Good 1 Haley Good Malcolm Campbell English 1103 November 7, 2012 Adderall as the New Study Guide?

When I was trying to study for a psychology test one day I was having a hard time focusing. I was wandering around my dorm because I had gotten off track and I found one of my friends. I started talking to him about how I couldnt focus enough and he offered me Adderall. I had heard about people using Adderall to study but it has never been offered to me before. Most people who are prescribed Adderall have some sort of attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder in which the stimulant helps them to focus. I declined the offer to take Adderall but it made me wonder what the purpose of the stimulant is in the college environment. College is a very stressful academic atmosphere and I know people will do anything in order to obtain good grades. So, if I was able to get Adderall that easy by someone who does not have ADHD then how many other people are using it just to help them study? Attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder is a childhood disorder that is classified by inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity (Morris and Maisto). The specific causes of ADHD are not known but neuroimaging studies show altered brain functioning when doing tasks that require shifting attention (Morris and Maisto). Instead of using just the frontal lobe of the brain, which is involved with concentration, problem solving and goal directed behavior, it involves part of the brain that is unrelated in completing the tasks (Morris and Maisto). Psychostimulants are the drugs used to treat ADHD. Shire
Comment [O1]: Possibly move this into the second paragraph. The introduction works fine without it as an anecdote, and, if the reader is unfamiliar with Adderall, theyll be a bit more curious to read about what it is.

Good 2 Pharmaceutical group was the first company to produce a drug for the treatment of ADHD. In 1996 Shire created Adderall IR, which is an instant release pill of a mixture of amphetamine salts (Adderall XR). In 2001, Shire then created Adderall XR, which is an extended release pill. The difference between the two is that Adderall IR reaches its maximum potential within three hours and Adderall XR reaches its maximum potential within seven hours (Microdex). Adderall XR is more commonly prescribed because there is only one pill you have to take in comparison to multiple Adderall IR pills throughout the day. People with ADHD have weak dopamine levels and so the mix of amphetamine salts increases the release of dopamine in the brain (Hamilton, 893). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for awareness, motivation, and pleasure (Morris and Maisto). For those that are not diagnosed with ADHD, Adderall creates an excessive amount of dopamine in the system and euphoric feeling is created. One boy said that when he took Adderall he found a complete surge of adrenaline and ecstasy flow through [his] brain (Sharrett). This surge is what makes Adderall known as a study drug because it gives the person motivation and focus. The most common way students obtained Adderall is through friends and family members that have a prescription (Schwarz). Sixty percent of people who reported abuse obtained the drugs from a friend or a relative for free (Hamilton). It is also common for students to go to their psychiatrist or doctor and fake the symptoms of an ADHD in order to become legally prescribed (Schwarz). The pills are so relevant within the school environment that it is not hard to find a source in order to obtain them. I know that I could go down the hall in my dorm and be able to get them. Many people think that prescription pills are safe because they are legal drugs. In actuality Adderall is a highly
Comment [O2]: Maybe change up the sentence structure a bit. X is Y is what you use the most. Its definitely hard to mix up definitions, and its an important part of your paper, but it feels very dry. Watch out for it in the rest of the paper as well; compound sentences can help with this.

Good 3 addicting schedule II controlled substance. A schedule II controlled substance is a category of drugs that have a strong potential for abuse or addiction but that have legitimate medical use (dictionary). Some side effects from Adderall are increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and decrease sleep and appetite (Stimulant ADHD). Many students seem to be affected by the decrease in sleep and appetite. My friend had taken Adderall to study for an exam and he had not slept for an entire day. His face looked exhausted but yet at the same time his body was alert and energized. In addition to the side affects, the body also reacts differently when the pill is ingested different ways. A study showed that about forty to fifty percent of nonmedical users of prescription stimulants report using these drugs via intranasal route of administration (McCabe and Teter). Intranasal route of administration means that the pill is crushed up and then snorted through the nose. When the pill is snorted the drug is delivered to the brain faster, which creates a stronger high (McCabe and Teter). The stronger high creates a greater feeling of euphoria and focus. Many users enjoy the feeling of the high more when they snort the drug compared to just ingesting the pill. When students continually use Adderall a dependency could develop. Eventually the dependency leads to an everyday addiction. One girl said, it took over [her] life and made [her] miserable, but [she] kept going back for more (Sharrett). An addiction is not the first consequence students think of when they begin to take Adderall. They think it is just a drug that can help them to improve their grades. The pressures of school cause students to lead to other resources in order to help improve their grades. ADHD has risen in parallel to the growth of standardized testing (YouTube). Is the real problem that ADHD diagnosis is rising or is the need to do better
Comment [O4]: Which friend? The one from the anecdote? Comment [O3]: Is this how you cite a dictionary? Im honestly not sure. It could be.

