhill from there."
She might not have died from her experience, but several side effects associated with Adderall have people saying the drug could be to blame. There have been cases where otherwise healthy people have died while taking Adderall, without even abusing it. And with side effects such as heart problems, mental disorders and much more - students are still willing to risk it all.
Linda Myers, the center coordinator for the Substance Abuse Center at Oklahoma State University, said she has noticed an increase in the amount of students using Adderall, but the abuse is not just popular at OSU. A study done by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York indicates that the trend is dangerously snowballing. They surveyed nearly 2,000 college students from four-year public and private universities across the nation from 1993 to 2005. They found the number of students abusing prescription stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall had increased by 93 percent. These students are not afraid to go all out either. Some are going for a more cocaine-like experience by crushing the pills and snorting them so they enter the system quicker and for stronger high. The ones who get high on Adderall by swallowing the pills go to extreme levels, too.
Adderall is commonly prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but it is widely abused by students to stay up later to study, party harder and even to lose weight. With so many students abusing to the drug, it is now being referred to as the Ivy League version of crack.
One U of M student admits that she has struggled with addiction for six years now. The 23-year-old senior spoke in depth about her experiences with Adderall, but wanted to remain anonymous.
"Adderall and cocaine abuse nearly killed me," the anonymous student said. "I had a serious problem with Adderall that spiraled out of control, my intentions were good at first - I just wanted to do well in school, but then I started taking it outside of school, and it all went downhill from there."
She might not have died from her experience, but several side effects associated with Adderall have people saying the drug could be to blame. There have been cases where otherwise healthy people have died while taking Adderall, without even abusing it. And with side effects such as heart problems, mental disorders and much more - students are still willing to risk it all.
Linda Myers, the center coordinator for the Substance Abuse Center at Oklahoma State University, said she has noticed an increase in the amount of students using Adderall, but the abuse is not just popular at OSU. A study done by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York indicates that the trend is dangerously snowballing. They surveyed nearly 2,000 college students from four-year public and private universities across the nation from 1993 to 2005. They found the number of students abusing prescription stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall had increased by 93 percent. These students are not afraid to go all out either. Some are going for a more cocaine-like experience by crushing the pills and snorting them so they enter the system quicker and for stronger high. The ones who get high on Adderall by swallowing the pills go to extreme levels, too.