For Immediate Release
For information contact:
Toni Montier, Gaudenzia Inc.
106 W. Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401
(610) 239-9600 x206

Prescription Stimulants: The “New Caffeine” for Enhancing College Students’ Academic Performance?

CESAR staff monitor a variety of indicators of drug use and abuse in Maryland. However, none of these indicators track drug trends among college students. To fill this gap, CESAR staff designed a qualitative survey that would provide information about drug trends in the local student population. A consistent panel of 26 student reporters completes a periodic Student Drug Research (SDR) survey about their perceptions and observations of drug availability, drug trends, and emerging drugs around campus. The first two surveys, conducted in March and April of 2005, focused on the misuse of prescription stimulants, which is believed to be a growing problem among college students. Following are some of the findings from these surveys, which were recently released in a July 2005 DEWS Investigates report.

• Adderall®, a prescription stimulant used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), was thought to be misused more often than other prescription stimulants because it was prescribed more often and was easily accessible around campus. One student reported that “everybody has a friend that is prescribed Adderall at this point.” Other reasons cited were that Adderall had a better reputation among students, caused fewer emotional ups and downs, and was believed to work better overall.
• The most common reason cited for misusing prescription stimulants was to enhance academic performance when studying and taking exams. Several reporters noted that prescription stimulant use goes up during finals. According to one student, “Almost any student I talk [to] has used or is using Adderall to help them study.” Another student noted that “many questions have been raised on whether or not it’s actually cheating and a form of academic dishonesty.”
• Using prescription stimulants to study was generally considered less harmful and more socially acceptable than using them to party or mix with alcohol or other drugs. In fact, one student referred to these drugs as the “new caffeine.”
  

"Adderalll has become the dangerous new crutch for the college student who crams. The down side is that Adderall can cause emotional and physical strains by making the student hyperactive, paranoid and delusional. Over a period of time the drug will require the student to take higher doses to achieve the desired effect. This in turn results in increased risk of heart attacks and strokes."


Rosemary Madl-Young , PhD,CRNS
Director, CQI/Staff Development
Gaudenzia, Inc.