Alex Gjokaj

Research Paper
Prescription Drugs
November 2015
University of Michigan Dearborn
Adderall Abuse Research Paper
Drugs, and the war to rid them from society, have been an ongoing issue in the
United States. In the 1970s, President Richard M. Nixon saw drug abuse as what he
believed to be public enemy number one, this began the initiative to remove the likes of
marijuana and cocaine from the streets due to their frequency and abundance in
availability. Of course, this issue has evolved and taken a different form since the 1970s.
Today, the biggest issue facing our society is not street drugs, but rather abuse of
prescription drugs. According to drugabuse.gov, 52 million people over the age of twelve
have experimented with prescription drugs. Based upon the population of the United
States, 320 million people, 17% of our nations people, have abused a prescription drug.
Among the types of abused drugs, the three most common are: painkillers, tranquilizers,
and stimulants. I have come to realize that one of the most common and growing issues
in our community is the abuse of stimulants. Among the youth in America, the abuse of
drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, is growing at an alarming rate. The most
commonly prescribed drugs for this disorder include Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, and
Concerta. To improve performance in class, students use drugs like these for increased
focus and energy. For the same reason, students use the drug to stay awake for long
periods of time. The drugs have negative correlation on the body when consumed with
alcohol. It has also been linked to abuse cases from several professional athletes. This can
all be linked to the trend of over-prescription among American youth. As author Sanford
Newmark states in his article in the Wall Street Journal. Newmark claims, This mistake

could account for 20% of the current ADHD diagnoses in the U.S., or about 900,000
children, by his count (Newark). One reason for the over-diagnosis of ADHD is that it is
often diagnosed without the type of thorough history and examination needed for an
accurate assessment. This would involve talking to parents, the child and teachers, as well
as reviewing school records and other testing. Instead, many children are diagnosed after
a visit of 15 to 20 minutes with a pediatrician or other medical professional.
According to a CNN article written in 2014 by author Arianna Yanes, in a study
taken amongst the elite universities across the nation 30 percent of students have used
the drug non-medically for study use. In the article she quotes Dr. Edward Hallowell, a
psychiatrist and ADHD expert saying ADHD stimulants "strengthen the brain's brakes, its
inhibitory capacities, so it can control its power more effectively, they do this by
increasing the amount of certain neurotransmitters, like dopamine, epinephrine, and
norepinephrine (Hallowell). In a study in 2008 of 1800 college students, 1800 of them
were obviously misinformed and showed their knowledge of the subject when they
claimed the illicit use of the drug was not dangerous. The DEA classifies norepinephrine
as a Schedule II substance, citing its addictive trait and number of abusers including the
college students taking it for an academic edge. The short-term side effects of the drug
include sleep difficulty, depression, irritability, loss of appetite, and nervousness. Longterm use can also cause psychological and physical dependence on the drug. This data is
enough to indicate there is an apparent issue on college campuses amongst students
taking it for study use. Not necessarily the worst reason to abuse a drug, but it can lead to
more than just a study drug and forever change the lives of these students who use this
drug.

Students more commonly use ADHD medication as a party drug. According to

an article on healthcentral.com, author Merely Me, an author with a masters in special
education, cites The Office of Drug and Alcohol Education at the University of Notre
Dame in her facts showing the negative correlation between taking Adderall and mixing
the drug with alcohol. It is important not to mix alcohol and stimulants such as Adderall.
The stimulant effect can cause students to prolong use resulting in consuming unhealthy
amounts of alcohol, which has lead to cases of alcohol poisoning. Stimulants in the
system can block the depressant effect shutting off the warning signs to a person's body
that they may be drinking too much(Me). A more simplified explanation of the statement
by the universities office of drug and alcohol education is that students take the drug to
avoid ending the night early from drinking. The national institute of alcohol abuse and
alcoholism claims that 80% of college students consume alcohol, and half of them binge
drink. Binge drinking is where the levels of alcohol in the body surpass the legal limit for
adults at .08 blood alcohol content leading the consumer to be impaired. When binge
drinking the user may black out and end the night of partying early, which is the bodys
natural reaction so the user does not consume more alcohol to the point of alcohol
poisoning or even a fatal amount. The reason college students abuse ADHD medication
while binge drinking is to avoid these effects and party longer. The medication is a
stimulant so it counteracts the feeling of alcohol, which is a depressant, and turns off the
natural bodily functions of rejecting the depressant. This can render the user unconscious.
An example of a student who actually lost his life and should hit close to home
especially for fellow University of Michigan colleagues is the story of Josh Levine. He
graduated from the University of Michigan and moved to Chicago for work to become a
teacher. He was out a night partying with his friends heavily drinking and snorting

