Source: , and Linda Carroll. College Students Hooked on Adderall. 2011. Documentary . MSNBC, New York. Print.
Summary:
The article I read was about the abuse and prevention of the ADHD drug Adderall. The general consensus is that stimulant amphetamines like Adderall do indeed increase performance in those that do and do not have properly diagnosed ADHD. The promise of a better GPA with less effort is promise enough for college students across the board to obtain Adderall by any means necessary. Many students admit to actually seeing doctors and purposefully exaggerating symptoms of ADHD to acquire medication. Others just buy it off one of their friends who are more then likely to have a legal prescription. Over half of college students in the Boston area have said they have taken Adderall before to improve their test score, study abilities and to stay up all night to party.
The danger lies in the possibility of dependence and the rarely considered effect of the drug on those that have preexisting medical problems that can deteriorate with prolonged use.
Critique:
The title of this article is called Steroids for School: College students get hooked on ‘smart drugs.’ By Linda Carroll. This article/ report was on the Today Show last year and it took us inside the life of a student who takers Adderall.
Since many students assert that they use Adderall only for studying for large tests and completing important assignments, the risk of dependency is high. One student that was being interviewed in the artile said the following “I don’t think I’m addicted….. I just can’t imagine not taking it; I attend a major university…. I take two pills when I have a ton of work to do…. Without Adderall I failed one class…. I began to take Adderall again and saw a huge improvement.”
The long-term effects of using Adderall in this manner are relatively unknown, however it is well known that those that use amphetamines in larger doses by