Bucky's Little Helper: UW students turn to Adderall to get through finals
With final exams coming up, Renee figures she could fetch about $20 per capsule for Adderall, a prescription amphetamine widely known across campus as a "study drug." But she sells her surplus only to close friends, generally charging $5 per pill, which helps her cover her monthly refill costs of $25.
The UW-Madison senior first tried Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), during finals week of her freshman spring semester three years ago.
"I hadn't slept in about two days and I had back-to-back finals coming up and, you know, you procrastinate a little and all of a sudden you're like, 'How am I going to get through this?'" says Renee, one of three Adderall users interviewed for this story who asked that her real name not be used due to fear of prosecution. "And a friend was like, 'Here, take this, it's just Adderall.'"
"I knew what it was," she adds. "I worked at a clinic in high school. I wouldn't have taken just anything. And it was amazing."
That summer, Renee saw her doctor and asked for a prescription. She says she suffers to a "small degree" from attention deficit disorder, but admits she usually only takes Adderall XR (extended release) when she needs a boost of energy or help focusing for a long night of studying.
For students who suffer from ADHD, Adderall can help them focus and control other symptoms associated with the condition. But increasingly students are using the drug illegally as a sort of a "smart pill" or "steroid for the brain," especially to help get through final exams.
Like any other amphetamine, Adderall can cause health complications, both in the short- and long-term. Its illegal use as a study drug also raises the ethical question of whether it gives the user an unfair advantage over students who don't take it.
Locally, law enforcement authorities don't seem concerned about Adderall use, but medical folks are raising some red flags.
"We started picking up on this back in the late 1990s," says Dr. Eric Heiligenstein, UW-Madison's clinical director of psychiatry at University Health Services. "What people were telling us is this is a huge deal at the prep schools on both coasts, people using these meds as study drugs. And we did the arithmetic and knew that if all these people are graduating and coming to college, it's going to migrate to us. And it has."
Widespread use
William Frankenberger, a UW-Eau Claire psychology professor and highly regarded expert on attention deficit disorder, says research he has conducted suggests widespread use of attention deficit disorder medications among college students.
In a 2004 survey of students at an unnamed campus in the Midwest, Frankenberger found that 14 percent had abused some form of ADHD drug, including Adderall.
"I don't think people understand the scope of the problem," he says in a phone interview from the Eau Claire campus. "These things should be setting off alarms."
Richard Kilmer, a pharmacist at Community Pharmacy, just off State Street, says he has seen Adderall usage among students spike over the last few years -- some of it illicit.
"We see tons and tons of prescriptions for it," he says. "We're definitely seeing the usage go up and up." And, he adds, "There is definitely abuse."
But, so far, local law authorities are not alarmed.
"We do know that it's being sold, even at the high school level," says Sgt. Gordy Disch, a member of the Dane County Sheriff's Narcotics and Gang Task Force. "Kids who have it prescribed for ADD are selling it to their friends and stuff like that, but it's not something that we're involved in right now."
Concurs UW Police Detective Carol Ann Glassmaker: "I wouldn't say it's been a major issue with us. Obviously, it's a felony to dispense or deliver any narcotic. And it's also obviously illegal to possess a narcotic, any type of prescription drug, without a prescription."
Though Adderall may not be a public safety risk, Frankenberger warns that the health risks can be significant. Like other amphetamines, Adderall can be addicting, and can cause a variety of health problems, including insomnia and high blood pressure.
"Most people agree that methamphetamines are a big deal, right?" Frankenberger asks. "Well, Adderall is just a mixture of amphetamines. It has the same effect."
While there are no data available on how widespread Adderall use may be on the UW-Madison campus, a study published in the January 2005 issue of the journal Addiction may give some indication of its use by college students nationwide.
Based on a review of more than 10,000 randomly selected students at 119 four-year colleges and universities in 2001, the study found that 7 percent of college students used prescription stimulants Adderall, Ritalin or Dexedrine non-medically over their lifetime. Four percent used them in the past year.
The study found the most significant usage -- 25 percent of all students -- on campuses in the Northeast and at colleges with more stringent admission standards. In addition, the study found college campuses with high or medium levels of binge drinking had significantly higher past-year rates of illegal stimulant use than schools with lower levels of binge drinking.
Abuse was highest among college students who were male, white, members of fraternities or sororities, and those who had grade point averages of B or lower.
Heiligenstein says some students may indeed take Adderall to study harder, but not all.
"Others will get drunk at night and have to get up the next day and what do you do? You get up and use an amphetamine."
