JOR 221 Project 3
Multi-Media Reporting
Adderall
By Jackie Roughan
KINGSTON - Rhode Island
Papers, group projects, speeches and not to mention finals just around the corner, it is no questions why URI students are beginning to buckle down on their workload. How are they doing this one may ask? For some, their choice of aid, is Adderall.
Adderall contains Amphetamine and Dextroamphetamine, central nervous system stimulants in which affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that attribute to hyperactivity and impulse control.
Adderall is used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder. Adderall is a prescription drug that must be prescribed to a person by their doctor and is not sold over the counter.
According to Dr. Kristina Ward, a Clinical Associate Professor and the Director of Drug Information Services at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy, Adderall is considered a “Controlled Two” substance meaning that it has “the tightest control over the drug as possible.” Meaning that a person can only receive a certain quantity per month, only one prescription at a time with no refills.
“Usually it’s going to be a physician or a prescriber, it could be a nurse practitioner or a P.A. as well… absolutely it is the only way you can obtain it,” said Dr. Ward.
At the University of Rhode Island, it is no secret amongst the students that Adderall is easily obtained and distributed. According to Kathleen Doyle, a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at Health Services, says it takes a lot more to get a prescription of Adderall than most would think.
“A psychologist will come in and do testing [first]. It’s a battery of tests that is specific to determine the diagnosis and to rule out any comorbid diagnosis like anxiety or depression… So the student is asked to go and have that testing done, then come back with documentation that indicates that they do have the diagnosis…” said Doyle.
Health Services has put in place restrictions on prescribing the category two drug, in hopes of limiting the recreational use by, “only giving the student an amount of medication to cover them for one month. Then they need to return because the prescription is a scheduled two medications, you cannot give refills on it so we only give a 30-day supply… Here at our pharmacy a notary seal, or seal is placed on the prescription to prevent people from perhaps printing them out or reproducing the prescription,” Doyle said.
Health Services also mandates that if a prescription is lost or stolen, the student must fill out a police report, bring the report into Health Services and then the students prescription is then refilled, but this is only allowed once.
Most student are unaware of the dangers of taking doses of the Adderall medication that are not prescribed to them. According to Doyle, if a student has an undiagnosed or underlying heart condition and they take the medication, the result could be tachycardia, an abnormally rapid heart rate, which can result in seizures or sudden death.
Video Courtesy of Jackie Roughan
Dr. Ward also agrees that those who don’t know how to take the medication or the right amount to take, can have severe adverse effects to the heart as well.
If a student is caught with possession of Adderall, the Police Department will send the drug to get tested at the State of Rhode Island Department of Health to make sure it is in fact Adderall. If the test comes back positive, then the Police Department will either charge the student (which has been done in the past) or possibly not charge them and let it go judicially.
An Adderall survey was sent to the University of Rhode Island Class of 2018 Facebook page and taken by 72 students. The first question the survey asked the students about their thoughts on the drug. Some of the responses were “It’s helpful for all people”, “Necessary for people with ADHD”, “Helpful for focusing but it is dangerously overused” and “It’s lit”.
The results of the survey showed that only 41% of students knew that Adderall contained both Amphetamine and Dextrophetamine. Only 28% of students knew that Adderall treats both ADHD and Narcolepsy.
When asked if the students knew of anyone who has been prescribed Adderall, a whopping 90% said yes. When asked if the students had ever personally bought Adderall, 60% said no. The survey then asked the students if they had ever taken Adderall before and 42% said yes.
The students were also asked if they knew of anyone who sells Adderall on campus, and 47% said yes while 43% said they could easily find someone. Students were then asked if they believed that URI had an Adderall problem with 64% saying yes.
Lt. Richard Moniz, a member of the University of Rhode Island’s Police Department says that Adderall isn’t so much a problem throughout the year as much as it is during finals week. The Police Department works with Residential Advisors in the dorms to try and restrict the use of drugs for recreational purposes on campus.
No one expert in their field of study can definitely say that the University of Rhode Island has an Adderall problem, as it is very hard to monitor and keep track of. Whether or not this “problem” will increase over the next couple of years is unknown.