Alarming studies have shown that students are now using the ADHD drug Adderall to improve school grades.

“In a way that athletes have used steroids and other medications in the past to enhance their athletic performance, Adderall is actually being used to kind of pseudo-enhance their academic performance,” states Heather Hayes, a licensed professional counselor.

Some students also use Ritalin another ADHD drug.  These drugs are amphetamines and are used to treat ADHD, a chemical imbalance in the brain which make it hard for the patient to focus.  Adderall and Ritalin is a fast mixture of amphetamines which acts on the brain mimicking dopamine which increases alertness and concentration.  Generally, people with ADHD find it hard to focus on tasks and are impulsive which gets them in trouble.  Amphetamines help curb these traits enabling them to function.

But students nowadays have found Adderall helps them concentrate and study during exams.  Nineteen-year-old Marisa McCorkle has been using Adderall for two years.

I use it for various reasons,” she says, “like tests, it helps me on tests. [And it] helps me stay awake, and [with] studying.”

One of the biggest problems with recreational drug use is that these kids are unaware of the potential dangers these drugs possess.  They might think that a single pill wont matter but that pill will most likely lead to a second and then a third and then we get the whole “snowball effect”.

Twenty-year-old “Dave,” a college student, says, “I think it’s pretty safe unless you’re taking five at a time.”

Hayes says that parents need to make the dangers of drug use to teens clear.  ADHD meds and other drugs should be used only with medical supervision and should not be used to enhance concentration when studying.

“Bottom line,” says Hayes, “Adderall is as dangerous of a drug when unsupervised as any other medication. It’s addictive and it is dangerous.”