Matthew Specht

T/Th Class
4/12/16

Focusing in on Adderall: The Obsession

When I was a freshman in high school, I was diagnosed with
Attention-Deficit Disorder, or ADD for short. It was about time. Ever since I
was a child, I have always struggled with paying attention; whether the
setting was in class, a social occurrence, or even at work- I just could not
concentrate. Daydreaming was frequent. I regularly could not keep up with
things. So finally, my parents were convinced I had ADD, and I got prescribed
medicine. This wonderful medicine came in the form of a pill, a pill the doctor
said would help me focus better and relax a little more, a little pill called
Ritalin.
Fast-forward to college, and here I am still taking Ritalin, because I still
have ADD. Now, Ritalin is actually an alternative form of the more popular
drug known as Adderall. And, if there is one thing to know about Adderall, its
that college students love it. The reason? Well first off, Adderall is used to
treat the symptoms of patients suffering from ADD (like me), or ADHD. More
specifically, the drug enables the person to focus better on tasks they tend
to have trouble completing, such as studying for a test (Adderall). For people
who suffer from a form of attention deficit disorder, the neurotransmitters in
their brain naturally engage with each other at a faster rate than people
without ADD, so Adderall works to slow down the rate of those
neurotransmitters in the brain, enabling the person to focus better and calm
down a little. When prescribed, the medication typically starts off with a
dosage of 10 milligrams in the form of a pill. The effects of Adderall to the

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T/Th Class
4/12/16

prescribed user usually last from 3-6 hours. So, coming from these statistics
regarding what exactly Adderall does to the user, you can probably see why
so many college students are trying to get a hold of it. In fact, Dr. David Rabner,
senior research scientist at Duke University, and Sean Esteban McCabe, associate professor at the
University of Michigan, estimate that about 30% of students across college campuses

use or have used stimulants such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin, nonmedically. Studies have also shown that full-time college students are twice
as likely to use Adderall non-medically than part-time students (Adderall).
Coming from personal experience, I can see why full time college students
are more likely to illegally take Adderall than their part-time counterparts.
Ever since I started attending UNC-Charlotte, I regularly see people whom I
know are not diagnosed with ADD or ADHD that are taking Adderall to do
homework, study for an exam, or even take it just to take it for no reason at
all. I even know of a few people who have went to their doctor and acted like
they had ADD even though they didnt, just to get a hold of some study pills.
I quickly realized that Adderall was a common drug on my campus, and that I
should definitely NOT tell anyone that I am prescribed Ritalin. I havent even
told my roommates that I have ADD and that I am prescribed Ritalin, only
because I know that they would badger me to give them some for a test or
something. Yes, I actually have to hide my prescribed medicine, even though
it is strictly prescribed for me and ONLY me.
If so many college students are illegally taking Adderall, does that
make it seem like the drug is easy to attain? No doubt about it. And if the

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T/Th Class
4/12/16

drug is easy to attain, that must mean a lot people are prescribed the
medication. Correct. So, it must be concluded that a lot of people suffer from
ADHD, right? Maybe not. The process of being diagnosed with ADHD is not
extraneous at the slightest. In fact, some critics say that the disorder has
become incredibly over diagnosed in the past decade (Newmark). And I
agree.
In a 2010 study in the Journal of Health Economics, researchers found
that the youngest children among U.S. kindergartners were 40% more likely
to be diagnosed with ADHD and twice as likely to take ADHD medications as
the oldest kindergartners studied. Coming from this study, one could argue
that doctors may likely be misdiagnosing these children with ADHD, ignoring
the fact that these children may just be exhibiting the normal,
developmental stages of childhood, such as acting immature or flagrant. In
fact, the author of the study estimates that misdiagnosis of ADHD could
account to up to 20% of the current ADHD diagnosis in the United States,
which is equal to about 900,000 children! This means that there are many,
many people who take Adderall that might not even need it. Misdiagnosed
children could be one of the root causes of the consistent distribution of the
drug across college campuses, because people who dont actually have
ADHD may feel more obligated to sell their medication to their peers for
something in return. Coming from personal experience, it really isnt very
difficult to be diagnosed with ADHD. It took the doctor about ten minutes to
conclude that I do in fact have ADD, and he wrote me a prescription for the

