Wednesday, April 1, 2009

For EXAMS:::Adderall and Ritalin--Performance Enhancing?

I know people who take Adderall or Ritalin for ADD or ADHD, and I know people who take these medications for other things. These drugs are supposed to enhance concentration, treat depression, obesity, and narcolepsy among other things.
Has anyone heard stories about friends using Ritalin/Adderall to enhance academic performance? Solely academic performance, I'm not interested in people taking ampetamines in large quantaties to get high. There's been quite a bit of articles posted about this in the papers and different magazines.

However, I have noticed students crushing, chewing, swallowing, and snorting these prescriptions just for the energizing and concentrating effects. Why? It helps people study. All nighters? No problem, just get your hands on some Ritalin and you're good! Got a test to study for! Go ahead, take some! And ladies, looking to

Doesn't that sound like a great thing to have for college, especially when grades are so important? But then again you do need to realize, Ritalin is called "kiddie coke" because it has similar effects (though much milder) to cocaine and is quite addictive--more so when snorted.

I admit, I've tried Ritalin before. I was curious to see how it would affect me after hearing accounts of my other friends trying it and having the drug work wonders for studying. So, I bought five 10 mg pills and one 30 mg pill from a friend who had a prescription for it and ingested a dose.

As a side note: Possessing Ritalin without a prescription is illegal, as many of you may know. I haven't done this since because (1) I'm scared of getting addicted to it, and (2) I have no money. I don't care so much for the illegal-ness of it. The drug war is failing. Worry about the hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, meth, crack etc.

Anyways, after a bit I started feeling a rush of energy and then just a calmness. And hell. I could really focus on the task at hand. It really worked. I felt like I could read my text book all day to be honest and classes were so interesting and I loved math lecture for once! I didn't eat at all that day because I had no desire to eat--I could if I wanted, but I didn't feel hungry. However, afterward I was left feeling agitated and very distracted because how I am normally and how I am on Ritalin is so different that the change was a little aggravating. I liked being able to really do things without getting distracted. I actually felt like taking more to keep the other persona going. That's when I realized, "whoa, this could become a problem" so that was an end to the Ritalin. At the moment. Now that I've been introduced to ADD medication and it's helpfulness with schoolwork, the possibility of trying more is always in the back of my head. However, I really don't want to develop a dependence to any drug so for now I stay away.

Adderall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall
Amphetamines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine
Ritalin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritalin

3 comments:

  1. I have heard a lot of stories about this and i have known people that have done it. I personally think it sounds very inticing but i will never do it just because i think it is a form of cheating and giving yourself an edge over classmates who work legitimately. I kind of associate it with steriods or creotine. It gives you an edge(without you needing it) to perform better than others. I am by no means saying that it shouldnt be used for legitimate medical purposes. I just think its unfair that the people give themselves an edge over competition like that. I am glad you kicked the habit, i am sure it can't be healthy to take pills like that when they are not prescribed to you.

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  2. I have too heard stories involving the illegal use of Ritalin. My opinion is that taking any drug that was not meant to help YOU personally is wrong and it is illegal. I have never tried illegal drugs and never plan too. Its just not for me. The main reason is that they can be addicting. I don't want to ever find out what it feels like to be addicted to anything like that, wheather its Ritalin, or Cocaine. The end result can be the same. I would definately never concider taking anything like that even if it could help me study.

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  3. So, I have heard a lot of these stories, too. Just last semester I was working on a group project, and the topic came up. Turns out I was the only one who had never taken Ritalin at all, let alone for academic purposes. I agree with Scoobert in the sense that it is sort of like cheating. Ritalin wasn't created for students to take to concentrate more.

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