NBC’s Ronan Farrow digs into a growing problem on campuses nationwide: In the high-pressure world of academic achievement, there is one “fix” students are turning to at an alarming rate to get ahead that some call “academic doping,” and experts say it has a very real – and largely ignored – dark side.
N-b-c investigative correspondent ronan farrow digs into issues facing today’s college student and he’s here now with a closer look at a growing problem on campuses nationwide one good morning good to see you guys lester savanah in the high-pressure rat race of academic achievement there is one fix students are turning to at an alarming rate to get ahead some call
It academic doping and experts say it has a very real largely ignored dark side i took it and i was like oh my god why haven’t i not been doing this it’s becoming a regular habit people are relying on it to write papers and do their reading and their homework they’re talking about smart drugs five ends focalin adderall ritalin they’re all pretty much the same thing
They’re just bringing stimulants that just kind of make you feel like you’re going a million miles but it’s it’s it’s regulated speed pretty much prescribed for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder you just kind of feel this little like ball of warmth kind of rising up in you and then it’s like you just get locked down and used by a growing number
Of students who do not have adhd but want that performance boost this is a prescription you’re getting from your doctor or your friends are giving to you and people see it as absolutely harmless wyatt kristina max and gabi are students from boston university who agreed to talk about an issue they say is out of control on campus how common is this the majority of the
People that i know are taking it everywhere personally in my social circle it’s literally everyone everyone every single person you can go up to the second floor of the library and see you know a full wing of people just cracked up there are people like doing the lines of adderall and the library was yeah yes i’ve seen it multiple times is it openly in the library
Yes yeah people will blow lines down of just that all in the library college students have been abusing stimulants for decades but what’s new experts say is just how many students one study finding 30% of college students are using stimulants non-medicaid this is a problem that’s getting worse and worse because we’re ignoring it because people feel like it’s no big
Deal marsha lee taylor is the president of partnership for drug-free kids among teens opiate use is going in the right direction it’s ticking down but stimulant use adhd medications is going in the wrong direction it’s going up going up and being embraced by many students without reservation the university of miami student newspaper calling adderall a magic pill
We’ve talked to students who say what’s the harm this makes you smarter and makes you perform better well there is real harm these substances are in the same classification according to the dea as cocaine and methamphetamine it is addictive and it can’t be abused recent harvard grad charlotte lieberman wrote about her adderall addiction in cosmopolitan there was
One experience i took actually 80 milligrams 80 milligram yes i think four times the daily recommended dose i started having heart palpitations and i was having a ton of trouble sleeping if you’re hitting these stimulants hard what can happen to your body you can have cardiac effects it can increase anxiety and lead to a host of other mental health issues the fda
Requires adderall manufacturers to notify patients about the risk of serious cardiovascular adverse events and a slight risk of drug-related psychiatric adverse events even in patients who did not have previous psychiatric problems in some countries like canada adhd drugs come with a suicide warning you don’t die from adderall you can have terrible side effects a
Terrible addiction problem that lead to breakdown allen schwartz wrote adhd nation after covering adderall abuse for the new york times there are lots of stories out there of kids who have gotten horribly addicted suffered psychiatric breakdowns and some attempted and completed suicides kyle was a healthy happy bright handsome caring young guy he loved the beach
That surfing guitar he just brightened up a room shipman andrea craig son kyle had just finished his sophomore year at vanderbilt university when his parents started noticing strange behavior he had become intense seemingly quickly irritable something had changed in his character i actually want said are you on something kyle did not have adhd we now know he was
Able to get a prescription for it back home in new jersey after spending a semester abroad kyle spoke to a therapist and he said adderall ruined my life not only did he use it for studying he readily admitted to abusing it for party purposes as well two weeks later kyle craig stepped in front of a train ending his life he was 21 as any parent can understand it’s
It’s a heavy loss while it’s difficult to prove adderall abuse caused kyle’s suicide the craig’s believe there’s a link a dear friend of kyle’s wrote about him after after his passing and he said if adderall can change someone like kyle then it can probably change any young person do parents get the smart drug phenomenon no you think the school knows yeah if they
Don’t they’re like willfully ignorant this is something that is going on and that nobody is talking about colleges have had their heads in the sand for so long it’s absolutely unconscionable because they don’t mind their kids getting really good grades who’s pushing back against this nobody all of us see it on the day to day basis and it’s disturbing to us and if
We’re willing to say something then how could it not be a problem are you gonna use it again i don’t know i honestly can’t say definitely see the negative effects of it really wreaking havoc on my friends but at the same time i mean that if i need to do it i’m going to do it it’s that’s the sad truth now some schools are clamping down on this they’re forbidding
Their health offices from prescribing adh medications or only prescribing them if students agree to have their parents notified but according to the experts in this story you guys that those schools are pretty few and far between it’s just part of this this competitive you know to succeed in any cost it’s like doping in sports you know the more people do it the
More everyone has to do it to get ahead hard to roll back for pound you know those changes in personality if someone is you know having sort of a speedy physiological effect on their body you know they’re jittery they’re nervous if that’s happening all the time you don’t want to ask what they might be on here doesn’t really trust their gut yeah no idea was so
Addictive until this beats were down but stimulants are up exactly right because no one’s really pushing back as you heard there by the way this is a series for you what do you got tomorrow i’ll be on the next two days tomorrow we’ve got a look at extreme drinking now you might roll your eyes and say we’ve heard that story before but there are new ways people are
Drinking on campus you’ll hear about them tomorrow parents right now shuttering all right ronny thanks very much hello today fans thanks for checking out our youtube channel subscribe by clicking that button down there and click on any of the videos over here to watch the latest interviews show highlights and digital exclusives
Transcribed from video
‘Academic Doping’ On The Rise: Number Of Students Abusing ADHD Drugs Increasing | TODAY By TODAY
