College Crack

One pill can help you out on the road to the grade of your dreams. American students defy the law and take drugs to cope with school.

“Good morninggggg besttt thing that ever happened to me!!!! <333333333333333”
 the 16^th of july 13:29

“I cant sleep cuz of you you beatiful bitch i cant quit im too addicted”
 the  7^th   of july  04:54

“When does this stuff kick in? o.o”
 the 22 july 12:29

“Where can I buy adderall?
” the 8^th  july 15:05

These words come directly from Adderall’s Facebook page; most of the visitors are college students. It concerns something that has finally come to the attention of the American media: the study drug Adderall. Or, college crack, if you will.

Adderall, which is intended only for ADD or ADHD patients, can provide an increased ability to concentrate. For people who don’t necessarily have ADHD, the effect of Adderall can be three times as high, and can give students a kick that allows them to study for hours upon hours without getting tired. In other words, it is a wonder drug for finals, tests, and papers. According to CNN, upwards to 30 percent of students at the University of Kentucky have used the prescription without a doctor’s orders.

Doug, aged 22, studies at the University of Oregon. The first time he used Adderall was for a tough paper.

– I was supposed to write 15 pages in two and a half days. I just had to get straight through it, he says.

Adderall increases the concentration of the hormones dopamine and noradrenaline in the brain. It gives the college student energy and an intense focus.

– With two pills, I was suddenly able to study for hours, he says.

– I worked, ate something, and then I took two more pills and continued to study until the paper was finished. I became kind of hyper, but I was able to get something done every day. Without Adderall, it probably would have taken twice as much time.

However, there is a dark side to the study drug.

– I started feeling pretty weird after taking Adderall, says Doug.

– I was starting to have trouble sleeping, and stopped feeling hungry. After a while, I started eating food just because I knew I hadn’t eaten for at least a day.

Adderall is also very addictive. According to Kerry Conant, a professional at Massachusetts General Hospital, Adderall can, in certain cases, be straight-out dangerous.

– If you start off at the higher dose, your body could have serious reactions including seizures, heart attack, stroke, or even death.

Dr. Liwei Hua, psychiatrist at the University of Michigan, adds:

– Giving away a medication that you have a prescription for is illegal. You could say it’s comparable to dealing cocaine.

Five bucks per pill. That’s as much as it would cost if you get your hands on it the illegal way, according to one of the students Lundagård has been in touch with. “Addies” are relatively easy to find. The prescription drug can be found in the library, cafeteria, or even on a student’s own floor.

– Basically everyone does it, says Nick who studies at Harvard University. He doesn’t believe that it is too big of a deal. At the same time, he sees that this phenomenon is unfolding while schools are getting all the more competitive. He says that many college students are driven by peer pressure and that they’re ready to take extreme measures to get better results. Grades are all-important for many students who very much need their scholarships in order to pay the sky-high tuitions.

David, who studies at Boston College, agrees:

– Achieving today really means overachieving, he says and continues:

– It is difficult to find a job these days. In order to get a job, you need to have a degree. In order to get a degree, you need to have good grades. Some people must think these drugs are a way to get better grades.

Doug is finished with using Adderall for school.

– I didn’t feel well at all, he says. But then he added:

– If it was an emergency, though, I’d probably try it again.

This article was originally posted in Swedish.

Some of the students’ names are replaced with pseudonyms.