Spring Break
'Academic steroid' used on campus
Nadine Anheier, Staff Writer, Michael Leahy, News Editor
Issue date: 4/4/05 Section: News
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Almost every collegian in the course of their education has pulled an all-nighter to write a paper or cram for a test, but in recent years what may have taken a pack of cigarettes and a pot of coffee is giving way to cheaper and stronger pharmaceutical alternative: Adderall, the "academic steroid."
With the drug's effectiveness and accessibility, use among college students across the nation has been on the rise.
According UMKC Staff Psychologist Dr. Vicki Quigley, "Use [of Adderall and prescription amphetamines] has increased dramatically...there's been a dramatic increase in the last five [years]."
Living proof is Dave, a UMKC senior whose name has been changed to protect his identity.
"It wakes me up," he said. "You're just more receptive to information."
Dave uses the drug illegally, as he has no prescription.
"More frequently I don't have to [pay for it]," he said. "It's generally just a 'let me take you out and buy you dinner or shoot you 10 bucks because you've been so generous the last couple months' kind of thing, but [the people I get it from] are not paying for it and they're not looking to profit."
Dave takes Adderall once a week on average but says his intake can vary greatly as well. Sometimes he will take it for a few days in a row; other times he can go weeks or months without it.
Unlike other drugs, Dave finds that Adderall actually helps him study. Not only can he stay awake, but he says he uses his time more efficiently. "I can do as much studying on Adderall in one hour that I can do without it in three."
Dave said that not only does it give him a more consistent kind of stimulation compared to caffeine or nicotine, which after a while makes him feel jittery, but it is cheaper as well.
The cost of Adderall for him is dollars less than the $5-8 he would otherwise spend on coffee and cigarettes.
Dave also pointed out that he knows of teachers with histories of stimulant abuse during their undergraduate careers as well.
"It's not like people weren't doing it before...I think Adderall is probably a safer alternative to things that went on in the past [because the drug is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration," he said.
