Adderall: The Academic Steroid

By Lauren Tsugawa

"Oh my goodness," said Aaron*, as I pressed the record button on my iPhone, "it's so official."

It was only after my assurance that everything would be kept anonymous that he loosened up a bit and began to tell his story.

"I started taking it freshman year," he said. "We'd be in the lounge studying, and I'd be like, ‘I can't remember all this stuff,' and they'd be like, ‘why don't you take this?'"

Although those who use "it" at Santa Clara do their best to keep that knowledge hush-hush, in general, students' use of prescription Adderall to enhance their studying abilities is no secret. According to the New York Times, as many as 20 percent of college students have admitted to taking Adderall or similar drugs to help them study or write papers.

"It was surprising to see how many people did it at Santa Clara," said Brian, another student who takes Adderall without a prescription. "I felt like it was such a low thing, but I found out that literally dozens of people I knew had taken it."

Since the drug's release in 1996, the circulation of Adderall in high schools and especially on college campuses has steadily increased, with sales more than doubling nation-wide in the past five years. Generating somewhat of a mental snowball effect, the amplified usage of the drug seems to have a desensitizing effect on students, rendering the illegal prescription drug abuse to be more and more of a  "no big deal" kind of activity.

"In high school I knew a lot of people that did that, but I mean, they were the kind of kids you didn't associate with," laughed Carmen, who now regularly uses Adderall. "I mean SCU already has a reputation, but this sort of added to that."

Adderall is a brand name psycho-stimulant drug prescribed to counteract the effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which causes inattentiveness and impulsivity. A combination of two stimulants, dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, Adderall affects the brain's levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward center, and among other things, significantly increases one's ability to focus for long periods of time.  

When asked what taking the drug felt like, Aaron responded, "I want to do nothing but study."

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Adderall is in such high demand among students, creating a black market of sorts that encourages those with prescriptions to give or sell their pills to eager customers.  

"When exams come around, people ask me," said David, a dealer diagnosed with ADHD who has a prescription for Adderall. "I'm like, ‘Yeah, sure.'"

Dealers can make a wide range of income, said Michael, another regular Adderall dealer.

A dealer's cut can differ depending on the source of their pills, how they pay for it, and how many pills they can afford to sell.

According to Michael, it's simpler than one would think to get a prescription. In fact, he gets his supply of Adderall from a misdiagnosed student who has a prescription.   

"Dealers tend to be college students who obtain their prescriptions from on-campus psychiatrists, who at any university are known for their easy-speed-script writing tendencies," explained Michael. "‘Oh you can't focus? Have some Adderall, and just fill out this multiple choice questionnaire so I know you're not lying.'"

Once the source of the dealer's pills is secured, continued Michael, their income then depends on how they pay for the drugs. Often times, unknowing parents will pay out of pocket, or the student's medical insurance will cover most of the cost. After that, the only factor that remains is how much the dealer is willing to charge per pill.  

Pills are sold in 5, 10, 20 or 30mg doses costing between $3-$10 per pill, depending on the dose and how many pills are bought at a time. Like shopping at Costco, buying in bulk is always cheaper. Perhaps the biggest factor in pill cost, however, is the time of year.

When demand skyrockets during midterms and finals week, so does the price of the pills.

"You know, I know it goes on," began Dr. Lauren Hidalgo, staff physician at Cowell Health Center on campus. "I periodically ask my patients, ‘are you selling it to anybody, are you lending it to anybody,' and guess what? They all say no."

Most users see Adderall as a cheap, easily accessible study enhancer. However, what many students don't realize is that like any other drug, Adderall has its side effects.  

"People who are not used to taking the medication can have serious physical consequences," continued Hidalgo. "If it's a high dose and they're not used to taking it, they're going to feel really stimulated."  

For Jill, her first, and only time using the drug was not what she had expected.  

"I took a small dose really early in the morning and I was pretty confident that it would wear off by the end of the night," she recalled. "But it was 4 a.m. and I was still wide-awake. I could not sleep. And I had a 9 a.m. final the next day."

Made from chemicals in the same category as those used to manufacture methamphetamine, or crystal meth, the most common side effects associated with Adderall are loss of appetite, headaches, nervousness and trouble sleeping.

Though those may seem acceptable when weighed against the benefits of being able to cram for an exam, Adderall has other, more serious long-term side effects. According to Hidalgo, use of the drug for an extended period of time causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate which could lead to severe cardiac problems, especially in those who are predisposed to heart disease.  

Additionally, like any other amphetamine, Adderall is extremely addictive. According to Santa Clara neuroscience professor Dr. Christelle Sabatier, regular Adderall usage propagates a self-fulfilling cycle in the user. In addition to helping you to focus and stay awake for longer periods of time, Adderall also affects reward pathways within your brain that make you feel good about yourself by slowing down the brain's reuptake of dopamine. Often times, students will only think that the drug is helping them to be more productive solely because they feel better about what they're doing.

Extended usage of Adderall then conditions the brain to expect higher levels of dopamine, and thus users without a prescription often have to up their dosage to feel the same effects as they did during their first few uses.

"(Doctors) try to minimize the dosage for people who do need it in order to be able to focus so that (patients) don't develop these dependencies," said Sabatier. "The people who are acquiring it somehow are not being followed by a physician, and are taking doses that they're coming up with; clearly not a well studied system.

"They're playing with fire."

Ironically, of all the users, it was David the drug dealer that provided the most candid view of the drug.

"It's just kind of a dangerous thing when it comes to drugs," said David, simply. "It's pretty addictive. I got withdrawals. You just feel like you're a little on edge. You don't feel like eating. My jaw gets really tight. ( I have a) really hard time sleeping."

Additionally, what many users fail to consider is the moral aspect of using a prescription drug to enhance their academic performance.  

"It comes down to the moral issue of should people who don't have a diagnosis, but just want to be machines cranking out as much as possible, have the advantage over people not taking the drug," reasoned Hidalgo. After a pause, she added, "People do what they think they have to do."

However, unlike sneaking a glance at a peer's scantron or downloading papers from the internet, Adderall would only help a student to study before the actual exam. Once in the classroom, these students would be on their own. Yet if Adderall is indeed the academic steroid that students make it out to be, would using the drug be considered a form of cheating?

"Certainly, I consider it to be unethical," said Sabatier. "Most likely because not everybody has the same access to it. But would we get to the point like in athletics where we'd have random testing, and then that would discount your score on a particular test? That would seem to be an extreme response."

As admission to graduate schools and securing a job continues to get increasingly competitive, a decrease in the abuse of Adderall does not seem likely.

Added Sabatier, shaking her head, "There's always the lure of the magic pill."

**Editor's note: All students' names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Contact Lauren at ltsugawa@scu.edu or at (408) 554-1918.