As a college
student, I know all too well what my peers and I alike think of this transitory
period of our lives. This is a time where four years of our life are spent
experimenting and are in essence, our formational years. Cycle upon cycle of
hardcore studying, drinking, and experimentation are not unheard of. Many,
doubtful of their own academic ability choose to indulge in a drug that is now
notorious on college campuses everywhere: Adderall.
Prescribed most
often for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Adderall is now one of the
most often used drugs by college students who are desperately trying to study
for their midterm and final examinations the night (and sometimes morning)
before the test. Used responsibly or with a prescription, I don’t think
Adderall is inherently detrimental. It’s when one is completely dependent on a
substance that it can wreak havoc.
Casey Schwartz
of The New York Times writes a great
piece about Adderall addiction and the consequences that can unfold through
substance abuse.
We
know very little about what Adderall does over years of use, in and out of
college, throughout all the experiences that constitute early adulthood. To
date, there is almost no research on the long-term effects on humans of using
Adderall. In a sense, then, we are the walking experiment, those of us around
my age who first got involved with this drug in high school or college when it
was suddenly everywhere and then did not manage to get off it for years afterward
— if we got off it at all. We are living out what it might mean, both
psychologically and neurologically, to take a powerful drug we do not need over
long stretches of time. Sometimes I think of us as Generation Adderall.[1]
Adderall’s charm
is that it makes you hyper-focused on the task at hand—especially and
understandably useful when doing insane amounts of schoolwork. However, like
any other controlled substance, it can do some major damage to your brain.
Though I understand most people my age lack the foresight to be careful when
using drugs, it’s imperative to know what you’re putting into your body and
assess risk before you do anything even slightly questionable. Schwartz goes on
to talk about the mechanisms behind Adderall addiction.
Amphetamines
unleash dopamine along with norepinephrine, which rush through the brain’s
synapses and increase levels of arousal, attention, vigilance and motivation.
Dopamine, in fact, tends to feature in every experience that feels especially
great, be it having sex or eating chocolate cake. It’s for this reason that
dopamine is so heavily implicated in current models of addiction. As a person
begins to overuse a substance, the brain — which craves homeostasis and fights
for it — tries to compensate for all the extra dopamine by stripping out its
own dopamine receptors. With the reduction of dopamine receptors, the person
needs more and more of her favored substance to produce the euphoria it once
offered her. The vanishing dopamine receptors also help explain the agony of
withdrawal: Without that favored substance, a person is suddenly left with a
brain whose capacity to experience reward is well below its natural levels1
The insidious
side of Adderall dependence/addiction is hardly ever talked about and people
need to be aware of the inherent risk they are taking when they over-indulge in
study drugs or drugs in general. Ironically, when people get addicted to
Adderall and don’t have access to their pills, some lose motivation and drive
in school and by extension, life. In addition, those who are addicted talk
about how they no longer have any passion or sense of reward after using
Adderall for a number of years.
I could go on
and on about this, but my point here is that drug addiction/withdrawal is not
something to take lightly. It is very, very real and we as a society need to
ascertain the risk vs. reward in using prescription stimulants and drugs as a
whole. Just for the record, I am not some anti-drug far right asshole, but I do
think it’s essential to be aware of the risk and take precautions in harm
reduction. Doing well on a few exams isn’t worth binging on a drug that can
destroy your dopamine receptors and suck the will to live out of you when used
over a long period of time.
You address a very important issue that is happening worldwide on college campuses. Adderall use isn’t as harmless as people make it out to be. How it got so accepted by mainstream society is so strange. It’s almost as if people forget that it’s similar to street meth in more ways than one. It’s vital that we teach people the risk behind these substances without being overly controlling. You can’t stop people from taking drugs, but you can prevent people from hurting themselves in the process. Risk aversion and drug management seems the best option for cases like these. It’s so ironic that a substance so well known for motivating people can lead to people being unmotivated and unhappy.
ReplyDeleteI agree that adderall use is dangerous. But all drugs are. Unfortunately, because this is prescribed, it may be easier to get if a student just goes into the doctor and lies. I know a few people who have done just that. Prescription medication addiction is skyrocketing and it's a shame that it's taken root in the most blossoming part of society: the college campus. The cult of perfection and busy is what rules college campuses across the country. Cramming for a test or paper, regurgitating it, then making room for the next stuff. I would like to put some of the blame of the institutions for making the process of learning such a living hell for students, leading some to resort to drugs to make the grade. Maybe if college wasn't so demanding, allowed for a little room to breathe, that would help. But it could also breed mediocrity so who knows.
ReplyDeleteThe scariest thing about Adderall is how nonchalant and matter-of-fact students are about its use. I know many students that have become incapable of studying for a midterm without popping one, and around finals it seems like everyone is expected to be on Adderall 24/7. An overwhelming majority of these students have absolutely no need for it, and taking ADHD medication without consideration can only lead to developing a dependency and also making your brain unable to focus without it. Many students feel pressured to take it, as they are all competing wth each other and any advantage has to be taken to get ahead. Its a larger problem than people think, and it should really be banned and made unaccessible to people that don't have ADHD.
ReplyDeleteAdderall may be one of the most common "study aids" on campus but I also think we need to pay attention to the increasing use of Xanax on campuses. I was waiting before a class this year where we going to do presentations when one girl was talking to another about popping a Xanax to calm her down for this presentation. This is the same attitude that is taken in regards to Adderall, as if it is no big deal to be taking these drugs without medical clearance, just when the need is seen. I mean, just last year at USC a guy overdosed of Xanax.
ReplyDelete