BERNARD LORD AGREES WITH PRESCRITION DRUG???

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Pill-popping pupils
As universities become increasingly competitive, many turn to prescription drugs as a study aid
By: Stephanie Nehmens, Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 5/4/06 Section: City

Many students take the popular drug Adderall without a prescription and with
Media Credit: Daniel Sakow, Staff Photographer
Many students take the popular drug Adderall without a prescription and with

Amanda Jones was running on a treadmill in the Aztec Recreation Center when she began feeling nauseous.

Ten minutes after beginning her workout, she ran to the bathroom and began vomiting.

After taking two 20 milligram Adderall pills - and not sleeping or eating in three days - Jones' body quit on her. She had pushed herself past the limit.

Her reaction to the pills was just one of many common side effects of taking the drug, which has become a prerequisite to studying for many San Diego State students.

Jones had been taking Adderall to stay awake during midterms early this semester, and she said that she's not alone.

In fact, she said, "only one of my friends hasn't taken it, she is the only one who refuses."

Adderall is a drug prescribed to help relieve those suffering from Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, but students without prescriptions are finding that it helps them focus.

One of the reasons for taking this pill, which is available in seven different dosages, from five mg to 30 mg, is to extend the human attention span.

The way Jones and her friends get their pills is through buying them from other students who are prescribed the prescription-only drug.

Doctor Gregg Lichtenstein of SDSU Student Health Services said that, in recent years, the sales of Adderall and other prescription-ADD drugs have gone up on campus and nationwide. He would not comment on whether he thinks it is because people have begun to abuse the drug.

But Jones is a prime example of some students who are indeed misusing the drug as a means to an "A."

"I feel like steroids are to baseball as Adderall is to schoolwork," Jones said. "Yeah, it's cheating, but it's such an advantage. My parents don't care if I use it and, with grades getting so competitive in college, it's almost like you need it."

And, just as steroid use is illegal, so is the sale of prescription drugs without a medical license.

"It's a severe offense - it's the same offense as (drug) trafficking," Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement special agent John Woo said. "It's selling a methamphetamine to somebody. It is a state drug trafficking charge."

Jones said that, despite the health risks, it's worth it for her to buy the Adderall pills, which she began taking during finals week of her first semester at SDSU. Her grades have improved significantly, and so have those of her friends using the drug, she said.

"I get it from my friend from (an Aztec athletic) team, my big brother in a fraternity and a girl who is a friend of a friend," Jones said. "I don't have a prescription and I don't have ADD, I just need to improve my grades, unfortunately."

One of Jones' suppliers - an SDSU student with an Adderall prescription - said that anyone with a prescription and an insurance plan can buy a full bottle of Adderall pills (99 pills) for $11 at SHS. Jones' supplier resells his pills for $5 each, for a per-bottle profit of $484.11.

But, in the end, the means aren't justified. The price tag can be priceless - the effects can cause death.

Methamphetamine drugs, such as crystal meth and Adderall, are made with the same substance. Therefore, the misuse of such a drug can have serious consequences to one's health.

Lichtenstein said that there can be dangerous side effects to this drug, including cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks, drug dependence, psychosis, decreased appetite, sexual effects such as impotence, strokes, seizures, nausea and high blood pressure.

A source with the California Poison Control System said that a side effect is increased temperature, and that if one's temperature increases to more than 104 or 105 degrees, there is a risk of brain damage.

A recent Food and Drug Administration study has shown that between 1999 and 2003, there have been 25 deaths caused by people taking ADHD prescription drugs.

The FDA study also showed that about one in a million people prescribed experience a death or serious injury.

"I would never recommend that someone take a medicine that was not prescribed to them," Lichtenstein said. "These medications are controlled substances because of potential side effects and addiction issues.

"They do help you stay focused and alert but that's not what they were designed to do."

Jones, for one, chooses to ignore the doctor's orders.

She takes Adderall at least once every one or two weeks, but she said that the treadmill episode was the only time that she experienced negative side effects.

"I did tweak out on it once," Jones said. "After that, I realized you have to control it and you have to make yourself eat. You're not hungry when you're on it, and you lose your appetite … When I try to sleep on it, I hallucinate."