Focus on: Adderall
The most popular drug used and abused among stressed students is Adderall: a stimulant in the amphetamine family. Adderall’s medical intention is to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and narcolepsy. Some comparable drugs which could be used interchangeably include Concerta, Vyvex and Ritalin. People afflicted with ADD or ADHD use these stimulants to improve their focus and productivity. In the majority of these cases, Adderall is medically safe. However, users who have not been diagnosed with these disorders often experience adverse side effects.
Adderall “may be habit-forming- avoid long term use,” warns the online clinical community, UpToDate. Serious reactions can occur if you abuse or misuse this medicine- it should not be taken by anyone taking weight loss medicine or coupled with alcohol consumption. It also causes problems if taken in excess doses or with caffeine. Even if taken correctly, symptoms of the drug can include stomach pain, dizziness, an irregular heartbeat, headaches and loss of appetite. It can even cause sudden death in patients with cardiac abnormalities or serious heart problems.
This issue exists on a national level as well as in college atmospheres. The DEA estimates that the annual street value of diverted controlled drugs rivals that of cocaine and surpasses that of both marijuana and heroin.
“Nearly seven million Americans used prescription drugs non-medically in 2006,” claims another UpToDate publication, “which is more than the number who use cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy and inhalants combined.”
Adderall, and similar stimulant use, factors into a large percentage of these statistics.
While selling the drug is illegal, its distribution is also difficult to track. Many deals happen within the confines of a house or dorm room- well away from the authorities’ sight. Also, many distributors and buyers have clean judicial records and have no history of drug abuse.
One anonymous GCSU freshman, who has been diagnosed with both ADD and ADHD since the age of five, sells a handfull of pills each month.
“I might sell ten one week and just a couple here and there the next,” he said. “For friends, I will sell one 30 milligram pill for $3. For other people, I will charge $4 or $5. The people who rarely buy it have no problem paying five bucks because they don’t know otherwise.”
These unlicensed distributors do not represent the whole population of prescribed Adderall users. Freshman Jordan Spires has taken Adderall for about a year and does not sell his excess pills.
“Admittedly, the thought has crossed my mind,” he said. “But then again, if anyone had a multitude of leftover Adderall, who wouldn’t entertain the idea? But I’ve never done anything past thinking about it.”
The amount of stimulant abuse at GCSU is likely similar to the amount at other campuses as well as national trends. No definitive statistics have been found which establish the severity of the problem at each of these levels.
Alice Loper, a family nurse practitioner and director of Student Health Services at GCSU, has formed an opinion about Adderall use at GCSU based upon her experiences with students at Health Services.
“I think (GCSU students) do have a problem,” she said. “I have nothing to base that on other than opinion, but I know that it’s a very popular drug. Students get desperate around midterms and finals, and I would not be a bit surprised if the trends at GCSU were similar to the national trends.”
Whether or not the students at GCSU have established a trend of stimulant abuse, the dangers of taking Adderall without legal approval still exist.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Mar 13 2009. Filed under Features.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
