E
S I
R E
TH of the “STUDY DRUG”
Adderall misuse and its eff ect
on students without ADHD
ach year, the
Substance Abuse
and Mental
Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the
U.S. Department of Human
Health and Human Services,
conducts national surveys of
drug usage and summarizes
its fi ndings as indicators of
national trends. In its 2017
National Survey on Drug Use
and Health (NSDUH) report,
SAMHSA included statistics
on estimates of teens and
young adults who had
used illicit drugs, including
Adderall, a prescription drug
classifi ed as a stimulant and
commonly prescribed to treat
att ention-defi cit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD).

SAMSHA estimated that
30.5 million teens aged 12
or older used an illicit drug
at least once last year. Of
those 30.5 million, 1.8 million
teens misused prescription
stimulants at least once.

Approximately 123,000 teens
aged 12 to 17 were reported
14 January 2019
to be current misusers of
stimulants and 715,000 young
adults aged 18 to 25 were
current misusers. The most
alarming of those numbers
is the 715,000 young adults
who classifi ed themselves
as current misusers of
prescription stimulants,
including Adderall. This high
number accurately confi rms
the troubling recent trend
that the number of college
students misusing Adderall
is on the rise.

Though the numbers paint
a grim picture of the realities
facing college students today,
parents of high schoolers
should take things in stride
and help prepare their teens
for college by talking to
them about the dangers of
misusing Adderall.

generally exhibit the
following symptoms:
diffi culty paying att ention,
overactivity (hyperactivity)
and acting without thinking
(impulsive behaviors).

To treat ADHD, doctors
prescribe stimulant drugs,
including Adderall, to
help people manage
their symptoms and have
productive days.

Dr. Lieberman believes the illicit
use of Adderall among college
students is increasing, as evidenced
by the surge in emergency room
visits reported across the nation.

Approved by the Food
and Drug Administration
(FDA) in 1996, Adderall
is the trade name given
ADDERALL USED BY
to a class of drugs called
COLLEGE STUDENTS
psycho stimulants. It is a
DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD mixture of amphetamine
salts (distinguished from
According to the National
methamphetamines, which
Institute of Mental Health
are more potent). It is
(NIMH), college students
believed that stimulants, such
(and others) with ADHD
washingtonFAMILY.com as Adderall, are eff ective
in treating ADHD because
they increase dopamine, a
chemical in the brain that
acts as a neurotransmitt er by
sending messages, inspiring
people to act or not act in
certain ways. Dopamine
plays essential roles in
thinking and att ention.

Psychologists today have
determined that dopamine
is also responsible for our
expectations in life.

Adderall may produce
various side eff ects,
according to George
Washington University
professor and psychiatrist,
Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman.

Those side eff ects include:
an increase in mood, such
as happiness or extreme
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E BY AMANDA M. SOCCI