Possible side effects
Sara, now a fifth-year senior at UW-Madison, remembers the first time she took Adderall. It was around finals time two years ago, and she was looking for a little pick-me-up to help her study.
"I was pretty nervous," says Sara. "I was a real dork and looked up 'Adderall' online. I think heart attacks or something was a possible side effect. I was like, 'Wow!'"
"But my friends were like, 'No, no, no. Don't worry. Just eat a little something and take a short nap before you take it and you'll be fine, you'll be able to write your 10-page paper.' "
According to the Web site WebMD.com, common side effects of Adderall include abnormal heart rhythm, trouble sleeping and nervousness. The medical site also notes that Canada suspended sales of the drug after 12 children in the United States died suddenly after taking Adderall in February 2005.
Sara overlooked the warnings, took the pill she received from Renee, and wasn't disappointed.
"You can definitely tell when it kicks in," says Sara, who gets some, but not all, of her Adderall from Renee. "It's not like you're buzzing or drunk. It's almost like a string pulls you up through your head, and it's like, 'Wow.' It keeps me up so I can finish my work," she adds.
Amanda, another fifth-year senior, first tried Adderall after receiving the pill from a friend during finals week as a freshman. At the time, she was attending another college in the Midwest.
"I like it because it really makes me study for longer periods of time without distractions," says Amanda, who transferred to UW-Madison three years ago and is majoring in economics.
She takes Adderall daily during busy times of the semester, but only occasionally at other times.
"I only use it when I have a lot to do and it can make me stay awake longer."
Amanda has never attempted to get a prescription herself, which would be cheaper than buying it on the street.
"I know enough people to supply it to me, and I really didn't want to go through the hassle of going to a doctor."
Renee suspects some students would also rather avoid the stigma associated with attention deficit disorder.
"I think if you have the prescription, you're the one with the potential problem," she says. "But when you don't, you're just buying it to get that extra kick."
Unfair advantage?
As the public furor over recent sports doping scandals would indicate, most people believe that such performance-enhancing drugs as steroids and human growth hormone give athletes an unfair competitive advantage.
But does Adderall, a drug many consider to be a performance-enhancer for the brain, give students an unfair academic edge over classmates who refrain from the stimulant?
Heiligenstein thinks so.
"It's a very important moral issue, because we know the drugs do certain things to everybody," says Heiligenstein. "So taking them does give you a certain competitive advantage. It's well known the drugs enhance alertness and vigilance. It prevents that productivity fatigue that comes from doing something over time. That's why (amphetamines) have been used in the armed forces for decades.
"So a student who takes it compared to the student who doesn't take it, there will be a difference. Whether that pans out to better grades, who knows?"
Neither Sara nor Amanda, however, is much bothered by such ethical questions.
"It really just gives you more time to study to get better grades," says Sara of Adderall. "Some people work 20-plus hours per week, and it gives them the ability to stay awake longer to study. I don't see it as a moral issue."
Adds Amanda: "I don't think I would consider it cheating. It doesn't do any work for you. It makes you work longer."
Renee takes a middle ground.
"I definitely think Adderall gives you an advantage, but I don't think it's morally wrong," she says.
For her, the decision to take Adderall mostly revolves around her desire to have a social life.
A Type A personality, she typically carries a heavy course load of math, science and statistics at UW-Madison while working about 25 hours per week at her part-time jobs. During the summers, she takes a class or two and has up to three jobs for a staggering average of 60 hours of work per week.
"The way I look at my situation, if I never went out or never hung out with friends, I wouldn't need it because I would have that much extra time. But then I would graduate and look back and not have enjoyed myself."
The way Renee sees it, Adderall allows her to have it all. So despite a demanding major and out-of-class schedule, she carries a 3.84 cumulative grade-point average into final exams and will graduate -- in four years, nonetheless -- May 18.
But at what cost?
"There are many people who become physically and psychologically dependent on this medication, so just because they graduate doesn't mean they all of a sudden stop (taking Adderall)," says Heiligenstein.
Renee, who has already lined up a job after graduation, insists she is going to stop taking Adderall as soon as she finishes her last exam next week.
But is she confident she will be able to stop?
"I'm telling myself I will," she says. "I don't know if it will be a feeling of like, 'Oh, something is missing.' But I think I will find myself like, 'Oh, man, if I had Adderall, this day would be so much better.' I don't think I'll miss the drug, I'll miss the ability to kick it into gear and get things done."
The prescription drug Adderall is frequently used by college students to help keep them alert.
