It’s that time of year again. Students are stocking up on energy drinks, sleep becomes nonexistent, and the time of crazed studying has begun. During finals week, there is a lot of pressure. This is the last time we can hopefully get that A, or for most of us, that B, and most of our finals count for around 40% of our grade. Finals week becomes our week of hell-no going out, complete isolation from the outside world, and trying to squeeze as much information as we can in a short amount of time. It only makes sense that we look for a way to ease the stress. Athletes have steroids, the hippies have weed, and the struggling college students have Adderall.
The drug Adderall, which is prescribed for ADHD treatment to help focus more, has become the new Xanax for college students. According to IMS America, which studies drug use, 11 million prescriptions were written for amphetamine products in the US in 2004; over 7 million were for Adderall.
Many students feel that taking the drug helps them focus more and perform better in school. While this sounds good, nothing is ever perfect-least of all abusing drugs. One of the problems of abusing this drug is the prospect of dependency on Adderall. Not to mention the ethical issue-is it fair that those who take an illegal (if not prescribed) drug may do better on a test than those who study without any help? While I know my ranting on why you shouldn’t take Adderall for recreational purposes won’t influence you that much, I hope that if you are thinking of taking it or are already using it, you will be safe about it. So I did some research and found some tips on ways to stay safe.
- Never take Adderall for the first time on the night you have to pull and all-nighter. This drug helps you to focus, but does not tell you what you will focus on. You may find yourself cleaning your room for four hours instead of studying. In the end, all you’re left with is a failing grade and a clean room.
- Be watchful of how many milligrams you are taking. You shouldn’t take more than 30 milligrams at a time. Adderall is a drug, so there is risk of overdose.
- There are side effects to this drug, including, elevated blood pressure, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dryness of mouth, diarrhea, constipation, and impotence. If you experience any of these in increasing amounts then you should contact your doctor and hopefully go home with a lesson well learned.
Taking a prescription drug that youaren’t prescribed for always has risks; otherwise it wouldn’t only be for certain people. Keep in mind over the next week that it’s only one week-one week of hell, but once it’s over we have the whole summer to make up for those seven days that we missed of having fun. So if you’re going into exam week planning on just taking Adderall this one time, take into consideration that it can be addictive, you may not be able to take it just one time. So study hard and ace those exams-without the help of drugs.