This article by Roger Cohen in NYT is worth sending to your loved ones in colleges. Amphetamines have been around in colleges for some time and used by students to excel and to pull an all-nigher during the exams. As the competition has grown, its misuse has also grown with serious consequences.
The author narrates the story of one student who initially excelled academically with the help of Adderall ( amphetamine) and then:
““In the spring of that year I started to feel Adderall was my best friend and my worst enemy at the same time. Because I could not sleep I went to see my psychopharm, and she prescribed me Ativan to sleep. That worked O.K. for a while. But I really ran into trouble last year. I was up to 65 milligrams, and then during finals went to 80, even 120, milligrams, and I was just locked into this Adderall-Ativan cycle. My doctor seemed scatterbrained. She’d prescribe something but not follow up.”
“I am living at home. My parents are clueless, and it is hard to discuss with them, although my Mom helps me now. I alternate between ‘on’ and ‘off’ states — I come off the Adderall, take Ativan and sleep for days. I miss appointments. I know I need to go to the appointments, but I wonder if I will be functional enough.”
“Adderall suddenly turned its back on me. It enabled me to focus, got me to a higher place academically. But then I could no longer rely on it. I was on my own. And although I have less than three credits to go, I may have to withdraw from school because I have not been able to make it to enough classes.”
Click on link to read full article;
Posted by F.Sheikh
