by Corey Vikser
Staff Writer
In schools nationwide, more and more students are being prescribed with legal stimulants for treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The increased accessibility of these ‘mental stimulants’ has sprung a massive abuse issue amongst students using them as study drugs. As the issue becomes more prevalent than ever at Mira Costa, the administration has failed to inform students on the harsh realities of the drug.
Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin are three of the most common medications used to treat ADHD. The active drug in all three is Amphetamine, a central nervous stimulant. Extremely addictive, amphetamine is a very close chemical relative of notorious street drug Meth. Adderall is 75% composed of dextroamphetamine, the chemical that Meth composes of. In a study conducted by the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers declared the two drugs “produce qualitatively similar behavorial responses.” Continual abuse of the drug disrupts the brain’s natural production of dopamine, making it increasingly difficult for the user to feel pleasure and happiness. The change of brain chemistry sparks an addiction similar to that of cocaine or Xanax. Along with being one of the most addictive substances, researchers also declared amphetamine produced “model psychosis” in habitual users.
According to Huffington Post, the national spending rate on amphetamines has almost doubled since 2008. The drugs have been marketed as fix-alls for troubled children and adults, all the way from grades to quick weight loss. Students nationwide have begun to take the pills unprescribed due to hype of them being ‘study drugs’ or ‘mental steroids.’ The stimulation and focus given off keep students up all night and in their textbooks during cramming sessions.
Mira Costa has a high amount of ADD-afflicted students, many prescribed to one of the brand drugs listed earlier. As finals week come along, a market springs up as droves of students seek out for Adderall or any prescription stimulant they can get their hands on for cramming all-nighters.
The resident drug resistance program at the school has failed to ever bring up amphetamines, only promoting horror stories caused by its cousin meth. The lack of stigma against the pills sprung the common justification ‘its obviously safe it people are perscribed to it.’ The most efficent way to combat abuse of them is for the school to properly educate the students on the connection between Methamphetamine and Amphetamine. If a student were to hear the pills they have been consuming are 75% composed of meth, they’d likely be put off from using it.
The increase in ADD diagnosis nationwide has widely expanded pharmeutical amphetamines. The adverse of this is more and more students are abusing the medications to help them in school, unaware of the true nature of the drugs. If Mira Costa’s drug program educated the student body on the detrimental effects the pills have physically and mentally, it would greatly reduce abuse amongst the student population.
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