By Danielle Kaye

Across the nation, college students are abusing the drugs Adderall and Ritalin that are prescribed to individuals with ADHD for study aids. On Monday night, The Bluegrass Chapter for the Society of Neuroscience met to discuss the implications and misconceptions regarding drug abuse among college students at its weekly Town Hall meeting.

Alan Desantis, a communications professor, discussed the extensive research that he conducted on the abuse of Adderall and Ritalin on UK’s campus.

According to his research, he found three shocking findings; the first being that 34 percent of campus will use these drugs once a year. Also, the longer that people are on campus, the more likely to use concentration aides. Finally, he found that the Greek population is more susceptible to abuse these drugs.

Desantis said by looking at the combination of factors, it becomes shocking how many UK students have used Adderall or Ritalin for studying purposes and how susceptible students are to these drugs.

Paul Glaser, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and vice chair of research for the Department of Psychiatry, said students are motivated to use drugs in order to stay awake, study or concentrate on work.

Although abuse of these drugs is common, many students are prescribed these drugs to aid ADHD. These students often take them to help with concentration, study habits and for help with learning information.

According to Desantis, approximately 8 percent have been diagnosed with ADHD and have a prescription for either Adderall or Ritalin. However, Desantis said 4 percent of these people will wind up sharing their medication with a friend or selling it.

The misconception among college students is that these study aids will have extreme positive effects on academic performance.

According to research conducted by Glaser, these drugs will probably not improve academic performance. In fact, Adderall and Ritalin can be counter productive and make the user attentive to things other than academic material.

“Users often find themselves doing organizational activities, email or text messaging, or surfing the Internet,” Desantis said.

Another finding with the use of concentration aids, according to Glaser, is when combined with alcohol it can lead to a diminished sense of drunkenness and more consumption of alcohol. This combination puts students at greater risk for a fatal car crash and other similar incidents, Glaser said.

Within college culture the abuse of Adderall and Ritalin does not have the same stigma that other drugs have grown to be associated with.

Craig Rush, who works in the Laboratory of Human Behavioral Pharmacology, has been conducting research on the matter.

“The professional concern is that the abuse of Adderall and Ritalin could serve as a gateway drug to future drug abuse,” Rush said.

The study conducted by Desantis revealed that 85 percent of UK students think that these concentration aids are easy to obtain, the primary comparison being alcohol if underage.

The primary circulation of ADHD medication is from students that have left over pills at the end of the month.

The concern is that since the medication is not prescribed to the individual buying it, there is no way to tell how the individual will react.

“Research shows that the most common side effects of these types of medication are increased heart rate and blood pressure, insomnia and headaches,” Glaser said.

According to Glaser, there is also the rare occasion where there is change in mood and behavior, hallucination, paranoia and seizures.

According to Karin Lewis, the director of The Study, the best way to avoid being stressed out and concerned about time constraint, which often leads to the abuse of ADHD medication, is to use corrective behavior techniques.

Matthew Neltner, a psychiatrist from University Health Services, recommends that students become aware of what distracts them. He also suggested for students to be aware of when they are naturally alert, get into a routine, exercise or teach the material that they are learning to someone else.

UK offers numerous services to students that aim to help improve study techniques and help students see what learning strategies work for them.

Lewis recommended that students avoid cramming for tests and make a point to get a good night of sleep.

“Staying up all night wears a person down physiologically, slowing response time and not allowing for peak performance,” Lewis said.

The use of concentration aids when not prescribed to the individual taking them is highly dangerous and there is no way to tell how a person will react to the medication.

Bryant Cary, a second year pharmacy student and a member of the nationwide movement called Generation Rx, commented on his advice to students.

“When it comes to information, I would encourage people to get information not from peers but from someone that is knowledgeable in medical field,” Cary said.

Lewis said for students to seek medical services if they that they may suffer from ADHD. When it comes to academic performance, the best way to be prepared is to study over an extended period of time, she said.