Ever wondered where you might be in a couple of years? Many students do. Some may think about their long-awaited independence, while others can’t stop dreaming about the day that they’re finally doing what they love. Bottom line: college students are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve all their goals in a timely manner.
The biggest challenge that students face every day is whether they should comply with all their work using the traditional method to study: concentrated, organized and disciplined without taking any “study drug” or using the magic pill that will help them perform “better and faster”. Don’t be fooled. Although taking a study drug may seem appealing at the time, it may create a dependence without you even knowing it.
College Students’ Best Friend–Or Worst Enemy
Katherina is a senior majoring in Biology. Her dream is to be admitted into Pharmacy School here in Puerto Rico. She has a lot on her plate right now and that’s why she uses the study drug, Adderall, to concentrate and perform her best on all her assignments. Her friends have different code names for the drug because they usually get it on campus.
“This year has been extremely hectic for me. I’ve been under a lot of pressure because I’m applying to grad school, dealing with concentration classes, and not to mention, I have a social life too! I’m living an important stage in my life. This is my defining moment, so I need to do whatever I can to comply with everything that I have on time”, says Katherina.
Addy, better known as Adderall, is a stimulant drug that contains methylphenidate and amphetamines and are often prescribed to treat individuals diagnosed with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to the National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA), Adderall is a drug that intensifies the brain activity, provokes a dramatic increase in mental acuteness, attention and energy, accompanied by high blood pressure, increase in heart rate and breathing problems.
Katherina used this drug for the first time when she had her first Biology departmental exam. “The material was dense and it was humanly impossible for me to memorize all those chapters on time. I had a friend that had Adderall and he offered me one. It was only 10mg, so I took it. It worked because the night before my exam I didn’t sleep at all, I just studied, studied and studied”, she says. From that day forward, Katherina became close with Addy and now for every departmental exam, she uses it.
There are a lot of students like Katherina around campus. For instance, Santiago is a senior from the Faculty of Education and he says that his close buddy is not Addy, but Concerta. He tried it out once for a Lit exam. His roommate noticed that he was having trouble getting focused for the exam, so he offered the pill.
A report from the Drug Enforcement Administration defines Concerta as a stimulant medicine that is prescribed for people who are also diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. Concerta contains other chemicals like one called methylphenidate hydrochloride, which enhances concentration. The side effects of this drug can be seizures, increase in blood pressure and heart rate, ticks, etc.
“When I took Concerta for the first time I had no idea what I was taking. I trusted my roommate and that’s how I tried it. He gives them to me from time to time, but I only consume it when I have an academic emergency”, he says.
As stated in a report by the Health and Anti-Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA), the dangerous trend is that people choose to self-prescribe and that can generate dependence to that drug, eventually leading to drug-addiction. Many students think that prescribed medicines like Adderall, Concerta, Xanax, Percocet, etc., aren’t as dangerous as the street drugs like cocaine and heroine.
However, the director of NIDA, Nora Volkow, explained that young people have to understand how harmful the misuse of these drugs can be. “Using any of these drugs without supervision can induce the same effect as a street drug, and it can be even more dangerous”, says Volkow.
Nevertheless, the clinical psychologist George Kamarinos, added that “pills like Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, and Methylphenidate are prescribed to people who have ADD or ADHD and those who don’t need it and use it may experience a negative reaction”. The doctor confirmed that Adderall does generate dependence and tolerance from the person who uses it. “Whether it is a person with or without the condition”, says Kamarinos.
This pill can either turn out to be your best friend or your worst enemy…
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Drug Abuse and Dependence on Medicines
The clinical psychologist George Kamarinos said that people who usually use prescribed drugs think that psychologically they need it to perform better at work or school. “Nowadays we have a medicine for everything. People think that there is a pill for everything. That’s the culture that we are living in, people think that their remedy to problems are in prescribed medicines.”
On the other hand, Silvia Colón, supervisor of the Controlled Substances Program in the DEA, showed us a report from a few months ago that reflected that in Puerto Rico and the US the second most abused drugs are the prescribed medicines. “Those drugs were on top of heroine and cocaine. The prescribed medicines are more accessible and therefore are potentially abused by people who can get them.”
“Our mission at the DEA is to control any substance that is highly abused. Adderall is a stimulant medicine and a highly abused drug. People usually look for it to study for long hours because they think that it can help get them what they want, but in reality they don’t know the consequences of misusing this drug.”
Colón also mentioned that the DEA has investigated the deadly adderall abuse. They’ve found that some people snort it, that way it works faster. Just as Colón explained, a student from forensic psychology on the UPR Carolina campus shared that he has friends who snort the pill and they take higher dose of the drug too.
The effects of Adderall abuse last about six hours per dose and remain actively in the body for a long period of time. A report published by the DEA stated that Adderall is classified as a Scheduled II controlled substance, a classification given to medical drugs with the highest abuse potential and dependence profile.
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The Popular Drug
“Addy, the magic pill, the one who understands me the most and helps me get through with the exams at the UPR” –Anonymous
“It’s easy. Just give me your number and I’ll hook you up with someone that sells it”-Anonymous
“5$, 6$, 7$- I take it!”- Anonymous
“Everybody knows who’s the dealer. I mean every student from every faculty knows who has it and who doesn’t”-Anonymous
The Outcome
Be careful with this miracle worker, you don’t want to end up depending on it for the rest of your life. You want independence- go get it, but I’m pretty sure you won’t find that depending on something like the “magic pill”.
*Student names have been changed to protect identities. The pictures were taken from:
archive.dailycal.org