'Academic steroid' used on campus

By: Nadine Anheier, Staff Writer, Michael Leahy, News Editor

Posted: 4/4/05

For years, stimulants and students have gone together like coffee and cream.

Almost every collegian in the course of their education has pulled an all-nighter to write a paper or cram for a test, but in recent years what may have taken a pack of cigarettes and a pot of coffee is giving way to cheaper and stronger pharmaceutical alternative: Adderall, the "academic steroid."

With the drug's effectiveness and accessibility, use among college students across the nation has been on the rise.

According UMKC Staff Psychologist Dr. Vicki Quigley, "Use [of Adderall and prescription amphetamines] has increased dramatically...there's been a dramatic increase in the last five [years]."

Living proof is Dave, a UMKC senior whose name has been changed to protect his identity.

"It wakes me up," he said. "You're just more receptive to information."

Dave uses the drug illegally, as he has no prescription.

"More frequently I don't have to [pay for it]," he said. "It's generally just a 'let me take you out and buy you dinner or shoot you 10 bucks because you've been so generous the last couple months' kind of thing, but [the people I get it from] are not paying for it and they're not looking to profit."

Dave takes Adderall once a week on average but says his intake can vary greatly as well. Sometimes he will take it for a few days in a row; other times he can go weeks or months without it.

Unlike other drugs, Dave finds that Adderall actually helps him study. Not only can he stay awake, but he says he uses his time more efficiently. "I can do as much studying on Adderall in one hour that I can do without it in three."

Dave said that not only does it give him a more consistent kind of stimulation compared to caffeine or nicotine, which after a while makes him feel jittery, but it is cheaper as well.

The cost of Adderall for him is dollars less than the $5-8 he would otherwise spend on coffee and cigarettes.

Dave also pointed out that he knows of teachers with histories of stimulant abuse during their undergraduate careers as well.

"It's not like people weren't doing it before...I think Adderall is probably a safer alternative to things that went on in the past [because the drug is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration," he said.

Dave's friend James got a prescription for Adderall six months ago after describing common symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) including difficulty concentrating, anxiety and restlessness.

"I was so surprised at the ease with which I could get it," said James, a student whose name has also been changed. "I literally talked to the nurse practitioner for five minutes," he said.

His prescription costs $20 per bottle and should last him a month, but usually a bottle lasts him much longer, because he says he could not possibly take the three 20 milligram doses that his prescription calls for each day. The only time he says he needs it is when he is studying or in school. James lets his friends share whatever is left over.

Though it helps him focus and he has a prescription, James is still uneasy about taking it.

"It seems like it's something that I shouldn't have," he said, "like I'm doing something wrong even though it's prescribed, and I dunno if that's good or bad."

He described feeling like a baseball player who takes steroids. He said the edge it gives him with his education sometimes feels like cheating.

Some at UMKC weighed in on Adderall and its use or misuse.

"Adderall belongs to a class of drugs called amphetamines," said Roger Sommi, a Pharm-D expert in psychopharmacology and UMKC professor.

"...Ritalin is in that class...methamphetamines are in that class...it covers a wide degree of territory. The drugs are stimulants....pretty much what you have are drugs that block things and drugs that stimulate things."

According to Sommi, people with ADHD generally have a deficiency of dopamine in their brains. Adderall helps normalize this deficiency.

Quigley pointed out that though it is helpful for some, Adderall can also make it harder for the brain to function in others.

"For people who don't really need it, it can have the opposite intended effect - a quick burst of energy, and they can't sit still...they're far more likely to experience that than added focus," she said. "It can cause irritability, heart palpitations, being up for two to three days - there's just way too much of a certain chemical."

Sommi also noted that studying with amphetamines can inhibit information from being absorbed into the brain.

"Back in the '50s and '60s, people used to use amphetamines to study...I think that's kind of the trend again now, they use it to stay up or to feel better. There's probably some degree of utility to that; the problem is you don't lay down memory tracks...you might remember it tomorrow, [but] you won't remember it for the final. It gives you a false sense of security."

A recent study led by a University of Michigan researcher found that seven percent of college students have used prescription stimulants for non-medical purposes in their lifetimes, four percent having used in the past year. The study included 119 four-year colleges, where use in the past year ranged from zero to 25 percent.

Canada has recently outlawed the sale of Adderall based on 20 reports of sudden death and 12 reports of stroke among Adderall patients, all of which took place in the United States. None of the deaths were associated with misuse, abuse or overdose.

"Sometimes I have students that come in and say they've already taken Adderall...it does happen," said Dr. Heather Noble, a UMKC staff psychologist and ADHD assessment coordinator.

"There are students who go through testing that actually need the medication...possibly 10 or 15 out of 100 people abuse the drugs."

Noble conducts assessments of students that contact the UMKC Counseling, Health and Testing Center.

"One of the more important issues with someone coming in is that in close to half of cases, their comments are valid but they're misdiagnosing," she said. "People watch the commercials for ADHD drugs and identify with the symptoms, but it can also be other problems such as depression or anxiety."

Noble added that those with ADHD have other options besides psycho-stimulants: "What I've seen more of in the past six months to a year are people who have ADHD but don't want to go the stimulant route...other medications and counseling are available. There are other options."

Dave, however, sees Adderall as just a necessary measure in keeping up with an ever-accelerating world.

"It could be argued that the speed and the superficiality-the quickness of our world right now-is fostering the need for a pace that we just can't keep up with, and if there is a new drug out there that will help you keep up with that, that doesn't have any detrimental effects ... I don't see why one shouldn't [take it]," said Dave.

Noble and Quigley agree that alcohol and marijuana abuse are still a greater problem on college campuses but believe that amphetamine abuse should not be overlooked.

Testing as well as counseling is open to all students for a minimal fee at the UMKC Counseling, Health, and Testing Center.

"Students can certainly call here...they can always schedule an appointment - they have eight free sessions a year," said Quigley.

Students can contact the counseling center at 235-1635.

mleahy@unews.com
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