Adderall when he collapsed on the sidewalk and died a day later in the hospital. More
and more kids around colleges are abusing ADHD medication to party and that it needs to
be controlled before more students end up like Josh Levine.
The last issue hovering around the illicit use of ADHD medication is athletes
ranging from the high school, collegiate, and even in some cases the professional level
abusing the drug to gain an unfair advantage on the field. As elaborated in prior
arguments, ADHD medications enhance levels in the brain, which lead to an increase in
concentration, focus, and a decrease in fatigue. To a student athlete, this is seen as an
athletic advantage. And because these medications are not on the banned list of all of the
professional sports leagues, students can usually get away with such performance
enhancers. The danger of taking Adderall before engaging in physical activity resides in
your cardiovascular system. Doctors recommend not taking Adderall prior to any
physical activity. An article from livestrong.com by author Kay Ireland, shows the effects
it has on the body, because Adderall is an amphetamine, it lowers the users perceived
effort while raising their heart rate. That means they will probably be able to run longer
without realizing the extra effort they put in. It does not affect the actual effort or strain
placed on a body, which is why taking Adderall before a cardiovascular-heavy exercise
like running is so dangerous. You could push your body harder than it's able to, resulting
in stress related injuries, cardiovascular strain and even the possibility of death. The
minor benefits aren't worth the risk that taking Adderall before exercise poses (Ireland).
These athletes look to get a short-term gain in performance by taking Adderall but do not
realize the physical and/or psychological risks they are taking with their body. According
to Mike Freeman in his CBS Sports article written in 2012, he was conducting surveys
from 2006-2010 in which an alarming 33% of players had admitted to taking the drug.

Joe Haden, star cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, was one of many athletes punished
for using one of the leagues banned substances in which he served a four game
suspension and lost 1.6 million dollars.
Generally, the US should do more to address the distribution of prescription
medications among students. According to the National Center for Biotechnology
Information, 74 percent of college users obtain the drug from a friend who is prescribed.
According to the US Census in 2010, 4,858,210 children were reported to have ADHD
and ADD by their parents; this terrifying statistic has been proven to be growing.
Stanford Newmark claims that the over prescription of the drug to the youth could
account for nearly 900,000 children who do not really have ADHD but are wrongly
prescribed. If the college students who are using the drug and 74 percent of them get it
from a friend rather it be purchasing it or simply the friend giving them out, the number
of students who abuse Adderall would directly correlate and also go down with the
number of children who are prescribed wrongly years later. There are many options
available to limit the over prescription of ADHD medications like optimizing the
classroom environment for these childrens and working with behavioral psychologists.
Sanford Newmark once again provides great statistics to support our claim in his article
on Wall Street Journal, A study published recently in Lancet, a leading medical journal,
found that 64% of children with ADHD had substantial improvement in their symptoms
when certain foods were eliminated from their diets. Omega-3 fatty-acid supplements and
the elimination of iron and zinc deficiencies also have been shown to significantly
improve ADHD symptoms in many children (Newmark) If 64% of children are seeing
substantial improvement by simply eliminating certain foods and supplements from their
diets, why dont our nations parents want to at least attempt to substitute the prescription

of a stimulant to their children? We are seeing too many deaths, severe psychological
breakdowns, and too much drug addiction issues in our nation today to be wrongly
prescribing ADHD stimulant medications to our children.

"Popping Pills: Prescription Drug Abuse in America." Popping Pills: Prescription Drug
Abuse in America. 2 Jan. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
"Small But Growing Number of Doctors Face Criminal Charges Over Prescription Drugs
- Partnership for Drug-Free Kids." Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
"Annual Causes of Death in the United States." Drugwarfacts. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
Manchikanti, Laxmaiah. "National Drug Control Policy and Prescription Drug Abuse:
Facts and Fallacies." Www.deadiverson.usdoj.gov. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
Young, Saundra. "White House Launches Effort to Combat Soaring Prescription Drug
Abuse." CNN. Cable News Network, 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3313072/table/T2/
Garnier-Dykstra, Laura, Kimberly Caldeira, Kathryn Vincent, Kevin OGrady, and
Amelia Arria. "Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants during College: Four-year

Trends in Exposure Opportunity, Use, Motives, and Sources." Journal of American

College Health : J of ACH. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Garnier-Dykstra, Laura, Kimberly Caldeira, Kathryn Vincent, Kevin OGrady, and

Amelia Arria. "Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants during College: Four-year
Trends in Exposure Opportunity, Use, Motives, and Sources." Journal of American
College Health : J of ACH. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.