Illegal drugs aren’t just for recreation anymore. Apparently, studious kids are snorting their way right to the top of the class. According to an article that ran in the Montreal Gazette last Sunday, Concordia has caught onto the rising fad of using children’s prescription drugs to get ahead in school.
Ritalin and its close partner, Adderall, are usually prescribed to children or adults diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (AD/HD). The pills tend to have a calming affect on these people when used as prescribed and in the proper dosage. For university students, the drugs have taken on a new dimension. The pills are ground up and sniffed, like cocaine, or even injected like heroin. When taken in these forms, the drugs are only slightly less addictive than amphetamines, like speed. The higher dosage and harsher intake are more harmful than the program prescribed to people with ADD. They have a powerful effect on the central nervous system.
These drugs have replaced a good old cup of coffee or even caffeine pills for some students because they say they help their focus.
Perhaps the most curious thing about this fad is that it is nothing new. Back in February 1998, the Montreal Gazette author, Jeff Heinrich, wrote an article about McGill and Concordia students using a drug covered under the Quebec health plan to get high and do their homework.
Almost eight years later, the same problem is still around – why? If anything, the pressure to achieve has only increased for students over the years. They’re looking for a quick fix. Some students may not know the risks of abusing methylphenidate, the medical name for Ritalin and Adderall. But for others, the risk of addiction and permanent damage that accompany this drug-use is well worth a few good grades in university.
The pressure to perform in university is unequaled, but is it really worth it? Having a degree is more of a requirement than a privilege for many these days. But the difference between a B and an A average shouldn’t be a line of “kiddie cocaine”.
Beyond a physical addiction, there is also a psychological dependence that forms on drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Students lose confidence in their ability to do work without them.
This type of stimulant could be compared to steroid use among athletes. They’re both performance enhancers. Just as top athletes feel pressure to be the best and will risk their reputation and career on it, students are caught up in a world where the grade is king. Without that good grade, it seems your future is in jeopardy. But by taking Ritalin and Adderall in harmful methods and at high doses, university students are doing themselves more harm than good.
Grades are important, but no mark on paper is worth playing with this type of fire.
