Dextroamphetamine - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

Problems undoubtedly develop when dextroamphetamine pills and capsules are taken by individuals who have no medical need for the drug. All amphetamines are psychostimulantsPronounced SY-koh-STIM-yew-lent; a stimulant that acts on the brain., meaning that they act primarily on the brain. Amphetamines are extremely addictive, and high doses can affect the brain in negative ways. Regardless of the dangers, their power to increase concentration and decrease the need for sleep has led to a new trend known as stimulant "sharing." (See separate entries in this encyclopedia on "Adderall" and "Ritalin and Other Methylphenidates.")

Reports from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the first five years of the twenty-first century indicate that prescription dextroamphetamines are being shared—or sold—among adolescents and college students. illicitUnlawful. drug users claim they receive the stimulants from other young people who use them for medical purposes. In some cases, the drugs are stolen or simply lifted from the family medicine cabinet.

The reasons for the abuse of dextroamphetamines at the high school and college levels vary. Nicholas Zamiska commented in the Wall Street Journal that the "unapproved use" of drugs like Adderall seem to stem from increased pressure on students to perform well on standardized tests. Illicit recreational drug useUsing a drug solely to achieve a high, not to treat a medical condition. occurs as well.

Major Studies on Amphetamine Use and Abuse

DAWN and NSDUH:

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) operates through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. DAWN monitors drug-related visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs). In the last two quarters of 2003, the DAWN report estimated that the use of stimulants resulted in 42,538 emergency department visits in 260 hospitals across the United States. Of those visits, 18,129 of them were attributed directly to amphetamines and dextroamphetamines.

SAMHSA's own annual study, known as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), tracks nonmedical drug use among Americans of all ages. The latest statistics available from SAMHSA as of mid-2005 were from 2003. That year, 4 percent of all youths age twelve to seventeen reported using prescription-type drugs, including stimulants. The percentage was higher among eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds. Six percent of this age group admitted to using prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. About 1.9 percent of adults age twenty-six and older reported illicit prescription drug use.

Generation Rx?:

On April 21, 2005, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) released the findings of its 2004 study on the abuse of drugs among U.S. teenagers. The PDFA's Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, better known as PATS, indicated that the trend in teen drug use in the early part of the twenty-first century involves prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The authors of the study see this as a sign that "Rx and OTC medicine abuse has penetrated teen culture."

Millions of teens are using prescription drugs without a doctor's order, prompting the media to dub these young adults "Generation Rx." According to PATS, 10 percent of American teenagers, or 2.3 million young people, have tried prescription stimulants like Adderall without a doctor's prescription. The teens in the study reported that they obtained the stimulants from fellow classmates or from their own home medicine cabinets.

Monitoring the Future … and Beyond:

The PATS statistics mirror the results of the 2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. An annual survey of drug use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth-grade students, the MTF is performed by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Although amphetamine use was down slightly among eighth and tenth graders, about 10 percent of high school seniors reported recreational use of the drug in 2004.

A study conducted by University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center scientists, detailed in the journal Addiction in 2005, tracked the usage of amphetamines beyond high school. Of nearly 11,000 randomly selected college students, 6.9 percent of them reported nonmedical prescription stimulant use at least once in their lives. About 4.1 percent admitted using prescription stimulants in the past year, and 2.1 percent used them in the past month. The authors of the study concluded that "high-risk behavior" such as this "should be monitored further." They added, "intervention efforts are needed to curb this form of drug abuse."

Blurred vision is one of the side effects of taking high doses of dextroamphetamine. Other medical problems that can result include fever, an unusually fast heartbeat, chest pain, nervous tics, tremors, moodiness, and even aggression. Tom Dee
Blurred vision is one of the side effects of taking high doses of dextroamphetamine. Other medical problems that can result include fever, an unusually fast heartbeat, chest pain, nervous tics, tremors, moodiness, and even aggression. © Tom & Dee Ann McCarthy/Corbis.