Around three people each hour lose their lives due to overdosing on prescription medications. In fact, more people die from prescription medication abuse or accidental overdose than many other causes, launching the problem to epidemic status. Add to that the rising numbers of senior adults who take incorrect dosages of prescription medications and teens or 20-somethings who find the drugs at home and experiment without knowing the dangers.

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People who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy can greatly reduce their symptoms through using a psycho stimulant called Adderall.

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In 1996, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) introduced a psycho stimulant that assists those with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Used properly, the drug helps many children and adults focus on routine tasks that they encounter throughout their day.

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In the past, parents may have worried that their teen was abusing alcohol or hard street drugs, but today’s parents need to be alert to the dangers of doctor-prescribed pharmaceuticals. And rather than imagining what sort of nefarious characters might be selling their child dangerous substances, parents need only take a look in the mirror. The problem of prescription drug abuse, particularly opioid painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin, is huge in our country and American youth have been sucked in right along with adults and seniors.

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College kids are stepping out into the wider world usually for the first time. They are learning not only facts and theories but hopefully how to think and reason well. Many of them, like the rest of us, will stumble through the learning process a bit. A new study reveals how prescription drugs can easily become a source of drug abuse among this population. Both young people and their prescribing doctors should be alert to the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

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Abuse of prescription drugs is a national epidemic according to our own national Center for Disease Control and Prevention. State governments and law enforcement are working hard to get control over a problem that is rampant all across the country. One major thrust has been the establishment of prescription drug monitoring programs. To date, 49 states are in the process or have monitoring programs currently in operation. The programs have already proven useful in identifying trouble spots. The problem is that there is not uniformity between states in how data is collected, used and distributed.

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ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a common childhood disorder that features symptoms of hyperactive or impulsive behavior and/or symptoms of a lack of normal focus and attention. Although it may seem counterintuitive, medications commonly used to treat ADHD – including Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) – achieve their beneficial effects by stimulating the brain. Unfortunately, the stimulating effects of these medications make them a target for abuse by people who don’t have ADHD. Increasingly, students in both high school and college engage in this kind of abuse and use ADHD drugs as non-sanctioned “study aids.”

ADHD Drug Basics

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Ritalin and Adderall achieve their effects by gradually boosting the brain’s levels of an important chemical called dopamine, which helps regulate attention span, body movements, and your ability to experience pleasure. When dopamine levels rise slowly and steadily, they make changes in the brain’s communications networks that can lead to a reduction in hyperactivity and help improve the ability to pay attention.

However, rapid increases in dopamine levels can lead to a chemical dependence inside the body. Dependence occurs when your body starts to rely on the presence of a medication in order to feel “normal,” and lack of the medication makes you feel ill or “off.” Potential withdrawal symptoms that can indicate the presence of stimulant dependence include depression, nightmares, unusual fatigue, irritability, panic attacks, and an abnormally high appetite. Typically, ADHD patients can avoid any rapid spikes in their dopamine levels – and therefore avoid any related dependence risks – by only using Ritalin, Adderall or similar medications in low, medically appropriate dosages. For this reason, these drugs are only legally available through a prescription from a licensed doctor.

ADHD as a Study Aid

In people who don’t have ADHD, Ritalin, Adderall and other stimulants used for ADHD treatment can potentially enhance the ability to focus and stay alert for extended periods of time. Students without ADHD sometimes take advantage of these effects in an attempt to improve their scholastic performance and gain an advantage in highly competitive classroom environments. By its very nature, this use of ADHD drugs qualifies as a form of drug abuse. Abuse can turn into dependence if a student repeatedly takes enough Ritalin or Adderall to rapidly increase dopamine levels inside the brain.

Abuse Among High School Students

In 2012, the National Institute on Drug Abuse released the results of a long-term study that examined drug use patterns among U.S. high school students from 1975 to 2011. The study organizers found that prescription stimulant use among high school students as a whole reached its peak in the early 1980s and has tapered off significantly since that time. In 2011, only roughly 12 percent of all high school seniors self-reported the abuse of a prescription stimulant at any point in their four years of school, and only 8 percent reported stimulant abuse in their senior year. However, students who attend academically prestigious or competitive high schools buck this trend and use stimulants with increasing frequency. Depending on the specific location, anywhere from 15 to 40 percent of kids in these scholastic environments report abusing ADHD stimulant medications

Abuse Among College Students

According to a recent survey conducted jointly by the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Duke University, roughly 9 percent of all college students use ADHD stimulants as study aids without any type of valid prescription. However, usage rates are significantly higher at some schools. For instance, in 2011, researchers at the University of Kentucky reported that roughly 30 percent of all students at the school abuse Ritalin, Adderall, or other stimulant medications. The abuse rate among juniors and seniors at the school – who typically have more challenging academic course loads- was 50 percent, while the abuse rate among fraternity and sorority members reached 80 percent. The usage rates for ADHD medications at the university were higher than the usage rates for marijuana.

Unacknowledged Risks

Many high school and college students downplay the risks of ADHD medication abuse or are unaware that any real risks exist. For example, just like many adults, many students believe that all prescription medications pose fewer dangers than illegal drugs simply because they come from doctors. In fact, according to the 2011 study at the University of Kentucky, students who abuse ADHD medications commonly consider these medications only slightly more dangerous than a can of caffeinated soda and far less dangerous than smoking or drinking. In addition, many students don’t know that Ritalin and Adderall are categorized as Schedule 2 drugs by the U.S. government, which means that they present roughly the same potential for abuse or addiction as cocaine and opiates such as morphine and oxycodone.

The association between marijuana and other hard core drugs is nothing new. In fact, marijuana has been touted as a gateway drug for years. Now, however, researchers may have data to substantiate that claim.

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