You don’t need superhuman powers to skim textbooks from cover to cover, camp out in the library long after regular hours or work on final papers in marathon-length stints – but you might need drugs.
As students prepare for and take finals this week, medications such as Adderall and Ritalin that treat attention deficit disorders may be the fuel to students’ studies.
The trend of using the amphetamine-based drugs to enhance study sessions with increased energy and focus has been reported steadily over the past few years, and during final exams, the illegal sale and use of the medications tend to skyrocket.
The U.S. Department of Education reported that the psychostimulants Adderall and Ritalin have calming, focusing effects on people with ADHD, but have the effects of illicit stimulants in people without the disorder.
The department’s report lists increased concentration, suppressed appetite and wakefulness as side effects that may occur in people who misuse the drug, but these same symptoms are often described by students who have been diagnosed with an attention disorder and take the medication as directed.
Smart pills
A University sophomore who wished to remain anonymous for fear of ridicule first took Ritalin last year when it was prescribed to her after she told a psychiatrist she had difficulty focusing.
“I remember reading 12 chapters in my chemistry book in one night and staying up until 10 a.m.,” she said.
These effects are ones students often desire when test anxiety sets in and studying seems daunting.
A 2006 study by Join Together, a drug and alcohol policy consulting group, revealed that students typically take the medications to perform better on schoolwork, not to get high.
For $3 per pill, one University senior pads her wallet with a little extra cash by selling Adderall, which has been legally prescribed to her at the University Health Center.
“Apparently that’s about how much market price is,” said the senior who wished not to be named because she still receives treatment at the health center.
By many students’ standards, it’s a small price to pay for the promise of focus, productivity and a competitive edge.
Her customers, she said, are students with heavy workloads, usually facing midterms, finals or term papers when they inquire about her Adderall supply. They are students who want to keep sleep at bay.
“They are typically people who want to push through,” she said. “It’s a mass-amount-of-work aid in particular.”
The senior, who has not yet declared a major, also has a prescription for Ritalin, which she takes herself and does not sell.
“I tell people I’m an ironic pills-taker,” she said. “I don’t like taking medication to fix things.”
“Necessary steps”
Gregg Wendland, pharmacist at the health center, said his concern about students using the medication illegally is because it is risky both as criminal activity and is dangerous to one’s health.
“It’s breaking the law – taking a controlled substance prescribed to someone else,” he said. “And (physiologically) they’re running a real risk of damaging themselves.”
The health center pharmacy tries to diminish students’ sale of their drugs by tracking prescription refills on its ADD medications, Wendland said.
Chris Esperanza, a staff therapist at the University Counseling and Testing Center, said that although counselors can’t prescribe medication, they often assess a student’s need for pharmaceuticals.
Students may have to undergo to an initial interview, computer-based cognitive testing and a more in-depth interview before a therapist refers them to a psychiatrist.
Students who seek drugs illegally or without taking the “necessary steps” risk misdiagnosis, dangerous reaction and side effects, Esperanza said.
“We want to take a global perspective, take the broader context and see what could be playing into this,” he said.
The referral process, as Esperanza described it, may seem arduous to students who want an instant study aid. However, the unnamed University senior said these steps show that the University wants to administer drugs carefully.
“There is a buffer system,” she said. “They want to see that you’re struggling.”
The senior added that despite these attempts, students may come to her because they don’t know how easy it is to get a prescription.
Of the 13 tests the testing center offers to help diagnose ADD and ADHD, students who complain of shaky concentration may not take even one.
“Some doctors try to persuade against medication,” said the University senior. “The ones here assume if you’re coming to them, you want a prescription.”
“In the dorms, it’s bigger than weed”
When she was a 21-year-old living among mostly 18-year-old freshmen, the senior who sells Adderall said she was constantly solicited for pills.
“When I lived in the dorms, I heard more about Adderall than any other drug,” she said. “It’s bigger than weed.”
A University junior who lives in the dorms and doesn’t want to be identified because he is employed by the University, said residents treat the prescription drugs casually.
“People make flippant comments about it and will sit in the lounge and say, ‘I need an Adderall if I am going to finish this paper tonight.’ There is never any talk about potential side effects or dangers, nor is there mention of the legality of selling your prescription,” he wrote in an e-mail. “People kind of treat it like drinking or smoking pot – it’s no big deal.”
The University sophomore doesn’t reflect on her study sessions on Ritalin so casually.
“You know how I know it’s bad for you? Because it’s exactly like coke,” she said. “You can feel your heart beating; it’s the same with cocaine. It makes you paranoid, like, ‘oh my God, why is my heart racing?’”
Esperanza said that while the health center wants to administer drugs cautiously and for good reason, the sharing and selling of the drugs among students may contribute to much of its use.
The University senior can attest to this.
“It’s a hot commodity on a college campus,” she said.
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