Experts Note Dramatic Increase in Student Abuse of ADHD Medications

By Hugh C. McBride

It seems like just last week when you were trying to pry your teenager out of bed for the first day of the new school year. Suddenly, months have gone by, the Christmas decorations are showing up in the stores, and semester exams are looming.

In high schools and colleges throughout the nation, end-of-semester tests and midterm examinations often occur either just before or immediately after the winter holiday break. This time can be particularly stressful for students of almost every performance level. High achievers worry that a less-than-stellar performance can sabotage months of hard work, while struggling students hope that they can salvage a sinking grade with a miraculous finish on test day.

For generations, students have dealt with test pressures by participating in all-night study sessions, pleading with instructors for mercy and occasionally resorting to unscrupulous measures such as cheating. But in recent years, a new and dangerous option has become increasingly more popular: the abuse of medications designed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Like Steroids for the Brain

For parents whose own youthful experiences with illicit substance abuse involved altering their consciousness with alcohol or other recreational drugs, the abuse of prescription ADHD meds may be somewhat confounding.

The drugs aren’t associated with a particularly enjoyable “high,” and they don’t seem to have the generational significance that marked the connection between marijuana and the 1960s counterculture or Ecstasy and the rave scene of the 1990s.

What they do offer, though, is the promise of increased mental clarity. And when test time rolls around, the appeal of substances that have been referred to as “smart drugs” or “steroids for the brain” can be quite enticing to students who believe their academic futures may depend upon a brief yet intense burst of improved performance.

The most popular ADHD meds, Ritalin and Adderall, are central nervous system stimulants that help increase focus, concentration and other cognitive abilities among students who have the disorder.

"In a way that athletes have used steroids and other medications in the past to enhance their athletic performance, Adderall is actually being used to kind of pseudo-enhance their academic performance," licensed professional counselor Heather Hayes said in a Jan. 30 article by Lois Thome of Florida’s WINK News.

Easily Acquired, Commonly Abused

Because ADHD medications are widely prescribed, many young people either take them or know someone who does, leading to a comfort with the drugs as well as a belief that they are harmless.

In addition to being familiar with Ritalin and Adderall, students also have a relatively easy time acquiring the drugs. Some buy them from friends who have prescriptions, while others buy them over the Internet via illicit online pharmacies.

The combination of comfort, access and perceived value has led to a stunning spike in the abuse of prescription ADHD medications by students from middle school through college.

According to an Aug. 24 article by Jennifer Warner of WebMD Health News, young people are abusing ADHD medications with disturbing and increasing frequency. Warner, whose article focused on an analysis of seven years’ worth of calls to poison control centers, reported that calls associated with teen abuse of prescription ADHD medications rose by a stunning 76 percent between 1998 and 2005.

“Researchers say most adolescents use their ADHD drugs appropriately,” Warner wrote, “but the growing popularity of these drugs is fueling a similar growth in the abuse of these drugs because more have access to the medicine.”

The Risks of ADHD Drug Abuse

Regardless of how they get the drugs, students who take Ritalin, Adderall or any other medications without either a prescription or effective supervision are putting both their health and their future at risk.

In addition to risking suspension, expulsion and arrest, students who abuse ADHD medications may experience unintended side effects that can be debilitating.

"Any amphetamine has the potential to give someone an amphetamine psychosis," Hayes told WINK News. "So when you take a lot of amphetamines and you're not sleeping, then you will literally hallucinate. … [You] will absolutely leave reality and become delusional and paranoid."

According to information provided by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Ritalin abuse has been associated with the following negative health consequences:

Malnutrition due to extreme appetite suppression
Muscle twitches and tremors
Fever, convulsions and severe headaches
Dangerously rapid heartbeat
Breathing difficulties
Delusions and hallucinations
Anxiety and paranoia, hallucinations and delusions
Formication (the sensation of bugs or worms crawling under the skin)

If you suspect that your teenager is using ADHD medications in an attempt to improve their academic performance, don’t assume that this is a harmless activity whose ends in any way justify the means.

Prescription drug abuse is always a dangerous behavior - and just because some medications are being abused in pursuit of improved academic performance does not mean that the risks are any less real.

Generations of students have found success without putting their lives at risk. Regardless of your child’s interest in history, this is one lesson you need to teach.

Experts Note Dramatic Increase in Student Abuse of ADHD Medications

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