Adderall - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

The use of Adderall among overstressed high school and college students became a problem in the early 2000s. "In the past, pick-me-ups like coffee, Diet Coke, or over-the-counter caffeine pills have been popular choices among students to get an extra buzz for studying," wrote Jillian Foley in America's Intelligence Wire in December 2004. "But in recent years, some… students have started turning to Adderall… to help them study, take tests, and write papers." But why would so many students without ADHD want to take a medicine for a disorder they do not have? Nicholas Zamiska offered an explanation in the November 8, 2004 issue of the Wall Street Journal. He explained that "studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health in the late 1970s found that low-dose stimulants increase concentration and alertness in everyone, not just people with attention disorders."

"What's It Like to Have ADD?"

Author and physician Edward M. Hallowell has ADD himself. In the article "What's It Like to Have ADD?," available on the Attention Deficit Disorder Association Web site, he describes his experiences:

It's like driving in the rain with bad windshield wipers. Everything is smudged and blurred and you're speeding along, and it's really frustrating not being able to see very well. Or, it's like listening to a radio station with a lot of static and you have to strain to hear what's going on. Or, it's like trying to build a house of cards in a dust storm. You have to build a structure to protect yourself from the wind before you can even start on the cards.

Inotherwaysit'slikebeingsuper-chargedall thetime.Yougetoneideaandyouhavetoact on it, and then, what do you know, but you've got another idea before you've finished up with the first one, and so you go for that one, but of course a third idea intercepts the second, and you just have to follow that one, and pretty soon people are calling you disorganized and impulsive and all sorts of impolite words that miss the point completely. Because you're trying really hard….

Plus which, you're spilling over all the time. You're drumming your fingers, tapping your feet, humming a song, whistling, looking here, looking there, scratching, stretching, doodling, and people think you're not paying attention or that you're not interested, but all you're doing is spilling over so that you can pay attention. I can pay a lot better attention when I'm taking a walk or listening to music or even when I'm in a crowded, noisy room than when I'm still and surrounded by silence….

The adult syndrome of ADD, so long unrecognized, is now at last bursting upon the scene. Thankfully, millions of adults who have had to think of themselves as defective or unable to get their acts together, will instead be able to make the most of their considerable abilities. It is a hopeful time indeed.

"The effects that make [Adderall] appealing to many students include decreased drowsiness and increased attentiveness for hours," wrote Omid Fatemi in America's Intelligence Wire in 2004. "[B]ut Adderall is a prescription drug for a reason." Many of the students

Prescription drugs like Adderall and Ritalin are taken illegally by some students. They claim that the drugs help them get better grades. Other students believe that taking such drugs is cheating. They note that hard work and study is the path
Prescription drugs like Adderall and Ritalin are taken illegally by some students. They claim that the drugs help them get better grades. Other students believe that taking such drugs is cheating. They note that hard work and study is the path to follow for better grades. © Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./Corbis.

who use the drug know very little about the way it works, how it interacts with other drugs, and how easy it is to overdose. Side effects, Fatemi stated, range "from stomach pain to insomnia to an irregular heartbeat, and it can even cause brain damage." More and more media reports describe how Adderall is being used for academic success in increasingly competitive school environments. Many members of the educational community predict that the issue will need to be addressed head on in the coming years.