Prescription Study Aid Abuse

Understanding Stimulants and Study Aids

Stimulants are drugs that engage the central nervous system, causing increased alertness and brain function. Most prescription stimulants are formulated to counteract the negative effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Providing similar effects to these prescriptions—though shorter and more intense—speed and cocaine are also classified as stimulants.

Why College Students Turn to Stimulants

Academic pressure to succeed is the most common reason college students give for using stimulants. Designed to help ADHD patients focus, prescriptions can play a part in college students’ ability to continue working or studying for longer hours. Commonly abused prescriptions include:

• Concerta
• Adderall
• Ritalin
• Dexedrine

Other students take these drugs to help them lose weight, as stimulants often act as appetite suppressants. Student athletes have also been known to abuse stimulants to give them more energy and focus during long practices and games.

The Prevalence of Study Aids in College

This doesn’t even mention the fact that symptoms of ADHD, the condition for which prescription stimulants exist, are easy to fake. A 2008 experiment conducted by undergraduate psychology students showed that up to 93 percent of them were able to receive a positive diagnosis.

Side Effects of Stimulants

Many college students don’t fully realize the negative side effects that stimulants can cause, which leads to these drugs being commonly abused. In one study, the majority of college students said they believed illicit use of ADHD medication was “not dangerous at all” or “slightly dangerous.”

Contrary to popular opinion, there are unpleasant and potentially dangerous effects of stimulant use, including:

• Sleeplessness
• Aggression
• Anxiety
• Hallucinations
• Depression
• High blood pressure

Adderall and Alcohol

A big concern on college campuses is not just that students are abusing substances like Adderall but that they are abusing multiple substances that may have dangerous interactions. Most students who abuse Adderall are also binge drinkers. Mixing stimulants with alcohol can leave the user unaware of when they’ve reached their limit. This in turn can result in injury, assault, or even death.

According to one report, a full third of student users said they take prescription stimulants to “stay awake to party.” The biggest concern of mixing stimulants with depressant alcohol (“uppers” and “downers”) is the strain it puts on the user’s heart, leading to long-term damage.