Good 4 in school causing ulterior motives to obtain and abuse Adderall? With so many competitive high schools and colleges it makes the need to get the perfect grade point average even stronger. A study showed that the most common motive behind using Adderall was to help with alertness and concentration when studying (Hamilton). When I asked one of my friends why he used Adderall he said because it helps you to get the work done ten times faster and be able to do more stuff. He considers it to be the academic steroid. The pressure that young adults are being put on them is tremendous. It is expected of us to be taking Advanced Placement and Honors courses along with being a part of clubs and sports while maintain a social life. Sometimes it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to complete everything and so students are going to look for alternative ways to accomplish their work. One male said, The immense pressure put on by students by parents and educators has made taking speed a socially acceptable thing (Sharrett). If abusing Adderall has become socially acceptable then the surroundings the students are living in could affect the way they become introduced to the drugs. Studies have shown that prescription stimulus abuse is higher among college students who were male, white and members of fraternities and sororities and earned lower grade point averages (Teter). Sororities and fraternities on campus are known to party and are more available to drugs. Many college students become introduced to a variety of drugs this way because it is so relevant within Greek life. If they see that their Greek brothers and sisters are abusing drugs then they become comfortable with the idea of abusing drugs too. Students with lower grade point averages are more likely to abuse Adderall because it could potentially increase their grades by allowing them to focus on their work. Kids
Comment [O5]: Tie this back into Adderall. It feels a bit detached. The next sentence could be a separate paragraph.

Good 5 with higher grade point averages potentially know how to study and there for do not find the need to abuse Adderall. The abuse of prescription stimulants is also higher in the north- eastern region of the United States and in colleges with more competitive admission standards (Teter). The north- eastern region is one of the more affluent parts of the United States. With youth more available to money it can make it easier to obtain drugs. I know kids now that get money thrown at them from their parents and they have nothing else to do with it than experiment with drugs. Students who want to attend colleges that have competitive admission standards need to have excellent grades and be well rounded students. A lot of these students find that taking Adderall allows them to concentrate and run on few hours of sleep every night in order to complete everything that needs to be done. When people who do not have ADHD abuse Adderall it changes the chemistry in the brain. The dopamine levels cannot be produced at normal levels anymore (Schwarz). That means that the persons motivation and awareness is hindered. Also since the frontal lobe of the brain is not fully developed during college years, that portion of the brain is affected also. It is no longer able to fully develop, as it would have been able to before taking the drug. Although the long-term effects have gone unstudied, users who have stopped taking Adderall find that they have to work ten times harder in order to concentrate and get their work done. Adderall made it so easy for them to focus on their work that they no longer remember how to focus without the reliance of the drug. If the use of Adderall starts to interfere with the persons life then the users should seek an outside help like rehab. In order to treat the addiction the patient would have to go
Comment [O6]: Feels clunky having anecdotal evidence here. Possibly rephrase?

Good 6 through a detoxification process that would slowly ease the patient off of Adderall and teach them how to live without the assistance of drugs (Stimulant). Adderall is an important stimulant for the treatment of ADHD and seems to be important to many college students too. Many students are using this stimulant to help them in their academics. With the rate of ADHD on the rise, more prescriptions are going to be available. This could mean that even more students are going to rely on the pills to help them focus and concentrate. Is this going to create an epidemic of prescription pill abuse in our generation or are students eventually going to ease off of prescription stimulants? Also what are the long term affects of abusing Adderall? Is it something that our generation should be concerned about when it comes to our future health?

Good 7 Works Cited "Adderall XR." Home | Shire. Shire, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. Hamilton, Gloria J. "Prescription Drug Abuse." Psychology in the Schools 46.9 (2009): 892-98. Print. McCabe, Sean E., and Christian J. Teter. "Drug Use Related Problems among Nonmedical Users of Prescription Stimulants: A Web-based Survey of College Students from a Midwestern University." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 July 2007. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. Micromedex. "Dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine (Oral Route)." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 1 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. Morris, Charles G., and Albert A. Maisto. Understanding Psychology. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. Ricker, Ronald, and Venus Nicolino. "Adderall: The Most Abused Prescription Drug in America." Huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post, 21 June 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Schwarz, Alan. "Risky Rise of the Good-Grade Pill." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 June 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Sharrett, Luke. "In Their Own Words: Study DrugsIn Their Own Words: Study Drugs." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 June 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. "Stimulant ADHD Medications - Methylphenidate and Amphetamines." National

Good 8 Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute of Health, June 2009. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Trudeau, Michelle. "More Students Turning Illegally To 'Smart' Drugs." Npr.org. National Public Radio, 5 Feb. 2009. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. YouTube. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. RSA, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.

Good 9 Peer Review I really enjoyed the subject matter of the essay itself. Adderall abuse isnt anything that Ive personally encountered (or not that I know of), but Ive been interested in how people justify substance abuse of this sort and the effects. I feel as if the first paragraph is clunky; it tries to be both an anecdote and an informative paragraph, and it switches between the two. If it could be trimmed down to be just an anecdote which then transitions into the rest of the essay, I feel like it would flow better. Other anecdotes should be looked at again as well; dropping them into the middle of technical paragraphs that are defining terms feels clunky and misplaced. Most of my other comments I added to the document were about changing up sentence structure (this can be a problem in essays that need a lot of operational definitions given) and changing where anecdotes were inserted. Anecdotes can be strong tie-ins for writing, but they can also disrupt flow if misplaced. The only other comment I have on something that could be changed is potentially adding information about the positives of Adderall. For example, what are the results when used with people who DO have ADHD? Do they experience any negative effects when its actually prescribed to them? Questions like those would add another dimension to the paper.

Olivia Eyring