The Need for Regulation of Amphetamine Consumption of College Students

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At the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, suppose an athlete had been found using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs to ensure a better outcome in competition. Their awards would be stripped away, and their name sullied for the world to see. Halfway across the world, in a tiny dormitory room of a prestigious college, an overwhelmed and under pressure freshman student turns to drugs as well. The drugs are not methamphetamines or cocaine, but a tiny pill obtained from a helpful friend with ADHD. With an unfinished paper due in the morning, the student ingests the Adderall pill and their energy and focus increases. In the morning, the triumphant student shows up to class and turns in a completed essay. The paper is returned with an “A”. Amazed by the results, the student begins taking the pill for other academic and social obligations with limited to no negative repercussions. Increasingly over the past few years, drugs such as Adderall, Ritalin, or modafinil (Provigil)—originally intended for those with ADD or ADHD—are being used by healthy students to improve their cognitive abilities with minimal consequences.
While established for the treatment of attention hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, people in schools and the workforce are turning to these amphetamines to work for longer periods of time, produce higher quality work, remain alert and focused for hours on end. The drugs accomplish this, because they “increase levels of dopamine…in the brain—and the alertness and wakefulness of those taking them” (Nixey 2). The growing stress on people to accomplish enormous amounts of first-rate work is forcing them to resort to an easy solution. Often it is not people who are failing at school or work that are looking to i...

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.../students-drugs-modafinil-ritalin>.
Schwarz, Alan. “Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2014. .
Sweeney, Sarah. "The Use of Prescription Drugs for Academic Performance Enhancement in College Aged Students.” Social Work Theses.Paper 48, 2010. 1-38. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .
Talbot, Margaret. "Brain Gain." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .
Weber, Rebecca L. "A Drug Kids Take in Search of Better Grades." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Nov. 2004. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .

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