Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Are US college students abusing "smart drugs"?

Yes, according to the WaPo.

"What was a surprise, though, was the alarming rate of senior business majors who have used" the drugs, he writes. Almost 90 percent reported at least occasional use of "smart pills" at crunch times such as final exams, including Adderall, Ritalin, Strattera and others. Of those, three-quarters did not have a legitimate prescription, obtaining the pills from friends. "We were shocked," Salantrie writes. He says that in his report, he was "attempting to bring to light the secondary market for Adderall" specifically because "most of the university is not aware" of its extent, he says.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you have a long and difficult test, having something to help you keep your focus and speed can make a huge difference. I used to bring a bottle of super-strong tea and a bag of raisins to most important tests like GRE - and I would have used stimulant pills if I could get hold of them. With so much Ritalin around it must be easy these days.

On similar note, classic music soloists commonly take beta-blockers - to give themselves steady hands, and to cope with pre-performance nervousness.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the Benzedrine inhalers OTC should make a comeback!?

Anonymous said...

I think this is more of a problem with the education system than college students.

Anonymous said...

"...this is more a problem with the education system..."

All the more so, now that entry into Harvard Business school can be had for a mere "Presidential" waiver, with no need of any such undergraduate degree nonsense!