As the first semester of this college term comes to a close nationwide, exams and final projects consume each and every college student. Completing assignments and studies means late nights, and for some, an extra large pot of coffee. Our state of ultra competitive schooling and placement into the shrinking American job market brings an overwhelming sense for students to try and find an edge. More and more students are finding that edge pharmaceutically, in pill form.

Adderall, an amphetamine medication containing many of the same ingredients as crystal meth, is used for the treatment of ADD and ADHD. It is by far the drug of choice here at UWMC and other schools nationwide. This is no new fad. The drugs cheap price and easy attainability allow any and all the possibility to try it. However, the rising amounts of deaths, strokes, and dependency attributed to Adderall have turned the wonder- drug into a full blown student epidemic.

The Forum met with three students, two male and one female, who wished to stay anonymous. Their names have been changed in this article. These are their accounts on the use of Adderall within our student population.

ADAM
Adam is a 24-year-old nontraditional student at UWMC. He spent his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison before moving back to Wausau. “When I attended the UW, one of my good friends was prescribed Adderall. People were always asking him to get it,” he said. “Literally everyone in the dorm would come to this guy for a pill.” Adam stated that he used the drug himself, however, not on a frequent basis.

“There were people always doing work late at night that would want an Adderall to help them stay up and do their work,” he said. “In Madison, because it was in such a high demand, my friend would sell it for ten bucks a pill.”

Adam’s friend was routinely given “jars” of Adderall, up to 60 pills at a time. His friend still took the drug to counteract ADD, but took less in order to make his money back. “He didn’t take it everyday, so that’s how he was able to afford to sell them.” Adam didn’t agree that Adderall necessarily helped students with the quality of their work, but saw it as a way for them to bypass procrastination. “It was used for more than just an edge with schoolwork, but it gave them the ability to stay up and complete assignments,” he said. “It wouldn’t necessarily enhance their performance on a test or anything, but to cram and stay up extra late to finish writing a paper.”

After completing his freshman year, Adam decided to return to Wausau. He was surprised to see how cheap Adderall was in the smaller city. “When I came back to Wausau, I had another friend who had it and sold it. He would sell it for three to four bucks a pill.”

Adam stated that he will try to acquire a prescription for Adderall in the near future, to make some profit himself. “If I got prescribed it, I wouldn’t take it. I’d sell it. I’m (expletive) broke, man.”

JENNIFER
Jennifer is a 20-year-old student at UWMC. She is a “casual” user of Adderall and has been prescribed it in the past. At the onset of the interview, Jennifer stated that she was a phone call away from receiving a ‘script’ from a doctor. She said she had been too high for the last couple of weeks to make the phone call / order. “Everybody has ADD, so anybody can be prescribed it,” she said. Jennifer doesn’t fill her prescription on a regular basis but when she does, the demand for it can quickly pay her expenses. “Four pills can pay for your prescription, and you can just sit on the rest.”

At the beginning of the fall semester, Jennifer met a fellow student that was prescribed Adderall at its highest dose, 30 milligrams. The schoolmate was shocked to find out how craved her medication was within the student population. Jennifer was quick to pick up a good deal. “I met a kid who didn’t know how much it was worth. He’ll give me a 30 milligram pill for three bucks. It’s a very good deal.” She then added, “The solid ones are the delicious ones. They kinda taste like cotton candy.”

Jennifer said that she routinely uses Adderall at parties, sometimes mixing the drug with large amounts of alcohol. When asked what the most she had heard an individual taking was, Jennifer added, “I’m right up there.” The suggested maximum dosage of Adderall in a 24-hour period is 30 milligrams. Jennifer said that recently, during a 14-hour period, she consumed 116 milligrams. She said that the pills were mostly “railed” or snorted, and one pill was taken before “running from the cops.”

According to a study by Shire Pharmaceuticals, a British drug company that manufactures Adderal, a lethal dosage of Adderall for a 140-pound person can be as little as 58 milligrams in a day.

DAVID
David is a 21-year-old student at UWMC. He disagrees with the medical community that Adderall is a safe medication. David has seen a sharp increase in Adderall use, abuse, and illegal trafficking. He said he has taken Adderall only a handful of times.

“I was influenced by people around me that did it. I really didn’t understand it. I was totally against it at first because my drug of choice is cannabis,” he said. “Everything else out there beyond marijuana is a dangerous drug, something you could die from.”

David feels that doctors rely too heavily on narcotic drugs for medicating adolescents and children. He stated, “There is some evidence of ADD and ADHD, but in my own experience, it’s a condition – not a disease. You can deal with it personally, without drugs.”

He said that instead of being honest with a doctor, teens who dislike Adderall will most likely turn to selling their medication instead of halting their prescriptions. “It’s way over-prescribed. So many people have it and so many don’t need it,” he said. “A lot of people are actually turned off by it and they turn to selling their prescriptions.”

David has seen the illegal sale of Adderall firsthand. Hundreds of dollars switch hands instantly, and it usually begins outside a pharmacy. “You can get a five dollar prescription at Wal-Mart and sell the bottle to your friend for 150 bucks. He can sell the pills for four to five bucks a pill and make even more money off it,” he said.

David doesn’t plan on ever using Adderall again. “When I see people around me doing it and you see how weird they act, I feel scared for them. They might get hurt or die,” he said. “I believe in being as clean and organic as possible, that’s where the marijuana comes in.”

“I think as with anti-depressants and other drugs that affect your brain, there are people who can benefit from its usage. However, there is a very slim minority that actually needs it,” David stated.

He believes that the medical community is to blame for the rise in abuse of Adderall, especially within the students of UWMC. “It’s not like people are making these pills in their basement, they’re being prescribed it,” he said.

“I may be a pot-head, but my medication won’t kill me – no matter how much I take.”

CONCLUSION
According to a February 2006 study by the FDA, Adderall had taken 51 lives in the U.S. Since then, it has become even more popular with a rising number of people being prescribed. It is hard to say how many deaths can be attributed to Adderall because death usually occurs through heart attack, stroke, or binge drinking.

In 2006, Adderall received a “Black Box Warning,” given only to the most dangerous legal medications. Originally prescribed as an appetite suppressant in the 1970’s, an ironic side affect to the drug is anorexia.

Each year, the abuse of Adderall becomes more and more prevalent in student life. The FDA warns that “Administration of amphetamines for prolonged periods of time may lead to drug dependence and must be avoided.” Their warning goes on to say, “Particular attention should be paid to the possibility of subjects obtaining amphetamines for non-therapeutic use or distribution to others, and the drugs should be prescribed or dispensed sparingly.” With that in mind, why are more children and teens receiving prescriptions for a narcotic medication?

Other less known medications used for the treatment of ADD and ADHD include Eli Lilly’s Strattera, Johnson & Johnson’s Concerta, and Novartis’ Ritalin. Adderall, which totals one-fourth of the U.S. market, is manufactured by Shire Pharmaceuticals. In 2002, Shire posted profits of over a billion dollars (thestreet. com). Since then, the amount of prescriptions has risen, along with its demand as a street-drug. Shire’s Adderall and other medications like it can now be easily purchased online without a prescription. Adderall, more commonly known by students as addies, uppers, speed, rall, or amphetamine salts, is an underground sensation. Today it is abused by more individuals than prescribed to counteract ADD or ADHD. Once the drug becomes part of one’s routine, it is difficult to learn or work without it.