Feb. 29, 2016–The DailyItem.Com — More and more, college students hope to focus better on studying by taking a drug used to treat attention deficit disorder. But the drug, a stimulant called Adderall, is addictive, and some professionals suggest it can lead to use of harder drugs. Dr. Margaret Jarvis, medical director of Geisinger’s Marworth drug and alcohol treatment center in Waverly, Lackawanna County, PA, said the use of the drug, and the number of those seeking treatment, are increasing, though not as much as opiate addiction cases.
The (Indiana) Herald Bulletin newspaper recently reported that a study by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the highest rate of abuse of Adderall was among people ages 18 to 25 and that nonmedical use of the drug went up by 67.1 percent during the study’s focus period of 2006 to 2011. During that time, the amount of emergency department visits by people who had taken the drug went up by 155.9 percent.
Dr. Catherine O’Neil, medical director of Bucknell Student Health, said students may believe taking Adderall will help them focus better on studying. The problem is that those who do not have ADD who take the medication may be more awake, but it doesn’t help them focus. In fact, it may make them more anxious, causing them to lose focus. Jarvis said that because the withdrawal from stimulants is less severe than for other drugs, many of those addicts in treatment are receiving outpatient treatment.
O’Neil said studies suggest Adderall use can lead to other addictions. “It’s easier to treat than many other addictions,” O’Neil said. “The risk here it often leads to other types of addiction. Studies show that, most likely, if you’re using somebody else’s prescription, you will develop an addiction to something. Sometimes they get it on the street, sometimes from a friend and sometimes..they will scam doctors to get it,” she said.
Jarvis, whose training is in psychiatry and addiction treatment, said users will look up the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder online and present those symptoms to a doctor, who diagnoses them with ADHD. “But there are other ways of making a diagnosis that are more complicated but more accurate,” she said. “Ninety-nine percent of those in rehab don’t have ADHD,” she added.
O’Neil said some users crush up the pills and snort them, a practice called parachuting. “It will have an effect similar to cocaine,” she said. “It will lead to a craving for other drugs, like cocaine.” Also, those who take Adderall or other stimulants, such as energy drinks, before drinking alcohol, could end up drinking too much alcohol, which could lead to alcohol poisoning, because the stimulant offsets the effects of alcohol.
