Adderall is easily accessible. It's a study drug. But as the drug becomes a routine study habit for many, more and more of Adderall's negative side effects are coming to light.
The drug is used to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and can also treat narcolepsy. It's ingredients are ideal for the typical, sleep-deprived college student cramming for a test, which is exactly what students all over the nation and at GC are using it for.
"People are cavalier about (abusing Adderall)," Steven Wilson, assistant director of counseling services, said. "But it comes with a number of dangers."
According to Wilson, the mild side effects include dry mouth, a quickened heartbeat, insomnia and headaches. But when the dosage increases, there is a greater risk to danger, especially with people who do not have a prescription. The more dangerous side effects include hallucinations and heart attacks.
However, Wilson said amphetamines put users at risk of addiction. According to WebMD, if you use the drug for a while, you could become addicted and getting off the drug would trigger withdrawal symptoms.
In 2012, about 30 percent of college students admitted to using Adderall, and about 50 percent of college students using the drug got it from their friends, according to statisticbrain.com.
Adderall is not an over-the-counter drug, so to get it legally, a doctor has to prescribe it. However, most students buy it from their classmates.
"Talk to people. I'm pretty sure you'll find out pretty quickly," freshman computer science major Zach Matl said, who uses the drug for study purposes only.
"Pretty much ask around," he said."Especially people who are prescribed it, because a lot of people who are prescribed it will sell it."
Both Grober and freshman art major Zach VanLandingham are diagnosed with ADHD, but said they don't like the person they become when they are on the drug.
Grober stopped taking the drug for his ADHD, but both he and VanLandingham still use the drug to focus when they study.
"I'm on a prescription," VanLandingham said, "and I've been jumped around on a few drugs and most of them, they get my work done, but I don't really like who I am on them. I literally only take it so I can do my work."
"I don't clench my teeth; I bite the skin off the side of my nails," he said. "So my skin comes off the side of my fingers and leaves a scar."
Amphetamines increase the amount of certain chemicals in the body, which then increases heart rate and blood pressure, as well as suppress appetite.
Adderall abuse on campus was a topic for discussion in University Senate meetings in October and December of last year.
Dianne Chamblee, senior lecturer in the nursing school, said the nursing faculty thought it would be good for senior nursing students to come up with an action plan to raise awareness of Adderall's dark side.
A group of senior nursing students teamed up with first semester nursing students and ended up giving out more than 400 flyers about the drug to students, along with free candy.
"I don't know if anybody took our advice, but a lot of students were surprised by the various health consequences," Kathryn Gilliland, senior nursing major, said. "Namely, the male students were surprised to find out that it can cause erectile dysfunction. Apparently it's damaging to their manhood when that happens."
"It's not that it's addictive," he said. "You can do the same amount of work when you're bored, but when you enjoy the motivation so much, there's no reason not to take it."
While most students see the drug as harmless and merely a means to an end, many health professionals see Adderall abuse as a dangerous trend. And with ADHD diagnoses becoming more common, the face of studying could change permanently.
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