Popping pills to make the grade: Illegal Adderall use surfaces as ‘study drug’ at USD

Professors are piling on the homework before spring break.

Midterms are underway, which causes sleepless nights of studying for exams.

Stress levels are running high, and as sophomore Elizabeth Jensen, whose name has been changed to protect her identity,  tries to assess how best to accomplish all that needs to be done. Her friend turns to her and says, “I’ve got you covered.”

Out of a little orange bottle, sophomore Rachel Thompson, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, pulls out two tablets labeled “Adderall XR.”

Thompson and Jensen quickly look around, and without hesitation, pop the pills into their mouths. Now they wait, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the “study drug” takes effect.

The prescription drug is an amphetamine used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is how Thompson obtains the drug, but the illegal pill-popping trend is more commonly happening among college students age 18 to 22, according to a 2009 study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Adderall works by increasing the levels of dopamine — a chemical in the brain associated with pleasure, pain and attention — in the body, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Checking into an inpatient rehab is the way to overcome the drug problem.

“If my friends are ever like, ‘Oh, I need this because I have so much to do,’ I’ll give them one,” Thompson said. “My close friends are the ones who usually come to me, but during midterms and finals week, a lot of people I don’t really know always come to me asking for it.”

While Thompson said she only has three or four “close friends” to whom she distributes Adderall regularly, she admitted to selling pills to students for money.

Lauren Schuur, coordinator of prevention services for the Student Counseling Center at the University of South Dakota, is among the counseling staff that treats students who have been caught either distributing and/or ingesting prescription drugs.

“It really varies as to whether it’s reported or not reported, because students giving out their meds aren’t usually going to report it,” Schuur said. “From doing research on prescription use, it is still mostly under wraps.”

Schuur said taking prescription drugs like Adderall illegally can be costly, even though the immediate effects of the drug can seem worthwhile.

“The dangers of the effects it can have in the long-run are greatly increased,” said Schuur, particularly noting the heath and career risks of taking Adderall without a prescription.

The Federal Drug Administration classifies Adderall in the same category as cocaine and methamphetamine.

But as Jensen said, the immediate affects of Adderall can be perceived as rewarding.

“If I have a test coming up and I have to study all day, that’s when I usually ask for it,” Jensen said.

Schuur said the Student Counseling Center has never researched extensively into how often prescription abuse at USD occurs, but said about 15 to 20 percent of the clients the Center sees are involved in some aspect of drug abuse.

Schuur said most of the time, students referred to the Center by Students Rights and Responsibilities are found to be in possession of marijuana.

“It’s harder to detect (prescription drug usage), but even harder to find,” Schuur said. “With marijuana, you can smell it.”

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Any student referred to the Center by SRR is required to undergo a drug screening, said Schurr.

“It’s important for students to know what the consequences are,” she said. “I do always focus on the legality of the issue, because since they are on campus the penalties are a little different than if they were out in the community.”

In South Dakota, possessing Adderall without a prescription or distributing the drug is a Class 4 felony.

“It happens a lot more than people think,” Thompson said. “It’s very available.”

Lawyer Joe Reed, who operates Joe Reed Law Office in downtown Vermillion, is contracted by the Student Government Association to provide certain legal services to students, free of charge.

On average, Reed said he represents between 50 to 60 students a year, and estimates he sees two or three cases that specifically deal with illegal Adderall activity.

“The bottom line is if you don’t have a prescription, don’t take it,” Reed said.

As spring midterm week continues into the final stretch and the amount of time students spend studying for exams increases, Thompson said she expects the amount of people who contact her for a few Adderall pills to also increase.

“A lot of people have been asking me for them already,” Thompson said. “It could be a dangerous thing, but it’s not usually a big deal.”

Similar to the drug abuse cases the Student Counseling Center sees, Reed said a majority of the student cases he sees begin with marijuana possession. He said aside from the legal troubles associated with drug abuse, abusing drugs like Adderall can have longstanding negative effects.

“Now’s the time to be careful,” he said. “That (a felony record) can haunt you for the rest of your life.”