ADHD Prescription Abuse at Northeastern :: College Study Drugs Education Essays

hyperkinetic syndrome Prescription Abuse at northNortheastern middler Gary chocolate-brown* reclines his picayune frame on a formulate in his Mission hummock apartment. He looks like a patient on a psychiatrists couch as he dictates his history of abuse with methylphenidate and Adderall.I started t unitary ending to concerts with a friend who had a prescription and whose nickname was Bradderall, Brown said.Ritalin and Adderall be prescription drugs commonly used to treat attention famine hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Brown has never been diagnosed with ADHD but he started winning the drugs recreationally as a college freshman to have energy for concerts and for partying into the early forenoon hours. Soon after, Brown began taking Ritalin to view for exams. Brown was taking the pills about six times a week.Its pretty easy to get, Brown said.The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) cites Ritalin, or Methylphenidate, as a central nervous system stimulant that has a f ocusing and calming effect on children and adults diagnosed with ADHD. The National Institute of psychic Health estimates that 35% of the general population has ADHD, which is characterized as hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. This statistic indicates that one child in every secernroom in America has ADHD. hardly Brown is not part of this 3-5% of the population. For Brown and others without the disorder, ADHD medications increase dopamine levels in the brain, giving the user a sense of euphoria alike to cocaine. Students at Northeastern University as well as other campuses are consuming these drugs for better academic performance and a cheap blue on the college party scene. Students are taking Ritalin, Addrall, and the newest drug on the market, Conserta, either orally or crushing and snorting them to study, party, or lose weight. In some cases, kids are melting them down and shooting them up. According to Northeastern students, the drugs are very cheap and very acce ssible.Drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, and Conserta that make you cerebrate and industrious can be very useful, said Jeff Smith*, a Northeastern student. Like Brown, Smith had never taken these prescriptions commonly called study drugs before coming to college. Smith cites increasing academic pressure as a reason for using the pills to focus and gain an edge. Both Brown and Smith receive free pills from their friends who have prescriptions but they would expect to collapse $2-$5 a pill if they had to. In 2000 , NIDAs Community Epidemiology take on Group found the abuse of methylphenidate (Ritalin) in Boston to be prevalent amongst middle and high school students especially in middle- and upper-middle class communities.