Rarely would people expect that a drug running rampant on college campuses is most popular among the high-achievers.

As the number of diagnoses for legitimate cases of ADD and ADHD increases so does the number of college students using the drug Adderall without a prescription.

Adderall is a common drug prescribed for attention deficit disorders and is made of mixed salts amphetamine. Amphetamines are stimulants used to treat various disorders where alertness and focus are of the utmost importance.

Unlike many other street drugs, you are most likely to see Adderall abuse in highly driven students.

In a 2004 People Magazine article titled “Don’t Try This At Home”, Kyle Smith writes, “School counselors say motivated students are faking ADHD to get the pep-giving pills to help with their studies – while ignoring risks.”

Researchers conducted a study in the northeastern United States to gauge exactly how prevalent Adderall abuse is in the college environment and what gain students hoped their drug-abuse would provide.

While other street drugs are used primarily to get high, a staggering 77 percent of students in this study claimed to use Adderall “to stay awake to study” – not for physical enjoyment.

Students see the consumption of Adderall as no different from loading up on caffeine, although they admit that the drug is more effective in keeping them alert and focused.

A student in the study referred to only as John, an economics major at Columbia University, rationalized his use of the drug by separating it from other, more “hard” drugs.  

“Crack is kinda like the drug for losers and Adderall is for winners.  They’re two very different kinds of thing,” John is quoted as saying. This way of thinking is not uncommon for college students who use the drug.

“You can’t have a major like mine and use drugs,” said another student in the study, identified as Stacy. “But if you take Adderall for school and to be a success, then it is a different thing.  I have no problem with that type of thing.”

Regardless of students’ intentions for using the drug and their relaxed demeanor around taking it, it is a controlled substance and therefore comes with its own set of side effects considered to be dangerous, even when prescribed by a doctor.  

Adderall is listed as a Schedule II drug which means among other things, the drug has a high potential for abuse and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Other drugs listed in the Schedule II category under the Controlled Substances Act include cocaine, morphine and oxycodone. The manufacturer of the medication, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, and doctors alike say that is has proven to be a safe medication and in no way compares to cocaine or morphine.

“Students tell me it’s really changed their lives for the better, that they are so much more focused and energized,” Dr. Robert Herman said in a 2005 article in the New York Times.

The common use of the drug along with the general assumption of its safety has garnered a wide acceptance as a study aid.  But some see it as a method of cheating much like if a person were to take steroids in sports.

“It’s cheating,” said Angelica Gonzales in an interview with the New York Times.  “I mean, everyone [at Columbia University] is smart.  They should be able to get by without the extra help.”

Some wonder what will happen when students exit college, when the stress of job performance, paying bills, and supporting a family hits them.  But students taking it illegally are only thinking of getting through the next exam.

That sentiment is put bluntly, when John said, “if you don’t take them, you’ll be at a disadvantage to everyone else.”