adderall: self medication for the now generation

On Urban Monarch’s recent trip to Phoenix, one night came to a bizarre conclusion that can only be called ’surreal’. 

Picture running across a sprinkler strewn golf course after climbing over a 6 foot adobe wall while trying to escape the clutches of a deranged, ginormous lesbian cabbie, and you’re on the right track. 

Then imagine hiding out in the pitch black living room of some college flop house while said cabbie drives slowly up and down the street trying to track you down. 

Oh, and you’re drinking luke warm pabst out of the can while listening to a michael jackson / crazytown mashup being spun by some DJ who’d set up a club-grade PA system in the corner of the kitchen.

You’re here because of adderall. 

Or at least the failed, slightly insane decision to try and score some.

Perhaps it was fate that kept us from sampling the nation’s current prescription fix du jour, or maybe just the self-proclaimed supplier’s last minute greed.

Either way, we didn’t try it that night.

Across the country, especially on college campuses, alot of people probably did.

According to an article in the daily collegian, more and more university students are turning to the drug (prescribed for ADD) not so much for the stimulating high, but rather as an uber-powerful caffeine substitute to help them get their school work done.

In fact, while almost all other drug use has been on the decline in recent years (including, surprisingly, alcohol and marijuana), Adderall is filling the gap.

And unlike the trends of previous generations - which often followed drugs providing brief euphorias - the 18-to-25 set today are far more likely to use pharmaceuticals for a wide range of purposes.

“I don’t know what I would do without it,” said Catherine, who earlier had taken a dose of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drug Adderall. “There’s no way I could have kept my scholarship if I didn’t use it.”

It’s currently estimated that 20 percent of college students have used Adderall.

Increased focus seems to be one of the major allures.

The first time I took it was in high school for AP exams when I had eight straight hours of testing,” Nina said. “It makes me feel absurdly alert. I feel like I could stare at millions of pages and never get bored, you focus so intently.”

Although doctors warn of potential side effects, the general consensus amongst undergrads seems to be apathy.  Many seem to think that the drug is harmless due to it being a ‘legitmate’ prescription narcotic.

“Catherine” sums it up best:

“Everybody in white suburbia is on a prescription for something.”

A somewhat sad, yet largely true sign of the times.

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