It seems as though the pressures of finals week contribute to the increasing epidemic of college students resorting to various degrees of drug abuse. With tuition costs growing and class impaction increasing, the pressure to succeed and graduate is at its highest.
Finals tend to create an amount of stress that surpasses the extent it reaches throughout any other time of the semester. The weight of one week of exams can mentally exhaust the most intellectual of students. That week has people resorting to various degrees of aiding their energy levels to retain as much information possible.
One medication that most college students resort to is Adderall, or more widely known as the "Smart Drug." Adderall is a prescription medication for people with various Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders. Adderall stimulates the central nervous system and aids hyperactivity and impulse control. According to Drugs.com, it is also used to treat narcolepsy, which is a chronic sleep disorder that prompts drowsiness. Not only is it a prescription drug used to prevent a medical disease for those who require it, but also has various side effects that put people health at risk.
People who abuse Adderall suffer various side effects. Those effects include insomnia, depression, mood-swings, nightmares and panic attacks amongst countless others. They are brought on by constant dependency on the drug that constantly stimulates energy as well as appetite suppression, which in turn leads to very little sleep and poor nutrition. Drugs.com also states it is considered a scheduled II medication that is high in addiction, similar to that of cocaine.
Due to Adderall being considered a highly addictive drug, consumption increases the dependency required in order to fuel the addiction. Habitual use of Adderall can stem from abusing the drug improperly, and as the abuse increases, the required dosage to acquire a similar stimulating feeling surges as well.
The DEA has been attempting to set quotas on the distribution of the drug so that it is not illegally distributed to those who are not legally prescribed medication. According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health repot, from 1996 to 2000 the amount of distribution went from approximately 1.6 million to 6 million, increasing the amount circulated throughout the United States, and making it far more obtainable.
Although some of you may not do it, it's probable that you have a friend or classmate who does. Adderall is slowly becoming a widely accepted form of stimulation and study aid that prompts many to obtain it in order to get through an exam or two. Many of us look for an easier way to study and the increased habitual use of Adderall in our society may seem a viable option, but it is not, because the side effects are much more invasive and scary then we hear and know about.
The best way to ace those finals is ration your studying, get sufficient amounts of sleep and don't stress yourself out. If needed, resort to caffeine as a means of energy stimulation. Otherwise we will continue to aid this Adderall epidemic, and resort to drug use to excel in school.
Irina Chirkin is a senior journalism and guest columnist for the Daily 49er.
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