New York magazine recently ran a cover story on what they called “the blurry teen pill culture,” describing the lifestyle of New York City teenagers who use black market antidepressants and their friends’ Adderall to survive school and enjoy their Friday nights out on the town. This past Sunday, the New York Times’ Frank Rich wrote on the controversy of performance-enhancing pills taken by professional classical musicians. These articles confirmed that I am not the only one disturbed by our society’s prescription addiction.
The problem that disturbs me most is the use of Adderall on college campuses to improve studying capabilities. During finals week here at Georgetown, campus turns into an Adderall drug den. Everyone from a cappella singers to newspaper writers become addicts, while anyone with a prescription and an understanding of the free market becomes an instant pusherman.
I have a friend who is so convinced that Adderall is the only way for her to pass her classes that she has her brother FedEx his prescription from Birmingham, Ala. to Boston every month. She’s also pleased with the weight-loss results of the stimulant, which help to offset her lack of exercise. The before and after, encompassing a one-week finals period, is strangely similar to Anna Nicole Smith’s transformation in those Trim Spa commercials, and the process probably just as unhealthy.
I speak from experience when I decry Adderall. My mom, oblivious to both the physical and psychological side effects of giving her daughter Adderall, let me have half of one of my brother’s prescription pills to study for a final in high school. Ten minutes before the exam I knew Renaissance art like nobody’s business, but my heart was beating so quickly that I was scared for my health.
The next day I woke up so depressed that I ran to my mother crying, for no apparent reason. I realized then how dramatic the effects of psycho-stimulant drugs are, and I have been afraid of them ever since.
Adderall use for academic performance enhancement is in no way acceptable, no matter the speed of today’s culture or the weight of one’s workload. The more our society submits to the ungodly speed at which people work and live, the faster it’s going to get. Adderall only fuels the fire. If it takes serious stimulants for you to make it to Dec. 21, what will you need to get you through 40 years as a productive member of society? Not only is your addiction making life harder for yourself, but it is also making the already competitive environment at Georgetown more unmanageable for the rest of us.
