The pill bottle is opened. Three students circle around several lines of a crushed up yellow substance. The occasion is a late night study session, the drug of choice: Adderall. This fictitious story is an unfortunate reality, deeply wired into the circuits of higher education. College campuses house an outbreak of prescription drug abuse. A sturdy foundation of overly prescribed stimulants crossed with the high educational demand classes represent, pose as a major issues for universities. Not only have studies been performed proving the abuse of psycho-stimulant drugs dangerous to student’s health, but also the transactions behind such abuse are highly illegal. This is an ethical issue formulated by a society’s willingness to accept or abuse pills, and the rate which doctors are willing to prescribe medications. Psycho-stimulants began being used to treat ADHD in the 1930’s when it was first observed to have positive effects on hyper activity. It was next synthesized in the form of Ritalin in 1957. This was prescribed to people who had issues with attentiveness and hyperactivity and is still prescribed today. Early stimulants were altered into amphetamine/lisdexamphetamine in drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse. In recent years, stimulants have had an increase in their prescription rates leading to a nationwide, as well as University problem. Adderall is a focus drug and higher education demands student’s focus more than anything. This is a recipe for disaster which is about to boil over if action is not taken to end this problem. This problem is morally impermissible. Ethics require that Universities provide some sort of education system about the drugs being abused in order to raise awareness to the health implications which ... ... middle of paper ... ...ications Co., n.d. Web. 24 Apr 2014. . Ricker, Ronald, and Venus Nicolino. "Adderall: The Most Abused Drug In America." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc, 21 Jun 2010. Web. 23 Apr 2014. . Schwarz, Alan. "A.D.H.D Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise." . The New York Times Company, 13 Mar 2013. Web. 25 Apr 2014. . Schwarz, Alan. "Risky Rise of the Good Grade Pill." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 09 Jun 2012. Web. 23 Apr 2014. .
Another persuasive technique we used was appealing to dramatic benefits of the post-treatment of adderall by having a student imitate exaggerated behaviors of short attention span and impulsive nature that resulted in poor grades. Then after the same student takes adderall, he portrays a completely different character and becomes very attentive and productive in his studies, which results to an A in his next assignment. This is critical in Singh’s “Not Just Naughty: 50 years of stimulant drug advertising”, as he emphasizes how drug advertisements commonly present a post-treatment normal reality of highly idealized “portrait of an ideal family—bright, at...
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
Schwarz, Alan. “Risky Rise of the Good-Grade Pill.” New York Times. 10 Jun. 2012: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
In the article “Brain Gain: The Underground World of “Neuroenhancing” Drugs” (Yorker 2009) Margaret Talbot discusses the misuse of prescription drugs that enhance academic performance at the college level. First Talbot introduces readers to a young college history major at Harvard University named Alex who receives a description of a demanding, busy life which seems impossible to control without the safety unapproved adopted use of a drug named Adderall. After that Alex’s dependency on the prescription drugs cognitive enhancers is described when he asks his doctor to increase the amount of intake and the listing of his daily routine on using Adderall during a week that required him to write four term papers. Next Talbot describes a personal
One of the main treatments for ADHD is the use of medication. Primarily the main medication used is stimulants such as amphetamines. Amphetamines have been used in this treatment due to its effects of reducing the symptoms of ADHD such as behavior and irritability (Hodgkins, Shaw, McCarthy, Sallee, 2012). A major concern though with the use of amphetamines is...
Almost everybody on Long Island, and probably all around the world, has been prescribed a drug by a doctor before— whether it was to knock out a nasty virus, or relieve pain post injury or surgery. However, what many people don’t realize is that these drugs can have highly addictive qualities, and more and more people are becoming hooked, specifically teenagers. But when does harmlessly taking a prescription drug to alleviate pain take the turn into the downward spiral of abuse? The answer to that question would be when the user begins taking the drug for the “high” or good feelings brought along with it—certainly not what it was prescribed for (1). The amount of teens that abuse prescription medications has been rapidly increasing in recent
Over the last decade, a new epidemic has risen in America regarding the sustained trend in teens abusing and misusing stimulant drugs prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), specifically Ritalin and Adderall. There has been an increase in the number of teens diagnosed with ADHD and practitioners prescribing stimulants as treatment. These drugs are known in the teen community as the so-called “study drug”. An alarming high percentage of teens that are not diagnosed with ADHD are using this drug in attempt to achieve academic success as well as abusing it for recreational purposes. Due to the increase in teens being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed stimulants, the availability of ADHD stimulants has increased and are being abused and misused by other teens. In addition, caregiver’s lax attitudes as well as not supporting school safety prescription policies, has contributed to this disturbing trend in teens misusing and abusing the so-called “Study Drug”.
The drug is a big problem at many colleges today, and is getting worse by time. There are more and more drugs circling in college atmospheres, where many students aren’t aware. If people learn what is happening around them, and watch out for each other, the problem should be able to be contained.
Marijuana may control the way people act, think, and even hurt their college academics. Marijuana is one of the most popular used drugs in America ranking about third after tobacco and alcohol. Marijuana is a substance that has become very much a part of American culture; many college students have either used it occasionally or regularly. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to find out about students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and their use of marijuana. In fact most students might not even know what they are smoking and what exactly makes them feel the way they do.
Another growing fad in the United States is the abuse of prescription drugs. The abuse is being done by not only adults but by teens. The most current trend today is the misuse of cough syrups and prescription medications to produce a “high.” Other medications abused today are stimulants (Ritalin), and benzodiazepines (Xanax). Health Watch (2004) state girls tend to lean towards the medi...
As college is a time for new friends and new experiences all the while being a stressful time for all students, the most common motives for the use of drugs among college students include help for concentration, happiness, experimentation, and social interaction or merely to get “high” (Boyd, 2006). This need in college students for experimentation or academic support can lead to a number of effects. Short-term and long-term use of such substances can lead to numerous injuries, health problems, and neurological problems. More deaths, illness...
Stimulant drugs are widely used to treat the symptoms of ADHD. These stimulants dramatically reduce the hyperactivity of sufferers and improve their ability to focus, learn and work. Such medication may also improve physical coordination, for instance handwriting and sports. Research completed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) suggests that these medicines may also help children with an accompanying conduct disorder to control their impulsive, destructive behaviours. The three medications that have been proven by the NIMH to be most effective in both children and adults suffering from ADHD are: methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine or Dextrostat), and pemoline (Cylert). (NIMH 1999) Yet there is currently much research on the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as t...
Typically, almost everyone in the world has taken drugs at some point in their life. Whether it be over the counter medication or prescription drugs. People get sick, they have illness, allegories, sexually transmitted diseases or other aches and pains. As you may already know, there is medication for each aforementioned problem. This is called drug use, which is using drugs for its intended purpose. However, the real dilemma happens when people began to misuse and abuse drugs.
High school students are leaders to younger kids and many others in their community. As a leader these student must show others what good character is like, but instead they are destroying their lives by doing drugs. In the past decade the drug use among high school students is on the rise once again. With the internet, their exposure to drugs is much greater. High school students are convinced that they are able to get away with using drugs. These drug addicts soon influence other students into doing the drugs because there isn’t a rule preventing drug use. In order to protect these student’s future, drug tests must be enforced among all students ensuring a safe environment for students to learn successfully. Allowing random drug testing in high schools will shy away students from trying these harmful drugs. The stop of drug use among high school students is crucial because drugs prevents student from learning leading them to dropping out of high school. Students that become overwhelmed by these harmful drugs will ruin their lives forever, but if steered in the right direction they can be saved.