Adderall use as a study drug in the Treasure Valley David Gerrold said, “Life is hard and then you die.” But before the inevitable happens, we all try to find an advantage over our competition in an attempt to make a hard life a little easier to bear. While many use legitimate methods to achieve this, an increasing number of University students in the Treasure Valley are using illicit study drugs, especially Adderall.
Adderall is a brain stimulant doctors use to treat disorders such as ADHD. However, many students are using the drug because it makes them focus on their schoolwork for longer periods of time without the need to sleep. Its side effects include dizziness, tremors, fear and anxiety, but students feel the inherent risks as worthwhile. …show more content…
According to a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research which explored the nonmedical use of Adderall in college students, the Treasure Valley has one of the West’s top three concentrations of illicit Adderall use. In fact, the Boise area has higher concentrations than the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland.
With the drug being in such high demand, where does the supply come from? Officer David Gomez, a student resource officer with the Meridian Police Department, spoke on the subject on Thursday in a Mayor’s Anti-Drug Coalition meeting. Gomez said Adderall is “medium hard to get.” As a result of its status as a drug needing a prescription, one cannot legitimately get Adderall without a doctor’s consent. However according to Gomez, students have multiple modus operandi they use to get the drug.
Some students will fake symptoms of ADHD to get a prescription and then will sell individual pills to their peers. Others will steal pills from family members who actually have a need for it. Suprisingly, Gomez also spoke of the increasing occurrence of medical doctors writing fake Adderall prescriptions for a profit. In other words, there is a thriving black