Matthew Specht
T/Th Class
4/12/16

medication shortly after. All I had to do was describe the symptoms I and my
mother had noticed, and in just a few minutes I had been diagnosed.
Most people who illegally take Adderall do not know the health risks of
taking the drug when not diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. The drug is
intentionally prescribed only to ADD or ADHD patients for a reason; like I
mentioned earlier, people who have the attention disorder have chemical
imbalances in their brain which catalyzes the symptoms of ADD. So, there
are health risks that are associated with taking Adderall? There is, and they
may surprise you. Adderall, which most people dont know, is actually an
addictive drug that could lead to major health issues (Adderall 2). Addiction
can lead to overdosing. Overdosing, a common, unfortunate cause of death,
is possible if one takes too much of the pill. A very similar concept that is
associated with addiction is dependency. Dependency to an ADHD stimulant
is scary as well. Students may develop a mindset that if they are not on
Adderall, then they wont be able to study for a test or even do a little
homework. This dependency is what drives addiction. There are other side
effects from taking Adderall other than possibly becoming addicted. For one
thing, your appetite goes out the window while under the effect of the
amphetamine. That is why weight loss can occur while taking the drug, and
personally, I dont like the fact that I dont eat while taking my medication.
Another effect that Adderall normally subdues on the user is sleeplessness,
which can be convenient because most of the time, the whole reason
students take the drug is to be able to stay up all night studying for a test.

Matthew Specht
T/Th Class
4/12/16

The side effects that come along with a healthy person taking Adderall are
not too severe, obviously. But one thing that people dont normally consider
when mindlessly taking Adderall while not prescribed is that they could
possibly die from a combination of the medicine and a certain health issue
that the user may not be aware they have, such as high blood pressure or
heart disease. Sudden deaths HAVE happened to some people with these
health problems! It is imperative that the risks of non-medically taking an
ADHD stimulant such as Adderall need to be recognized by college students
and by the general public as well.
So, why are college students and even some high school students not
being more careful when it comes to non-medically taking Adderall? Are they
to blame? Are they too young and foolish to recognize that they shouldnt be
doing drugs? Yes, of course they are to blame, but not only them; the
education system plays a role as well as general society as a whole. There
needs to be an increase of awareness when it comes to students who nonmedically take ADHD stimulants. In a study conducted at a large university in
southeastern United States by Alan DeSantis, Professor of Communications
at the University of Kentucky, 1800 students were interviewed and asked
certain questions about Adderall (Yanes). Out of those surveyed, 81% of
those students thought that Adderall is not dangerous at all or slightly
dangerous. Unlike more popular drugs such as marijuana and alcohol,
Adderall seems to be disdained as a harmful drug by the general public, even
though it is a Schedule II drug (DEA). If you didnt know, Schedule II drugs

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are defined as substances that have a high potential for abuse, and include
other powerful, dangerous drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine,
oxycodone, and more. Does this scare you? Shouldnt this scare you? Well,
the fact of the matter is that most people dont know that Adderall can be
very dangerous, and that it is associated with cocaine and other highly
addictive drugs. That needs to change.
There are all sorts of different ways of which public awareness and
caution can be spread regarding the use of ADHD stimulants. Coming from
personal experience, there have been many instances of which Ive seen
signs around campus that are created and designed to publically denote
more commonly known drugs, such as marijuana or alcohol. It would be very
easy to include one more drug that students need to avoid as well, Adderall.
Other possible solutions that could help spread awareness of illegally taking
Adderall is through school-related fundraising events, or on campus student
workshops that are created to educate college students on the dangers of
amphetamines. The key component of starting a nation-wide movement
toward the anti-illegal consumption of Adderall is taking that first step;
nothing will ever get done if a cause is withheld by not doing anything.
One concern that could arise from colleges and universities around the
country about Adderall consumption on campus is that it provides students
who take it with an advantage (Venegoni). An advantage over those students
who do not use ADHD stimulants, whether they choose not to or because

