The Dangers of Adderall Abuse Among College Students: Understanding ADHD and the Risks of Amphetamine Addiction
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The Dangers of Adderall Abuse Among College Students: Understanding ADHD and the Risks of Amphetamine Addiction
Why have college students been hooked on a drug aimed at patients with ADHD? What are the real consequences for amphetamine abuse, and why should we care?
Common pharmaceutical medications for ADHD include Ritalin and Adderall. Adderall contains a combination of amphetamines and dextroamphetamine sulphate. However, abuse of amphetamines is extremely dangerous; use of high doses for prolonged periods of time (can lead to amphetamine psychosis, often resulting in severe paranoia and hallucinations, with an overdose being fatal.
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a condition which can be manifested as hyperactive and impulsive behaviour, inattentive behaviour, or a mixture of the two. Women are more likely to have attention problems, whilst men are more likely to face the other challenge. There is a higher rate of diagnoses among men than women, perhaps due to the nature of the symptoms presented by men, and the comparative ease at which they can be spotted.
There are two neural networks which work in an anti-correlated fashion in someone who does not have ADHD. These networks are the default mode network, which is constantly active when not performing a specific task; and the task networks, which are neural networks that attempt to make a person task oriented, and are active when one is trying to restrict their behaviour. Dopamine acts as a conductor, stimulating the engagement of the two networks at different times. Therefore, people with ADHD tend to seek out stimulants such as coffee, cocaine, cigarettes and amphetamines, due to the ability of these substances to increase dopamine activity.
ADHD risk factors include an increased genetic predisposition, brain injury, the mother being stressed, drinking or smoking during pregnancy, and a low birth weight.
Adderall
Treatment options include behavioural therapy and counselling, to learn methods for coping with ADHD-related behaviours; and certain stimulants, which can be used to increase attention and focus. Lai and Chang showed in 2020 that the use of non-medication techniques, such as ‘focus training sessions’, where students fixated on a point on a wall for a period of time, led to a great improvement in focus and attention.
Common pharmaceutical medications for ADHD include Ritalin and Adderall. Adderall contains a combination of amphetamines and dextroamphetamine sulphate. Dextroamphetamine is a stimulant which ‘increases the activity of a living organism or one of its parts’ (UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances). It is also known as ‘speed’, ‘uppers’, ‘dexies’ and ‘go-pills’. Amphetamines are composed of a combination of amphetamine salts, which are crystalline compounds and dextroamphetamines contain an additional sugar dextrose. The drug was first introduced as Benzedrine, for relief of nasal congestion, sold over-the-counter, and manufactured by Smith, Kline and French. Over history, uses of amphetamines have included fever, colds, asthma, narcolepsy (a daytime sleeping disorder) and weight loss. They have also been used to boost alertness in soldiers and factory workers in WWII. The most common medication currently are the Dexedrine® capsules, by GlaxoSmithKline. They are half brown and half clear in appearance, and upon ingestion, one type of pellet contained in the pill will dissolve, whilst another type of pellet will be gradually released throughout the day. Usually, an ADHD patient will take 5-40 mg per day.
In 1970, the CSA (Controlled Substances Act) was passed by Congress, classifying amphetamines as Schedule II drugs, and restricting their use. Schedule II drugs are those which can be used effectively for medical treatment, but also have a high potential for abuse. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has recently allowed the prescription of Schedule II controlled substances over Telehealth appointments, in response to the pandemic. Partly as a result of this, and partly due to parents realising their children were unable to focus during online school, there was a rise in prescriptions for Adderall at the start of the pandemic. In particular, there appears to have been a rise in the use of Adderall without prescription, with estimates of a third of American college students using the drug in this manner. Before the pandemic, Telehealth based prescriptions were below 2% of all prescriptions for stimulants, but last year, the figure was approaching 40%. The Telehealth company Cerebral has been under investigation by the Justice Department, and in December, a retail pharmacy called True pill was found wrongly supplying thousands of ADHD related stimulants, in connection with Cerebral.
Abuse of amphetamines is extremely dangerous; use of high doses for prolonged periods of time (from a week upwards) can lead to amphetamine psychosis, often resulting in severe paranoia and hallucinations, with an overdose being fatal. The penalty for transporting or dealing amphetamine in the US is up to 20 years in prison and a hefty fine, but despite this, over 2019, 4.1% eighth-graders were found to have used amphetamines, and 5.2% of tenth-graders. It is imperative that amphetamines be treated as what they are: a highly addictive dangerous drug, not merely a stimulant that is useful for late night studying. There needs to be more of a focus on relaying this information to students in particular, especially in the light of a study in 2018, which revealed that whilst 2.7% college-aged students were using opioids, 11.1% used amphetamines.
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