“Study drugs”, a problematic reality - By Arina Bordian

“Study drugs”, a problematic reality

A study conducted with more than 10,000 college students from across the country found that more than half of students with an Adderall or other ADHD drug prescription were asked to sell the medication to peers and friends. The problem at hand is none other than the misuse of methylphenidate, more commonly known as the drug prescribed to people with either attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit disorder (ADD). People that use it for a medical purpose have symptoms such as impulsive behaviour and lack of concentration and motivation, yet more and more people are using them for reasons other than its original intent.

       Students across North America are seen using said drugs to boost their focus, to stay awake and to study before a test or during final examinations. ADHD and ADD medications are so prevalently used by college students that they are referred to as “study drugs”, “smart pills”, and in some cases “kiddie coke”. Non-medical use of these “study drugs” is a rising problem because of the many risks they pose, such as addiction, high dosage and medical complications. Students often don’t even consider these risks because they either aren’t aware of them or because they think these drugs safer than others because they have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Another ethical problem that occurs is that of fairness; people are concerned that these drugs give an advantage to those who use them and think that if they are so commonly used, they should be given out to everyone legally. Just like coffee, these drugs have side effects, but is it morally correct to, from a certain perspective, cheat the system and change the natural learning process of a human being? It is believed that it will one day become the norm to consume cognitive enhancing pills once all the negative health consequences will have been taken out and all the legal aspects cleared. When that time comes, new problems will arise, such as people being pressured into taking the pills to keep up with the rest of society.

While this problem is spreading like wildfire across the world, many are thinking of solutions and counteractions to this tricky situation. We could just leave the problem as it is and let people diagnose themselves with the fact that they the lack capability to concentrate, letting natural selection take its course. However, that decision wouldn’t be smart and would make many years of research on suppressing negative secondary effects go to waste, and that is why there are several alternative solutions to alleviate the problem.

We could look at drug policies and make sure that the FDA or the Department of Health Canada relabels the “study drugs” as very dangerous, as is the case for opioids. That way, students looking up safety information before taking a pill for a study session would be aware of the risks they are taking.

However, labelling a drug isn’t enough.  In order to reach the student body, the information would have to be discussed in schools and made clearly public, so that the students could actually understand the extent of the problem. There are other ways in which we could intervene: instead of warning students about the dangers posed by “study drugs”, we could change and better their habits. As students often procrastinate and lack organizational skills, it would be a solution to help them with these issues. Most scientists say that the simplest way of fixing the problem would be through education in schools.

Since people are asking their friends for their prescription drugs and are even willing to pay for them, it would be a solution to have physicians enter prescriptions for Adderall or other stimulants into a database. That way, doctors could check whether a patient is receiving multiple prescriptions for stimulants from different doctors. Such databases already exist for prescription painkillers, so it should be a viable possibility for “study drugs”.

In conclusion, the rising problem of non-medical use of cognitive stimulants is due to many factors such as pressure, stress, or the simple fact that school is boring. Some aren’t aware of what they are consuming, and some don’t even feel guilty for taking these drugs, as they think better grades are worth it in the long run. As well as posing health issues, many ethical questions arise from this situation, and solutions like educating the youth and making databases for the purchase of these drugs could be the way to go.

As humans know that the brain’s capacity is theoretically unlimited, it is interesting to see them strive for information by means of stimulants. In the end, all that matters is being aware of the risks we are taking and evaluating whether the outcome really is worth it.

- Arina Bordian