All Wired Up

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6 THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011
WWW.THEPOST.OHIOU.EDU
All Wired Up
[ on Adderall ]
Students pop prescription pills to focus on finals and classes
Bridget Mallon Staff Writer | bm257008@ohiou.edu ——— The prevalence of college students who take drugs such as Adderall without a prescription indicates that many don’t understand misuse of pharmaceuticals, said Terry Koons, Editor’s Note: Some names have been changed to associate director at the Campus Involvement protect students’ privacy. Center for Health Promotion. “I think people don’t realize they’re abusAs finals week creeps closer, many students turn ing a drug because they’re using a medicato coffee, working out or study partners for support. tion,” Koons said. “What people don’t realize Others, though, see prescription drugs as the way to is that if I am being treated for ADD with one get through. of those stimulants, the effects on my body While Adderall is prescribed to people who suffer will be very different than someone who from Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit is recreationally using it.” Hyperactive Disorder, college students without preKoons said that the drug helps those with a scriptions take the drugs hoping medical need focus, think they will help them focus on schoolclearly, stay on task and rework. main settled. But people with It’s like you can do “For those people for whom Adno medical need for Adderall anything, you can derall, Ritalin or similar stimulants will experience effects similar have been prescribed, it is a very to other stimulant drugs, such accomplish anything – helpful medication to facilitate them as cocaine. you’re superhuman.” being successful students at Ohio “If you use it and you don’t LAUREN, University,” said Dr. Sheila Williams, need it, you’re going to get the FRESHMAN a senior staff member at Counseling same effect that you would get and Psychological Services and the from cocaine or methamphetdirector of Outreach and Consultaamine,” Koons said. “You’ll be tions. up for a long period of time. You’ll be very wound up. According to the National Drug Survey on Drug You’ll probably become very tired at one point. Some Use and Health, full-time college students ages 18-22 people, depending on how much they use, could be are twice as likely to use Adderall without any medi- up two or three days without sleeping.” cal need than part-time students or people not enRegardless of their lack of medical need for the rolled in college. drug, some students still feel it helps them in their In order to improve her focus during school, one day-to-day life. Lauren, a freshman who takes AdderOU student turned to Adderall. all at least once or twice a month, relies on it when “The first time I tried it, I wanted to see if I would she has a test or project and plans to use it during be more alert to pay attention in my boring classes,” Winter Quarter finals. said Sarah, a sophomore who said she has taken Ad“It’s like you can do anything, you can accomplish derall at least a dozen times. anything — you’re superhuman,” she said. “You can For Sarah, the effects of the drug were not always focus on everything at once. It’s anything you want to exactly what she was expecting. Several of the times make it. It’s like you’re getting faster. If you want to she tried Adderall, her focus was on unexpected sub- go up Morton Hill, it’s like you sped up that hill. You jects. can exercise better. You can talk better and more ef“I find myself being more concentrated on other ficiently. It just makes everything better.” things, like I’ll clean for three hours straight or someKoons attributes such positive opinions of drugs thing like that,” she said. “I have to be in the mindset such as Adderall to having a desired outcome the first to study if I decide to take it. And most of the time, time the drug was experienced. I’m not, so I become more concentrated or focused “The mind can do many things. I think part of it on doing something other than studying.” would be, if someone is misusing it and getting an effect that they think they want, they’re going to continue doing it,” Koons said. “The rule of thumb with any drug is that if you try a drug and you like the effect, the likelihood of you trying it again is pretty high.” While Lauren has no plans to stop taking Adderall any time soon, she said some of the positive effects she experiences could occur because she expects them to. “I think a lot of it is placebo effect, if you tell yourself you can accomplish something,” she said. “If you gave me a sugar pill and told me it was Adderall, I’d probably be able to focus just the same, but you can’t placebo yourself.” While Lauren continues to take Adderall, Sarah said she hasn’t used it since Fall Quarter and has no plans to try it again. “I’ll probably never take it again, to be honest. It’s kind of a waste of time, and I’d rather just drink coffee,” she said. “I think it’s overrated, and I think there are other healthier ways that you can do your schoolwork.” Being in college, students are given the chance to define their habits and work ethic, Amy Olander president of the Pre-Pharmacy Club said. “This is where you establish study habits and skills, so if you’re using Adderall now, are you going to do it your whole life? You’re not prescribed it, and you shouldn’t put things in your body you don’t need,” she said. While some students who have been prescribed Adderall actively sell it, sharing prescription drugs with others or being in possession of pharmaceuticals that were prescribed to someone else is a fifth-degree felony for which students could face up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine. To avoid medical and legal penalties, Koons urges students to not share any prescription drugs. “Communicate to someone who asks you. Lets say that they know you are using a particular pharmaceutical, that ‘I need this,’” Koons said. “(You should say), ‘I have a medical condition, and this is why I need the drug and I really can’t, based on my insurance policy, based on the law, based on my own medical need. I can’t physically give up my medication.’”
Full-time college students, ages 18-22, are twice as likely to use Adderall without any medical need for it than part-time students or people not enrolled in college at all.
According to the National Drug Survey on Drug Use and Health
Data taken from a sample of 1,500 OU students in 2009 showed that 3.7% of students had used a Ritalin or an Adderalltype stimulant in the previous 30 days.
According to a survey carried out by the Campus Involvement Center Illustration by Danielle Zeisler
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