College students get hooked on ‘smart drugs’ (Adderall)

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By Linda Carroll

TODAY.com contributor TODAY.com contributor

updated 5/17/2011 7:33:09 AM

At colleges across America, students are becoming addicted to a popular prescription drug — not because they’re trying to get high, but because they hope to get smarter. The drug, Adderall, is normally prescribed for kids with attention deficit disorder. But some college kids are taking the medication because it helps them focus and pull all-nighters.   

One ‘A’ student at one of the nation’s top tier colleges explained the appeal of the pills kids call “study buddies.”

“When I’m on Adderall and I’m looking at the textbook I can forget about everything else around me,” she told NBC News’ Amy Robach, in a report aired on TODAY. “I figured if everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t I get the advantage?”

Another student, “Mike,” who asked that his real name be withheld, elaborated. “It’s given me the boost to work non-stop for 10 hours a day,” he explained. “Baseball players take steroids to be the best and students take Adderall to be the best. It’s steroids for school.”

Related: Statement from Shire regarding Adderall abuse   
how surprising, Shine has a CYA statement


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http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43050779/ns/today-today_health/

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ADHD Medication Study

Yesterday morning Fishygal sent me a link to a CNN Story titled Study: ADHD meds don't boost severe heart risks  The  headline seemed to contradict a lot of information I'd read on the subject since I first took a serious interest in it last December when a member of this website lost his eight year old grandson, Tyler..  The article started off like this:

Children and teens who take medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are no more likely to die from severe heart problems than those who do not take the medications, new research has found

.That was the conclusion of a study conducted by The University of Pennsylvania and was co authored by Healthcare.  An  Associate Professor, Sean Hennessy co authored the study, according to him; 

"For kids who will benefit from ADHD treatment, the potential risk of a cardiovascular event should not dissuade parents or caregivers from giving a child or adolescent these drugs."

Today, nearly 5% of American children between ages 6 and 17 — about 4.5 million children — have been diagnosed with ADHD, and two-thirds of those take medicine to control their symptoms.  Those are the "Official Numbers"  I've seen unofficial numbers twice as high, considering the vast majority are boys, depending on who's numbers you trust, as many as one in five boys might have ADHD..... Does anyone rember the old line "Boys will be Boys"?