By: Ben Remo
At West Virginia University in Morgantown, a mysterious man with a hood pulled over his head goes to the fraternity houses every couple of weeks. He carries nothing but a pocket full of Adderall pills and leaves with a pocket full of money.
At the university’s library early in the evening on any weekday, the same thing occurs right before your eyes. Everyone is calm about it, trying not to make a big deal about what is going down.
On the Internet, tests for Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, are scattered over numerous Web sites. According to Student Health Services at West Virginia University, some doctors’ offices will take the tests as proof that a patient needs Adderall.
The drug for ADD has turned college campuses upside down. It seems as if the drug is given out like candy on an elementary school playground around campus these days. People with a prescription give their extra pills out at houses or apartments in exchange for cash, a practice that is rapidly growing here on campus.
One library goer who admits to using the drug a couple of times believes that some students are convinced that they need Adderall to succeed on tests or quizzes. It has become a psychological addiction for many.
According to a story that ran in the Virginia Commonwealth University student publication, the Commonwealth Times, in 2006, Adderall was originally used as a dietary supplement in the 1970s. Students first started using the drug as a study buddy in the mid 1990s. In 2005, Canada Health suspended the selling of Adderall in the country because the agency believes the drug was linked to 20 sudden deaths.
I recently sat and observed the transaction of Adderall in the library. I found that it does happen in places as public as the library. Within an hour of sitting amongst the fellow studiers, I witnessed two situations that appeared a little odd. Both instances were the same; the dealer takes the money and hands the pill to the buyer at the same time, fast and effective.
Deals happen the same way with the man in the hood. He goes from door to door, selling his product as fast as he can. He gets it done as soon as possible, out and off to the next house in no more than 15 minutes. Getting Adderall is just like getting a hold of any mainstream drug – very easy. There are dealers for marijuana, cocaine and now, with the demand getting higher, Adderall.
Is it hard to be prescribed Adderall? It depends on where. Student Health Services puts a future prescriber through a variety of extensive tests before they even think about giving out a prescription. However, talking to students in the library, stories have circulated about students getting prescriptions without breaking a sweat at family and local doctors in hometowns. For some, all it takes is a little white lie about how hard it is to concentrate or sit still for certain periods of time.
For campuses across the nation, this is just the beginning of Adderall. The popularity of the pill is growing with every semester and if it continues on this path, it may develop into a major problem down the road. Question is, how far will the higher powers let this phenomenon go?
Edited By: Ty Thorngate
