<p>My daughter knows two girls who have started taking Adderall (the drug for ADHD) to help their 'focus'. DD says it is very wide-spread on campus. So while she struggles to read books that are not interesting, and stuggles to stay awake while reading them, her friends are using this drug.</p>
<p>I guess I'm naive. I didn't expect this. The drinking, yes. But I didn't realize she would be around this.</p>
<p>well…it’s a prescription drug so either they are getting prescriptions from a doctor for some reason or they are getting the drugs on the black market. I know a number of young adults who began taking ADHD medication as young adults…for the reason you describe. It was prescribed by a physician.</p>
<p>No, they are just buying it from someone who is selling it. One girl said she took it all through high school, got it from her brother.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of this too. Some kids are said to be taking their younger sibling’s meds!</p>
<p>This has been going on for years from what I have heard/read.</p>
<p>adderall is an amphetamine, plain and simple. Well, as simple as taking a brain stimulant can be. I know that it is a desired drug, and that some students in HS, as well as college have sold personal meds for profit. </p>
<p>My son is on ADHD meds, for real ADHD. Not Adderall, but a stimulant all the same. He tells no-one that he takes it, as he does not want to be targeted for the meds- as in friends trying to get some out of him, or them being stolen. And we have already discussed how to handle the meds in school to keep them safe and away from other students.</p>
<p>My son also takes a stimulant for ADD. His MD had a long conversatioin with him about how he needed to keep it secure (and as the poster above noted, private) to prevent theft. His physician told me he does that with all his patients heading off to college.</p>
<p>An 8th grader at the local jr. high got taken away in cuffs for selling his meds in school 2 years ago. There was a story about college students selling their prescription Adderall at least 4 years ago. By the time parents hear about these things it has to be prevalent.</p>
<p>I have a prescription for Adderall and actually had a parent ask if she could have a few pills for her son to try. This was several years ago, when her son was just starting high school and having a hard time keeping up with all his work. They had taken him to a doctor, who sent him for some sort of therapy, but no meds. She thought if she could get some pills for her son to try, and they helped him, the doctor would give him a prescription. Of course, I did not give her any! Altough I no longer take meds on a regular basis, I am much more cautious who I talk to about it.</p>
<p>I asked my oldest three or four years ago when he was in college and he said it’s very prevalent. I would even go so far as to say that almost half of each of my kids’ friends were on these drugs during high school. My sons say girls take them to stay thin and many people take them around midterms and exams. Mountain Dew or Red Bull or caffeine are still around, but a significant percentage of kids use the ADD drugs every now and then.</p>
<p>Plain and simple it’s an amphetamine, but it’s so pervasive in our society starting at such a young age the kids don’t view the drugs as well… “drugs.”</p>
<p>Fishymom, parents that ask that type of thing are curious. Yea, I am a nurse. But most people I know realize that it is illegal to give someone else, even a family member, some of your prescription meds. Any perscription medication at all, including allergy meds, antibiotics, even motrin. Not to mention that it is dangerous. </p>
<p>As for adderall, you would get in REALLY big trouble for illegal distribution of a controlled substance, especially if you knew it was going to be used by a minor. Mom could get into trouble for giving a rx med not prescribed to her child that is a controlled substance. No different than giving oxycontin to them. And Adderall comes in doses that needs to be tapered up to met a specific patients need. A “few pills” is not really going to tell you if it works, either. </p>
<p>AHHHH- situations like that make me want to scream. And why my son just does not tell anyone that he takes them! </p>
<p>I will come off my soap box now…sorry for the rant.</p>
<p>Because it’s a pill and not an injection, because kids walk around with them in their pockets, because some of kids in college now have been taking them for over a decade, because it’s over prescribed, because it is a drug that is perceived as “not harmful”, because it’s a drug with a positive image and on and on and on.</p>
<p>S1 said Adderall was more common on his campus than weed. D has been on Adderall for 3 years for ADD and working memory deficits. She will be the first to tell you they completely turned her educational life around. For all the reasons mentioned, she will be very careful in discussing and storing them at college.</p>
<p>There was a very informative article about this a couple of years ago. It might have been in the New Yorker. Try to find it. It is incredible how wide-spread the use of non-prescribed Adderrall is.</p>
<p>Google Adderrall and New Yorker.</p>
<p>So it’s more prevalent than I thought.</p>
<p>When my daughter was in college, she complained about this a lot. She said it was everywhere and easy to get and that it bothered her a lot that she pulled exhausting all-nighters with nothing more than Diet Coke, while other people got more done in less time and felt better doing it. She felt it was a widespread form of cheating, analogous to athletes using steroids (I’m talking about people who take it without a diagnosis or prescription).</p>
<p>I guess I’m the dissenting opinion, but during my undergrad years (finished a few years ago from a tier 1 school) and wasn’t aware of anyone using drugs such as this for studying. One friend had a prescription; everyone else would just drink Red Bull or caffeinated sodas for our late-night work sessions.</p>
<p>Not aware of anyone here in grad school using it either. Then again, it might just be the people I hang out with.</p>
<p>The NY Times ran an article about this a few years back. If I remember correctly, 20% of Columbia SEAS students were taking Adderal back then. That’s quite a while ago; I assume the percentage now is higher.</p>
<p>back in the day it was diet pills. same effect</p>
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<p>in my opinion the Red Bull and other energy drinks are worse than the ADD or ADHD pills. there is really no point in taking more than one pill. The energy drinks are consumed day and night by some people.</p>
<p>mimk6- exactly how my daughter feels.</p>