uses it, and every single one of
them have friends that have been
prescribed Adderall for at least 15
years, that they think it is okay.”
Aside from the legal risks,
Boyd outlined three major health
risks that can occur when people
take
Adderall
non-medically:
addiction, psychosis and death.
“They could have an underlying
cardiovascular
problem,
and
Adderall – like all amphetamines
– has a black box on it from the
FDA, because a physician should,
before prescribing, do a cardiac
workup on the patient,” Boyd said.
“If somebody has that underlying
cardiac arrhythmia, it can throw
them into a ventricular techocardi
tachycardia and cause death.”
While this risk is particular
to
those
who
suffer
with
cardiovascular issues, Boyd said
the other two could happen to
anyone.
“If you use too much of any
amphetamine,
you
can
have
an
amphetamine-induced
psychosis,” he said. “The third
is addiction...it is a Schedule II
drug because it has some of the
most addictive potential. If you
go on the web and look up drug
treatment facilities, you’ll find
there are ones that are talking
about treating people addicted to
Adderall.”
Boyd listed other side effects,
some that students mentioned
experiencing themselves. One
student who was prescribed
Adderall but wasn’t sure if he
really needed it said that he had
to stop taking it because of the
adverse side effects it was causing.
“At first it did a lot more,” he
said. “It made me very productive
and sort of manic, very talkative,
but eventually it just got to the
point where if I took it at any acute
dose, it would just kind of cause
chest discomfort and keep me
from sleeping, and I couldn’t get
anything done because the chest
pain would make me panic. I don’t
really use it for studying anymore
because it makes me freak out, so
I can’t study when I’m on it.”
Another student who wasn’t
prescribed Adderall said that she
stopped taking it after freshman
year for similar reasons.
“The side effects to me were just
too much. I would feel super dizzy
from not eating and not having an
appetite, and something didn’t sit
with me super well about using
something I wasn’t prescribed,”
she said. “I know it does things to
your brain, and I know there are
bad side effects, and I never felt
like it was doing enough to make
those things worth it.”
Boyd said though Adderall
could work on anyone, the
supposition that it makes you get
better grades is false.
“Yes, it does help with
attention,” Boyd said. “Does
it help you get better grades?
No. And the studies are
robust enough to show that
people who use Adderall
tend to have somewhat lower
grades.”
So why do students take it?
One student felt students at
the University use Adderall
to keep up with a “work hard,
play hard” lifestyle.
“I think that here people
want a balance between
having fun and studying so
much that they’ll do anything
to focus extra while they
can. They’ll do anything to
get more done so that they
can participate in all parts of
school,” she said. “I think the
people that take it who aren’t
prescribed it are usually
people that live a pretty lively
social life.”
Another
student
who
sells Adderall said it goes
along with the trend at the
University of having all your
work due at one time and
then weeks where you have
nothing to do.
“I don’t think it’s a good habit
to get into, especially if you don’t
have ADHD, but I’d say in a
college environment where the
work level goes from two weeks of
a ton of shit you’ve got to do to two
weeks where you’ve got nothing
at all, the way kids I’m around
study, I’d say anyone could benefit
from it in the short term,” he said.
Another student, who has
never done Adderall, thinks the
motivation to do it comes from
some students’ lack of ability
to balance the workload at the
University.
“Some people are definitely
unaware of the health risks, but
even if they are, they believe that
the short-term gain is worth at
least the potential health risks
of using Adderall,” he said.
“They believe that the tradeoff
for improving their grade, even
though it’s not even guaranteed
that they will get a better grade,
is worth those potential health
risks.”
Some students also talked
about motivations for buying
Adderall other than studying,
such as snorting it before going
out or suppressing appetites.
“One girl bought it from me
one time and she was like, ‘Yeah,
spring break is coming up, so you
know…’ but it was just like woah,
that’s not something that ever
crossed my mind as a reason I
would take it,” one student said.
Regardless of motivation, the
drug isn’t hard to find.
“I feel like you could find it in
literally 10 minutes,” one student
said, when asked if she ever had
trouble purchasing Adderall.
Most students agreed Adderall
abuse was a nationwide issue,
not just a University issues, an
idea that was reinforced in the
new Netflix documentary “Take
Your Pills,” which offered a look
at the world of Adderall abuse in
colleges. The University seems
to certainly be a victim of the
epidemic: If students can find a
drug in 10 minutes that they think
will help them pass their exams,
who’s going to stop them?
2 — Thursday, March 29, 2018
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THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
deena
@roachgrip
r u really a male grade
student at umich if u not
wearin a cheap ass peacoat
with a leather satchel?
Ryan Hartley
@RyannHartley
Kids at Umich have 7.3 GPAs
but can’t grasp the concept
of letting people get off the
bus before they get on.
Kristen
@ballkirsten_
Can the clock tower ever
play something cheerful or
something not in the minor
chord? Like ever?
LSAClassof2000
@LorneEC3
The wait for this game
on Saturday is terrible...
#GoBlue
Pimp C
@ctownsend33
You ever been so stressed
that relaxing makes you more
stressed? Welcome to the
University of Michigan
@umich run me my degree
@snazzy_yazzy
Woww, I just realized in my
4 years of being at UMich
I’ve never had a black woman
professor/lecturer and that’s
so trash. UMich please do
better for these babies
WOLVE RINE OF THE WE E K
CARTER FOX/Daily
What are you most looking
forward to this summer?
“I’m excited to visit
all of my friends
who I’ve met here
from different
states.”
LSA Freshman Meghan
Lignon
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