An article in this week’s paper reports on Adderall usage at Hopkins. Students commonly use the ADHD drug for purposes other than its prescribed use, namely to enhance their academic performance and for partying. In order to improve their grades, many students buy Adderall and similar drugs illegally. Though we recognize that students praise Adderall’s ability to help them focus, the Editorial Board highly discourages the use of Adderall by students who have not been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed the drug by a licensed physician.
Taking Adderall to crank out a paper or cram for an exam can yield short term benefits, but these are outweighed by some serious risks. Adderall is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance (in the company of drugs such as cocaine and methadone) because it is highly addictive, and abuse of the drug could lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Moreover, Adderall can trigger pronounced physical reactions, including appetite loss and increased heart rate.
With a drug as powerful as Adderall, it is absolutely imperative for the health of the user to undergo careful monitoring and dosage adjustments by a bona fide physician. An irregular heartbeat, for example, could prove fatal when combined with the potent drug. The careful care of a doctor, therefore, is necessary to ensure that patients are healthy enough to take Adderall, that dosages are prescribed correctly and that users are safe to imbibe the drug.
The Editorial Board, thus, most strongly urges students against taking unprescribed drugs such as Adderall to avoid potentially life-threatening risks to their healths.
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