Does Wabash Have a Drug Problem?
One can hear it discussed toward the end of each semester, when final papers are coming due. In closed door conversations Wallies talk, sometimes brag, about how they managed to finish their papers with its help. The topic of conversation is Adderall, and it is viewed as a saving grace by too many students.
I first encountered Adderall at Wabash in an English class when the one senior in the class wrote about his experience with the drug. He had not used Adderall until his junior year, well after he had experimented with other drugs. He praised the drug for its ability to have him keep studying. I did not know what to think of Adderall at that time, but I speculated incorrectly that it wasn’t as prevalent as he had made it out to be.
As last semester was coming to a close, I was standing in line at the swine flu clinic. In front of me were two anonymous Wallies, one of whom was concerned that his sleep deprivation might cause a reaction with vaccination. From what I gathered, he had a History paper due so he had taken Adderall to allow him to focus. It remained unnamed throughout the conversation, but whenever it came up they made a slight motion with their hand as if shaking a pill bottle.
It was about this same time when I heard whispers in my fraternity house about a similar drug that was hyped to be ‘military grade’ Adderall. I could see a change in them: they were not the same people as I had known them to be. This is understandable; Adderall causes a change in brain activity.
To get a medical perspective, I contacted one of our campus doctors, John Roberts ‘83, and asked him some questions.
Adderall, like other drugs which treat ADD/ADHD, is a psychostimulant that increases the ability of a user to concentrate and filter out distractions. Those who suffer from ADD/ADHD do get the perceived benefits; it allows them to function more normally. In addition to reducing noise, psychostimulants keep the user awake.
When asked whether he found it surprising that students use Adderall for studying, he responded, “To be honest, I am not at all surprised it’s used for that purpose. What does surprise me is that Wabash students, who are taught to think critically, are not examining both sides of the equation and understanding the risks involved. Is it worth the risks to gain a brief competitive advantage?”
And just what are the risks involved with using Adderall, one should ask?
“[Psychostimulants] can cause rapid rises in blood pressure and can also cause heart attacks and heart rhythm disturbances resulting in sudden death.” “The psychologic and neurologic effects of sleep deprivation common with Adderall use can include hallucinations, headaches, irritability, memory loss, and poor judgment. Interestingly, the lack of sleep can also cause the same symptoms seen in ADD – decreased concentration, recall and memory consolidation. Physical effects can include dizziness, tremors, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, obesity, and poor immune function, among others.”
Is using Adderall worth it then? The senior from my English class seemed to think so; he wrote, “…in the hyper-competitive environment of Wabash you do what you’ve got to do to get by.” His thoughts were shared by another person who had used the drug. He was quick to point out side effects which I found horrifying. “I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to use the restroom. I was like a laser. I looked like Death.”
There is a case to be made that Adderall in academia is comparable to steroids in sports. Both increase performance temporarily. Both have damaging long term effects. Both are illegal when used without a prescription. Perhaps, as the Senior suggested, everyone who has used Adderall needs to have an asterisk next to their GPA.
Infeasibility aside, Adderall should cause professors to pause and reflect about their role in this problem. Are they aware of the widespread usage on campus? Do they know what kind of an effect Adderall has on the body? I was naïve enough as a freshman to think that the drug’s use was limited on campus, yet with just one and a half years under my belt I have begun to realize Wabash’s pill-taking secret.
Dr. Roberts has advice for those who think they need to use Adderall: “I think it is incumbent on students who feel the need to use these medications without a prescription to critically examine their lives and find ways to free up time to do the studying and paper writing that is required to do well at Wabash.” These are wise words indeed.
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