University of Texas Health Science Center doctoral student Joshua Gowin describes the effects of Adderall and Ritalin to the drugs’ primary receivers. The act of taking these habit-forming drugs probably dispels any attempt at being smart anyway. It turns out that Adderall users are those who need to cram in a few extra hours of study time because they did not plan ahead to begin with.
Because of my medical training, my goal as a physician is to look for and treat the underlying conditions causing the patient’s problem, rather than just covering up those symptoms with drugs.
While most people who take prescription medications use them responsibly, when abused—that is, taken by someone other than the patient for whom the medication was prescribed, or taken in a manner or dosage other than what was prescribed—prescription medications can produce serious adverse health effects and can lead to drug addiction.
Illegally buying and using prescription medications to help them study, students prefer drugs-of-choice Adderall and Ritalin, which are typically used to treat people who suffer from attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Dr. Brian McDonough, medical editor for Philadelphia radio station KYW 1060, said this trend is growing.
The researchers looked for cases of intentional abuse or misuse of ADHD medications in youths 13 to 19 years old from 1998 through 2005.
They found that over the eight-year study period, the number of calls to poison control centers regarding ADHD medication use went up 76 percent, from 330 calls during the first year to 581 calls the last year.