2008 Woodie Awards
Drug problem difficult to measure
Joe Griffith
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
In the small number of cases UT finds of prescription drug abuse, they report mostly abuse of Ritalin and Adderall, Campbell said.
Even though faculty members at UT don't seem to encounter many cases of prescription drug abuse, students say it's definitely common on campus.
"Its everywhere you go," said Justin Dieter, an undecided freshman. "Prescription drugs are the most abused drugs there are."
Dieter said he was prescribed Adderall when doctors said he had attention deficit disorder. He took the drug for about a week, but decided to stop because he didn't like how they made him feel.
"Your mind is awake, but your body is exhausted," Dieter said. "I couldn't fall asleep."
Adderall is typically used by students to study or to simply get high, Dieter said.
"People call Adderall the poor man's crack," he said.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain to increase alertness, attention and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate and respiration.
"The mental capacity of the student doesn't change," said Steven Martin, associate professor and chair in the department of pharmacy practice. "It changes the mental acuity and maintains your alertness."
Students who abuse prescription stimulants for long periods of time will eventually experience a powerful crash, Martin said.
"I don't really think students can go through college living like that," Martin said. "Your body can't go without sleep, and eventually your body is going to catch up with you and you're going to crash."
The dangers that accompany stimulant abuse can lead to respiration failure and heart failure if students abusing these drugs are unaware of specific heart problems, Martin said.
"Most young people tend to tolerate abuse fairly well," he said.
The serious danger of stimulant abuse lies in the addiction to these drugs that can form through prolonged use, Martin said.
"You're adding a neurotransmitter to the brain in a situation where previously the brain was fine," he said. "When you take it away you're creating a situation where your brain craves the drug even more."
Even though faculty members at UT don't seem to encounter many cases of prescription drug abuse, students say it's definitely common on campus.
"Its everywhere you go," said Justin Dieter, an undecided freshman. "Prescription drugs are the most abused drugs there are."
Dieter said he was prescribed Adderall when doctors said he had attention deficit disorder. He took the drug for about a week, but decided to stop because he didn't like how they made him feel.
"Your mind is awake, but your body is exhausted," Dieter said. "I couldn't fall asleep."
Adderall is typically used by students to study or to simply get high, Dieter said.
"People call Adderall the poor man's crack," he said.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain to increase alertness, attention and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate and respiration.
"The mental capacity of the student doesn't change," said Steven Martin, associate professor and chair in the department of pharmacy practice. "It changes the mental acuity and maintains your alertness."
Students who abuse prescription stimulants for long periods of time will eventually experience a powerful crash, Martin said.
"I don't really think students can go through college living like that," Martin said. "Your body can't go without sleep, and eventually your body is going to catch up with you and you're going to crash."
The dangers that accompany stimulant abuse can lead to respiration failure and heart failure if students abusing these drugs are unaware of specific heart problems, Martin said.
"Most young people tend to tolerate abuse fairly well," he said.
The serious danger of stimulant abuse lies in the addiction to these drugs that can form through prolonged use, Martin said.
"You're adding a neurotransmitter to the brain in a situation where previously the brain was fine," he said. "When you take it away you're creating a situation where your brain craves the drug even more."
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