Adderall: A quick fix

By Editorial

Students and faculty might read last week's article about student Adderall abuse and think, why hasn't the university done anything to stop this? Perhaps more should be done to reach out to students and their health concerns.

However, illegal drug distribution and abuse is hardly the university's fault. We can educate students about the health hazards connected to drug abuse or the moral implications of faking a physical or mental condition to get a prescription.

The responsibility of Adderall and other drug abuse lies in the hands of those students abusing them. Some students who have no personal history of actual Attention Deficit Disorder have become irresponsible and lazy to the point that they must rely on drugs to study.

We can't trust ourselves to make time to read or write for class, so instead we wait until the last minute and then take someone else's prescription stimulant to get through the long hours at the library.

Cowell Student Health Center and other campus health resources have all provided students with information about mental and physical well-being, warned against drug abuse, and posted a "Potty Talk" suggesting productive study habits.

We're all plagued by the time crunch of student life--with all the classes, clubs, jobs and internships, we're all bound to pull the occasional all-nighter. There's a lot of pressure on students to do well in class and life, and of that can manifest itself in the feeling that there's no time to sleep -- things need to get done.

But look at the situation objectively: when challenged, some students chose drugs instead of their own determination and ability to succeed.

Last week's story was right. Adderall gives an unfair -- yet unnatural and unhealthy -- advantage to the students who use it. Drugs are now an easy way to compensate for a student's lack of planning and focus. These students need to reconsider their problem-solving strategies and stop choosing the easy way out.