Over the last decade, diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have risen drastically in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 percent of children between ages 4 and 17 were diagnosed with ADHD in 2011, which breaks down to 6.3 million children. Although statistics are primarily geared toward children, the Medicine Abuse Project reports that 61.8 percent of college students were offered use of Adderall, an ADHD medication, while in college. 

Among college students, ADHD medication is widely overprescribed and inappropriately used, and it has some potentially damaging psychological effects. I feel I would be out of place commenting on its use among children, teens and the average adult, but personal experience has led me to believe that I can knowledgeably comment about its use in the college population.

Before continuing, I should say that many students prescribed Adderall or Ritalin, another ADHD medication, genuinely suffer from the disorder. Some students have trouble with attention and suffer from hyperactivity; many other ADHD symptoms could be caused by poor choices on the part of the mother during pregnancy. Medication helps to correct these problems. If this is you, continue reading this article with an open mind and know that I am not calling you an abuser of Adderall.

On the other hand, there are some people out there who I am calling out. Many of us know a student or two who used the “I can’t focus in class” excuse to get their hands on the “study drug” because it is a stimulant and increases mental focus and productivity. Oftentimes, these people seek Adderall prescriptions knowing they don’t actually have ADHD.

ADHD is not recognizable through examining a patient’s biology. Doctors must diagnose it based solely on behavioral symptoms. Adult symptoms include trouble focusing and concentrating, difficulty completing tasks, disorganization, restlessness and bad listening skills. These symptoms are often medically based but may just as often be character traits.

Trouble focusing in academics could be interpreted as finding your classes or major boring, but, let’s be honest, some classes are boring because they’re boring and not because ADHD has caused you to have trouble focusing. Difficulty completing tasks and disorganization could also be interpreted as simple laziness. Or you may just be restless because you happen to be a high-energy person, or you might have bad listening skills simply because you, once again, find class to be boring.

Unfortunately, the causes of these symptoms are hard to distinguish. It’s easy for people to act out and ultimately be misdiagnosed.

So what effects do Adderall and Ritalin have that correct these problems? In those people who have ADHD, the drugs suppress hyperactivity and allow for relaxation and focus on listening and organizing. In those people who don’t have ADHD, they support hyperactivity, which in turns gives them the energy required to focus on school work or anything they choose for long periods of time.

Students without ADHD can obtain Adderall and Ritalin not only by prescription but also by knowing someone with a prescription. The trade among college students is alive and flourishing as Adderall is circulating among those with prescriptions and those without. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports full-time college students in the United States are twice as likely to improperly use Adderall than part-time students.

Most students use them to study and do homework but in some corners of the college party population people are taking it before going out to parties or the bars, mistakenly assuming the combination of the drug and the alcohol is a stimulant. This allows them to stay up longer and remain focused and talkative during social situations even while alcohol attempts to dull them down. As a senior, I’ve seen it much more than a handful of times.

Adderall has a chemical resemblance to methamphetamines. This is not surprising considering how similar their effects and withdrawal symptoms are. According to Drugabuse.gov, “Prescription stimulants [Adderall and Ritalin] can increase brain dopamine in a[n] … amplified manner similar to other drugs of abuse such as methamphetamine.” Both cause the user to have increased attention and activity, decreased fatigue, dry mouth and irritability as the drug is wearing off.

Adderall and Ritalin are classified as Schedule II drug by the U.S. government, meaning they are illegal for those without a prescription due to their “high potential for abuse” and because they “can lead to severe psychological or physical dependency.”

Although there are many, I want to point out one main psychological effect of these drugs that I personally have observed. Using the pills to study grants the user a biological willpower to do school work. Over time, the user will eventually begin rely on these chemicals for motivation. This completely eradicates one’s ability to develop a good work ethic because although the drug allows you to get work done it’s like going on autopilot and just powering through what you have to do without any voluntary effort. 

Now, most of what I’ve mentioned above sounds extreme and over the top, and most non-prescribed users aren’t using enough to cause them such terrible problems as I mention above, but I always find it important to explore worst-case scenarios because Adderall is addictive.

However, I wouldn’t advise any sort of authoritative crackdown on ADHD medication throughout the college population. I would simply suggest that students attempt to become more aware and educated on the effects that drugs designed to curb ADHD have on them personally, especially if they haven’t been diagnosed with ADHD. 

Historically, when authorities get very serious about eradicating the use of a certain drug, the pushback is huge — take marijuana for example. If a crackdown were to take place on ADHD medication, the result could be overwhelmingly negative.

However, if an educational approach was used, especially on college campuses, we might see a shift in the use of these drugs and the injuries that can result from misuse.