{"id":1405,"date":"2016-12-14T13:30:06","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T18:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2016-12-14T13:30:06","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T18:30:06","slug":"the-study-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=1405","title":{"rendered":"The Study Drug"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maddy Pasche & Claire Booth
\n<\/strong>The Focus
\nMidland HS
\n1st Place
\nDivision 2, News Writing
\nEnvironment, Health or Science<\/p>\n

Junior Riley Maksymiu swallows her daily prescribed dosage of Adderall. About three or four hours after consuming the drug, it starts wearing off, and she goes from cheerful and chatty to angry and sensitive. Not wanting to undergo the negative emotions anymore, Maksymiu takes another pill. This becomes an ongoing cycle of the drug wearing off and taking more pills, until she has taken three a day, more than the correct dosage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started making me really angry and really tired, since when you take it you can\u2019t sleep at night,\u201d Maksymiu said. \u201cSo I would wake up in the morning and be super sleep-deprived, which would make me want to take another one. I just felt like I had to keep getting my
\nprescription bumped up more and more, because it would start wearing off really fast and it made me really angry, act like a baby, and hate everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maksymiu was first prescribed Adderall at the end of her freshman year and took it all throughout her sophomore year. The end of her sophomore year, she started experiencing the negative effects of the drug, especially when she began abusing it. Maksymiu is one of the many teens prescribed to the drug Adderall, a medication used
\nto help treat ADHD (attention deficit\/hyperactivity disorder) and narcolepsy.<\/p>\n

This drug is becoming increasingly popular amongst teenagers and young adults, as they use it to concentrate and stay awake longer for academic purposes. Students abusing the drug are attracted to it through the false perception that it will increase their academic performance and motivation.<\/p>\n

Senior Jenna (a pseudonym given to protect the source\u2019s identity) took ADHD and ADD (Attention deficit disorder) medication without a prescription throughout junior year to assist her in school. Jenna would
\nuse non prescribed Vyvanse, another ADHD medication, two to three times a month to help with her heavy class load and stress levels, saying that they helped give her an extra push.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel more focused and I can get stuff done easier instead of putting it off,\u201d Jenna said. \u201cIt helps with procrastination. Once I get to a really bad point, I\u2019ll take it to give myself a fresh start so I\u2019m not behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior Maria Marcellis has not abused the drug, but was diagnosed with ADHD in seventh grade and has been taking Adderall since her eighth grade year. Marcellis, as well as her friends, have noticed that when she does not take her dosage of Adderall, she is a much happier and lively person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lot more focused when I have taken my Adderall,\u201d Marcellis said. \u201cBut I\u2019m also a lot more straight forward, and I\u2019m more loopy [without the drug]. So the cheerful, loopy part of me isn\u2019t there anymore. I want to focus and get things done, so I take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adderall, like other stimulants, works by releasing the hormones dopamine and norepinephrine within the brain. These chemicals activate or excite the brain, and the
\ndrug blocks the destruction of these chemicals, making them last longer.<\/p>\n

According to Scott Ross, Faculty Physician at MidMichigan Family Medicine Residency Program, the misuse of stimulants can lead to addiction, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, weight loss, abdominal pain, increased risk for suicide, and even sudden cardiac death.<\/p>\n

Ross says that it is extremely important that patients taking stimulants, like Adderall, are correctly screened and monitored by their physician. Teenagers have a higher risk of experiencing negative side effects of the drugs in comparison to other abusers. This is due to the fact that
\nAdderall affects the developing, adolescent brain differently than the fully developed adult brain. Ross says that the use of prescribed medication can be fatal in overdose, even to patients who are taking a prescribed amount regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents abusing this drug are putting themselves at risk for serious health problems, serious legal problems, and addiction,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIf they believe that they suffer from ADHD, then they should be evaluated by a
\nmedical professional to determine the correct treatment for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police Officer Jeremy Davis has dealt with cases of Adderall abuse at school in the past. Possession of a controlled substance, like ADHD medication, is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a $2500 fine. However, manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Often, students who are prescribed to Adderall are the main suppliers for non-prescribed students seeking the drug, and illegally sell or give it away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany times, kids with prescriptions of Adderall or other ADHD medications, don\u2019t think of it as a drug,\u201d Davis said. \u201cBy them giving it to somebody else or selling it to somebody else, they don\u2019t consider themselves to be a drug dealer or possession with intent, which is a huge felony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis recognizes the increase in prescription drug abuse and the problems teenagers face from it. Prescription drugs, like Adderall, have an extremely addictive nature and are known as both physically and psychologically demanding. This can be a gateway to much more dangerous drugs, such as heroin. Davis said that often those abusing heroin can trace their addiction back to prescription drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in the system that I am in, I see many people with those patterns at young ages where they think taking pill after pill fixes everything,\u201d Davis said. \u201cMaybe they put off studying until last minute, they take a pill so they can stay up all night and cram. Everyone thinks they can cure their problems with a pill.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, Maksymiu noticed the drug at work and felt as if she had an increased amount of energy and focus when it came to certain tasks and schoolwork. Eventually, she became dependent on the drug, taking up to three a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to take it to be pleasant and even be able to function,\u201d Maksymiu said. \u201cI just felt like I needed it. I think I was addicted to it at one point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maksymiu began to experience the negative side effects of Adderall one month into taking it, and used to for nearly a year before she quit. Once Maksymiu quit taking Adderall, she noticed a significant positive difference in her personality and grades.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take a pill and it\u2019s magic and it\u2019ll work so well for you, but that\u2019s not what it\u2019s like at all,\u201d Maksymiu said. \u201cIt might be like that your first couple times or might seem like it, but it\u2019s really not. I think that people talk it up way too much. I feel like it\u2019s the people that don\u2019t actually have a prescription that talk it up and say that it\u2019s some kind of magic drug, but it\u2019s really not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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