It is midnight, and Jessie is trying to cram for the two finals she'll take tomorrow afternoon. She just finished working a double shift and also has to take care of her crying, 9-month-old son. At that moment, she just wants to sleep, but the vision of a bright future for her and her son plays out in her head.
So she decides to break into her hidden stash in her room and get some "instant energy" in the form of a little orange pill called Adderall. Within the hour, she feels energized and is able to focus on studying. In fact, she doesn't sleep all night and passes both of her tests with flying colors.
Jessie, along with thousands of other college students, has turned to the use of Adderall in order to study, write papers, have energy for class and lose weight. Adderall is a prescription stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. Jessie doesn't have either of those conditions — or a prescription for the drug.
"I don't know what I would do without Adderall," said Jessie, who asked not to be identified by her real name. "It's the one thing that helps me function and pass school, especially since I have to work and take care of a baby."
While Adderall is widely prescribed for children and adults with ADHD, this medication is also used heavily and illegally by college students without a medical disorder as a brain-enhancement drug to help them concentrate, retain information and get better grades.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 6.4 percent of full-time college students ages 18 to 22 used Adderall non-medically in the past year. The administration also reported that 89.5 percent of the college students who used Adderall non-medically reported binge drinking in the past month, and more than half were heavy alcohol users.
Non-medical use of Adderall is of special interest to policymakers because, as an amphetamine, Adderall is among the group of legally approved drugs classified as having the highest potential for dependence or abuse.
"Adderall is an extremely serious addiction," said Lucas Catton, certified dependency counselor and author of "The New Face of Recovery: Unlabeling Addiction as a Disease and Finding Treatments That Work."
"Students may start off taking it to help them study, but over the course of time they could become addicted, and there are serious side effects," he said.
The most common side effects of Adderall are headaches, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, dry mouth and dizziness.
"I took Adderall one time to study for a major test, but I felt so nauseous and dizzy that I was unable to even study," said Kate, who also asked not to be identified by her real name. "I would never take it again because the side effects are not worth it."
A more serious side effect is that it can cause temporary slowing of growth in children, but children usually catch up within normal limits. Also, eating disorders sometimes develop because users can experience loss of appetite while taking the drug. Many young girls take the drug as a way to lose weight and then become dependent on it to keep off the weight they lose.
Health care professionals say that using Adderall to lose weight is unhealthy and will not give lasting results. However, severely obese patients are now being prescribed Adderall for weight loss. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved drugs like Adderall for weight loss, but it's legal and common for doctors to prescribe medications "off label," meaning they prescribe the drug for something other than the accepted use.
"Sometimes the risk of severe obesity may outweigh the risk of taking a prescription to lose weight, so an educated decision would be best," Catton said. "In most cases, drugs should be used as a last resort, since diet, exercise, specialized nutritional supplements and proper sleep can actually help relieve many physical problems and even many behavioral problems as well."
Risks or not, many students continue to take Adderall and have no trouble finding it. Especially on a college campus, Adderall is readily available for those willing to pay.
"I found someone on campus with a prescription, and I was set for the rest of the semester," Jessie said. "I usually pay five or six dollars for a pill, but during finals, the prices can go up."
These students may love the benefits of Adderall, but there are serious consequences if caught by law officials. Adderall is considered a Schedule II controlled substance under the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's five-level list. Other drugs categorized as Schedule II include morphine, cocaine and methamphetamine. Those caught illegally selling Adderall face the same punishment as selling any other illegal drug in the amphetamine category.
It can be difficult for law enforcement to detect Adderall abuse because very few students report illegal use of the drug, and it can easily be concealed from family and friends.
"Adderall use may start off innocent, but for many people, it becomes a serious problem," Catton said. "On our substance abuse website, we have roughly 2,000 people a month solely looking for information about finding help for Adderall addiction, if that gives you any clue how serious it really is."
