(CU Independent illustration/Kelly Kaoudis)
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Every college student has those nights; the ones brimming with procrastinated essays and endless readings, topped off with a midterm worth a quarter of your grade the next morning. The abundance of work feels hopeless and desperate, and you turn to the wrong answer: Adderall.
The right answer: College is hard and you knew that when you became a college student – suck it up and get the work done without drugs.
Of course, the workload often feels absurd and mustering the motivation to tackle it is a definite struggle, especially in a socially-active college environment. But rather than realizing that the struggle of learning is the entire objective of schooling, students are increasingly relying upon study aids despite health risks and equity.
By study aids, I mean Ritalin and Adderall, socially nicknamed “smart drugs” and “cognitive enhancers.”
The drug Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant intended for the treatment of adults and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and is legally obtainable by prescription.
Similarly, Ritalin is a central nervous system stimulant used to treat attention deficit disorder as well as ADHD and is also prescribed by doctors.
The two prescription drugs have roamed from the psychotherapeutic realm and into the domain of academia. Various surveys have revealed that as many as one in four college students have taken prescription stimulants, according to CNN.
Used as “study drugs,” Ritalin and Adderall help a student stay focused and hard-working for extended amounts of time, eliminating basic necessities such as sleep.
Along with their supposed study super powers, Ritalin and Adderall are reputedly easy to obtain on a college campus. Students reported on various surveys that pills typically cost $5 each, but that the price can increase during midterms and finals to $25 a pill, according to NPR.
The appeal of these drugs isn’t hard to grasp; their reputation isn’t too hardcore and they are cheap, easy to find and can turn an infamous slacker into a valedictorian, at least for a few hours.
But past the curb appeal lies the truth about Rilatin and Adderall. Using them as study aids is cheating, dangerous and abuses the purpose of college and education.
Any individual taking a prescription stimulant without a prescription has made a conscious choice to take it. Not only is choosing to do so illegal, but the outcome of the choice gives the individual an unrighteous advantage over students legally refusing the drugs. We know this situation more familiarly as cheating.
Ritalin and Adderall may front a more subtle image than speed or cocaine, but the drugs aren’t vitamins. In fact, federal law actually considers Adderall as a schedule 2 controlled substance, meaning it has medical use but serious potential for abuse. Ritalin and Adderall are amphetamine-based, meaning they can form addictions. Other schedule 2 drugs include oxycontin, methadone, morphine and cocaine.
Learning to manage time and organize school work is a feat much simpler and more conquerable than battling a stimulant addiction.
Many college students taking the drugs aren’t even prescribed them and simply buy them from the kid beside them at the study table in the library. The drugs are being exchanged without proper doctoral instruction, which creates a threat of overdose.
A grave symptom of Adderall or Ritalin overdose includes overstimulation of the heart muscle, which causes the cessation of beating, leading to sudden death. Overdose can also affect respiratory muscles, which can cause an individual to stop breathing.
By threat of overdose and potential addiction, Adderall and Ritalin are not the harmless drugs students perceive them to be. In the end, long-lasting health must take precedent over a midterm exam that will be left in the past within a couple of days.
From a more theoretical standpoint, the usage of Adderall and Ritalin as study aids contradicts the purpose of college and education.
The point of college is to learn, by sitting in classes, taking exams and working through homework. To many students‘ dismay, the learning aspect was never intended to be easy and majority of the value resides in the struggle.
Adderall and Ritalin render learning unnecessary. The use of these “study aids” allows students to skip the struggle and achieve their desired marks without the absorption of knowledge and invaluable experience.
Ultimately, a degree means nothing without such knowledge and experience behind it. Most problematically, the world is desperately in need of educated individuals within the coming years. It has no need for drugged individuals whose eyes were set on just the acquisition of a diploma instead of the actual learning process.
Overall, the benefits of Adderall and Ritalin as study aids are short-lived, while the consequences stretch far into the future; the drugs are a matter of present convenience.
Receiving your diploma on graduation day will feel more truthful and meaningful if you know you did it drug-free.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Devon Barrow at Devon.barrow@colorado.edu.
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