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T/Th Class
4/12/16

they dont have someone that could provide them with the drug. Imagine if
you were studying for a test with a friend in the same class. Now, imagine if
your friend took an Adderall before studying for the test and you didnt. Your
friend keeps talking about how motivated he or she is, and how they can
focus SO much better on the material by taking that Addy. How would you
feel? Would you feel as if they have an advantage over you due to the fact
that they illegally took Adderall? I know I would if I was the one not taking
the pill. Well, its true. There is an advantage, and it is unfair at that. So, if
students who are NOT diagnosed with ADHD are taking medication give
them an academic edge and to help them focus and score better on tests,
shouldnt that be considered cheating? Absolutely. And universities around
the country need to consider this. Yes, it is clearly impossible to drug test
every single student on campus just to see if they have been poppin addys.
But, if there was a way to find out just who has been illegally taking
prescription stimulants, then the Adderall game would change. Students who
are caught illegally taking Adderall to beat the essay deadline, or to cram
information into their heads all night for a test the next day, should be
punished for cheating by the school system. It is imperative that the school
system has to take action against these students, not only to enforce the
cheating aspect of it, but to also reiterate to the students themselves that
Adderall is a dangerous drug and there should be zero tolerance for illegal
users.

Matthew Specht
T/Th Class
4/12/16

Clearly, there has to be alternative methods to improve focus for

studying for an exam or doing homework other than taking Adderall to help
out. More practical, common, and LEGAL ways- without the use of an illegal
stimulant. For example, if somebody lacks concentration due to extraneous
thoughts racing through their head, a solution could be writing all of those
unnecessary thoughts down on a sheet of paper, which can help the
individual feel as if those thoughts are out of their head, and they can
continue to focus on their work (Dartmouth). Another technique which can
exhibit higher concentration is setting specific study goals for yourself, such
as determining exactly what material you will complete in your study period,
instead of simply seeing how much you can try to get done in the span of
two hours. Often times, the clock can be very distracting to students because
they are too worried about how much time they have to get a task done,
instead of solely One last solution to improve concentration is to set
adequate rewards for yourself upon completing the specific goals that you
had planned on doing; motivation could be the missing puzzle piece for a lot
of people who lack focus, and the thought of a reward at the end of your
hard work could be the motivating factor for many. The concentrationimprovement examples I have provided are just three of many more.
To wrap up this essay, I would just like to conclude and restate the fact
that the rapid use and demand of Adderall amongst the college population in
the United States needs to take a turn in the other direction. It is crucial that
some sort of public awareness is raised across the country about the

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T/Th Class
4/12/16

dangerous effects of ADHD stimulants when taken non-medically, and that it

cannot be seen as a harmless pill that helps people concentrate. There are
plenty of efficient ways to improve concentration for studying that do not
involve taking Adderall as an aid. The people who pay all of their attention to
acquiring and taking Adderall need to shift their focus on a legal, healthier
way to study.

Works Cited

"Adderall: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Safety Info - Drugs.com." Drugs.Com,
n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Adderall Oral : Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing WebMD." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
"DEA / Drug Scheduling. DEA, Drug Enforcement Agency. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Improving Concentration, Memory, and Motivation." Where To Study / How
To Study. Dartmouth. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Newmark, Sanford. "Are ADHD Medications Overprescribed?" WSJ. The Wall
Street Journal, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

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Venegoni, Luisa. "Illegal Study Drug Use on the Rise, Not Addressed by
Universities." USA TODAY College. USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Apr.
2016.
Yanes, Ariana. ""Just Say Yes?" The Rise of 'Study Drugs' in College." CNN.
Cable News Network, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.