Among the fastest-growing trends in colleges nationwide, the abuse of hardcore prescription medications has become increasingly popular and a controversial issue on campuses. Ritalin and Adderall are two of the most commonly used substances by students, the purpose of which is mainly to stay hyper-focused for long periods of time.
In an ABC News original report from Primetime, Dr. Eric Heligenstein, head of psychiatry for the University of Wisconsin health services said, "[They're] performance enhancing drugs, almost like academic steroids." But the question is still is up for debate as to how much of an edge using these prescription medications gives students and how much harm they can inflict when taken regularly.
Adderall and Ritalin are both classified as psychostimulants. Stimulants were formerly utilized to treat asthma and other respiratory conditions; obesity, neurological disorders, and other illnesses, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Because of strong possibilities of potential abuse and addiction, however, medical treatments with stimulants began to decrease. Today, both are generally prescribed for children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); narcolepsy; and depression when other treatments have failed to have been effective. When either is taken by people without ADHD, they experience a stimulating effect, thereby creating enhanced brain activity and increased alertness, attention, and energy.
Heligenstein reported that these drugs possess a mechanism similar to that of speed, producing strong effects on the central nervous system. Adderall is basically an amphetamine substance and Ritalin is an amphetamine-like drug. The effects of both after consumption of a normal dose can last up to 24 hours.
WebMD Health reports that since 1990, a six-fold increase in the amount of estimated drug abuse emergency room visits has been linked to Ritalin use, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Jeffrey Bernstein, M.D., an emergency room physician at Jackson Memorial Hospital at University of Miami is quoted in a WebMD Health article to have said, "In teenagers and adults, it acts more like speed." He continued that, "There's something called 'amphetamine psychosis' ... people who take it continuously for a long time have hallucinations."
Stimulants have chemical structures similar to monoamines, a type of key brain neurotransmitters, which includes norepinephrine and dopamine. Stimulants enhance the products of these neurotransmitters as well as increase blood pressure and heart rate, constrict blood vessels, increase blood glucose levels, and open up pathways within the respiratory system. Increase in dopamine levels can be accompanied with a euphoric experience felt by users. When pills are crushed or snorted, or when injected, the high from these drugs comes faster, reports Bernstein.
Effects that can result after short-term use include elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased respiration, suppressed appetite, and sleep deprivation, according to the NIDA. Consequences of long-term use include a physical and/or psychological dependence and addiction.
The NIDA lists possible negative effects as being: critically high body temperature, irregular heartbeat after consuming a high dosage, cardiovascular failure, and lethal seizures. Another potential consequence of repeated high dosage consumption over a brief time period is feelings of hostility or paranoia.
This institute cautions that the drug should not be combined with antidepressants and some asthma medications, unless otherwise directed by a physician. Withdrawal symptoms associated with stopping use of stimulants consist of fatigue, depression, and a disruption in sleeping habits.
Another contrversial aspect of the abuse of Ritalin and Adderall has been an ethical question that poses whether use of these drugs sets another unequal playing field between students who have access to these drugs and those who do not. Some ethics scholars argue that there is not anything ethically unsound about taking a pill to help aid in comprehension of material learned in class. Randy Cohen, a column writer on ethics for The New York Times Magazine said in the Primetime article that he could not think of an ethical reason that would hold in not taking a pill to enable you to improve how you learn.
With this extra dimension to the controversy surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of prescription drug abuse, the debate over whether college students should be utilizing them to improve studying and learning abilities continues.
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