What is up guys? This is taingera and today’s topic is going to be “why college kids take Adderall to Cram?” Before I go into this topic, I have to throw out a disclaimer that I am not your medical doctor and these are just my opinions from my research. You should only take this blog content for educational purposes only. Okay, so let’s begin!
So what is Adderall? Adderall is the brand name for a combo drug of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. Originally, it is used and FDA approved for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy only. But somehow because of how it works in your brain or shall we say the mechanism of action, it gets abused by students trying to get that perfect 100% on their test. Just to be complete and at the risk of sounding very nerdy: it promotes the release of dopamine and norepinephrine in your central nervous system and to a lesser extent, blocks the reuptake of these catecholamines. As a result, Adderall speeds up your brain’s activity and helps you stay focus longer. Isn’t that great for cramming?!!! It’s like the perfect drug when you procrastinated all week playing bloons, gambling online or facebook stalking your ex instead of writing that big essay you have due tomorrow. So, what’s wrong with taking this drug besides the fact that it’s illegal to take it if it’s not prescribed to you? Well…a lot! The side effects could be mild like sleeplessness, irritability, nausea, and anxiety to more severe such as depression, aggression, arrhythmias, and convulsions. Oooh yeah don’t forget about loss of appetite and sex drive.
So, how do college kids get them in the first place? It’s very easy if you think about it. All you have to do is ask. There is a network of distributers on college campuses and someone probably knows somebody who will sell them to the college students for like $10 for a 20mg pill. If they can’t get it there, the internet sells them through the Dark Web, that is the Silk Road; they would purchase Bitcoin then purchase the drug. The drug sometimes goes by the street names: Addys, Uppers, Beans, Black Beauties, Pep Pills, Study Buddies, and Smart Pills. The crazy thing about it is that there are many ways of taking them: for example swallowing, parachuting (tablets/capsules crushed into fine powder and eaten), snorting, and plugging (powder mixed with water and plugged into rectum)
For me, I never took Adderall or Uppers during college, I just improved my focus by diet, exercise, good sleep, meditation, and NOT PROCRASTINATING!! I can also understand why college students are taking them because they feel burnt out, stressed, work overloaded, and distractions (i.e. social media, facebook, instagram, thinking about that cute guy or hot girl in your dorm, video games). But remember, in the end, you could get addicted to them and end up having those side effects that I mentioned earlier. Thank you for reading, I will see you in the next episode…
