Students rely on pill to study, concentrate

MCT

Photo courtesy of MCT Campus.

Although police have low reports of buying and selling Adderall on campus, some students say the drug deals are popular.

“Almost everyone on my floor buys Adderall,” said a sophomore accounting major.

“They take a pill and stay up studying all night like zombies.”

Adderall is a brand-name prescription drug that treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has become the drug of choice on college campuses nationwide, according to a New York Magazine article by Deborah Schoeneman.

“The rampant pill popping is prompting longer, more effective workdays, with the side effect — some say bonus — of weight loss, since Adderall is essentially fancy speed,” Schoeneman wrote.

One senior business major said the drug has become part of his lifestyle.

“I tried Adderall for the first time about a year ago, and I have been taking it ever since,” he said. “Adderall gives me the same experience as snorting cocaine. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but I find it difficult to focus without it.”

A freshman fashion major also said she can’t focus without the drug. She found herself craving Adderall more and more after trying a few pills with a friend.

And some students with Adderall prescriptions are reaping the benefits of their peers’ cravings.

“Selling Adderall is an easy way to make some money,” said a junior architecture major. “People get hooked and will do almost anything to get it.”

Selling unprescribed Adderall is considered a felony and can result in fines, a suspended driver’s license and jail time, according to the Ohio Revised Code.

But Michquel Penn, a Kent State University Police Department officer, said the department hasn’t seen Adderall as a popular drug on campus.

“There really haven’t been any recent incidences on campus involving Adderall,” Penn said.

Still, she said the department will continue to educate students on the prevention of prescription drug abuse and keep a close eye on campus drug activity.

Contact Stephanie Black at [email protected].