The Study Drug

The Study Drug

College is a time of learning experiences. Learning how to live alone, learning time management skills, learning through experimentation, and most importantly learning how to cope with the course load that is thrust upon students. For some students, coping with their course load means turning to stimulant prescription drugs, such as Adderall, for that extra boost of brain power. Adderall is defined as a prescription stimulant drug that is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Because Adderall is an amphetamine, it is considered a high risk drug for potential abuse and dependence. The only main difference between Adderall and methamphetamine is that the FDA has approved the concoctions of the different amphetamines to make Adderall rather than it being made by a drug dealer down the street. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “an estimated 6.4 percent of full-time college students age 18 to 22 used Adderall non-medically in the past year” (“SAMSHA News”). The real questions being posed are, what exactly is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and how does the use of Adderall effect those who have the disorder, and conversely how does it effect those who non-medically use the drug?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a biological condition resulting from disfunction in the brain. The majority of scientific evidence suggests that the frontal cortex, one of four lobes that make up the cerebral cortex of the brain, is involved in ADHD (http://www.adhd.org.nz/neuro1.html). The frontal cortex is involved with executive functions, such as problem solving, attention, reasoning, and planning. The right side of the brain is responsible for attention, while the left side is responsible for language and calculation; some evidence suggests that children or adults with ADHD have a smaller right frontal lobe than non-ADHD children...