Over the past several decades, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) diagnoses have sky-rocketed. Along with the rise in cases of ADHD, doctors have been prescribing medications to combat the disease at alarming rates (Hinshaw). These medications are proven to cancel out a lot of the effects of ADHD such as inability to focus, hyperactivity, and insomnia. The drugs work wonders so why would anyone want to stop them from being prescribed? The overall effectiveness of the drug fogs the minds of a large amount of the population when it comes to the dangers of the medication. Recent surveys done at a variety of universities throughout the country have shown there is an alarmingly high percentage of college students who use ADHD medications without being prescribed them. The highest rates, over 30%, came from some of the top schools in America (Yanes). Students use the drugs, mainly stimulants, in order to keep up with school work and study for hours on end, which is why it is no surprise that the best and most competitive schools have the highest usage rates. Most students who abuse ADHD medication are drawn in by the positive outcomes like higher grades and being able to stay awake for longer, what they do not take into account are all the possible negative consequences. The reason students do not know the negative consequences is because they were never taught them and instead were only told not to take them because it is considered cheating and is dangerous. Simply telling teenagers not to do something will not stop them from doing it. The main goal of this essay is to inform the readers why ADHD medication is dangerous to abuse, and allow them to make an informed decision afterwards. If schools around the country offered more education on why ADHD medication is bad to abuse, then the number of college students abusing the medication would without a doubt drop significantly. Taking prescription pills without a doctor’s order can be very dangerous and result in not only short term consequences but long term ailments as well (Miller). It has been proven that long-term usage of ADHD medication, especially when taken without a prescription, causes increased heart rates and high blood pressure (Boyles). While the motives behind taking ADHD medication whether it is prescribed or not are clear, the reasons not to take the drugs are left in the dust. The recent spike in ADHD medication prescriptions has caused an epidemic of students and young adults without the disease that abuse the medication and have no knowledge of the major health risks, both short-term and long-term, which go along with the drugs. 

To fully understand why ADHD medication is abused, one must first understand why it works. There are two main classifications of drugs when dealing with ADHD, stimulants and non-stimulants (Bhandari). Stimulants are also divided into short-term and long-term. When a person is affected by ADHD, he or she has a chemical imbalance in his or her brain that caused the main symptoms of the disease such as lack of focus or hyperactivity (Barkley). The stimulants and non-stimulants are used, sometimes in conjunction, to fix the imbalance and allow the user’s brain to work like a brain unaffected by ADHD. It sounds silly to treat someone who is hyperactive with a stimulant, but it is actually very clever how they are used. Stimulants help someone who has ADHD by suppressing a part of the brain called the limbic system. The limbic system is not actually impaired by ADHD but it does control a lot of emotion, and since there is less emotion going on in the brain it is able to focus on singular tasks a lot better (Barkley). Non-stimulants activate a part of the brain, the frontal lobe, that is actually managing emotion and helps the user control his or her emotions better (Barkley). If treating ADHD was this cut-and-dry, then there would be little to know problems with someone self-medicating. 

The medical community agrees that the most important part of an ADHD medication prescription is having it be user-specific (Barkley). Each drug used to treat the disease is slightly different. Doctors are supposed to thoroughly evaluate a patient and give him or her a prescription specific to what the doctor thinks will work best. The process is rarely achieved on the first try and the patient usually needs to try out different combinations and doses of several medications before finding one that truly fits (Barkley). It is very easy for a patient to receive a prescription that has little effect or too much effect, which if left unchanged can be detrimental to the patient’s mental and physical health. If the patient’s medication is too strong and left unchanged, then the patient could have permanent brain damage and also become dependent on the drugs (Miller). Prescribing ADHD medication requires extensive knowledge of both the disease and the patient to come up with a prescription suited to his or her needs. Finding the right prescription is what makes the drugs so effective. The dangers of ADHD medication become present when the prescription is not suited for the person taking the drugs, which is the case for everyone who uses the drugs without being prescribed.

Without the knowledge of how and why ADHD medication works, it is very easy for someone to think he or she can just take it and have the ability to focus. The idea is that if the drugs make someone who has difficulty focusing able to operate normal, then someone who already has a normal working brain will be super focused. The idea is basic and fairly correct but it does not take into account what the drugs are actually doing. The ADHD medications most commonly abused are Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and Focalin, all of which are stimulants (American Addiction Centers). People choose stimulants because they believe it allows them to focus harder and also because they are the most commonly prescribed drugs for those who have ADHD and therefore are easiest to get a hold of. The stimulants also keep the user awake and more determined to finish a task. When students have finals week coming up and need to study for hours on end, taking a stimulant seems like the perfect way to get started. Because of this, a lot of ADHD medications are now considered “study drugs”, or drugs that should be used for studying (Brain Games). If a student believes that taking an Adderall will make studying easier, then because of the placebo effect it likely will be easier, but the drug is not doing what he or she thinks it is doing. As explained earlier, ADHD medications help fix deficits and imbalances in the brain, they do not directly make the brain work better and are actually just getting rid of what is making the brain not work as well as it should be. So when a person without those deficits and imbalances takes ADHD medication he or she is just feeling the rush of the stimulant (Lakhan). That person’s brain is not being augmented and studying/completing a task will not be made easier. The medication is not making the person smarter, it is just energizing him or her and increasing the urge to complete tasks. 

The tricky idea behind abusing ADHD medication is that some people who take it without a prescription do in fact have the disease and never been diagnosed. It is believed that around 20% of those who take ADHD medication without a prescription actually have ADHD (Lakhan). So for some people, the drugs are actually working and doing what they are supposed to do. With that being said, there is a slim chance that the dosage and drugs that person chooses to take would be the right prescription for his or her specific needs. The other 80% are just mistaking the “high” felt from a stimulant as rushes of energy that will make them work harder and be smarter, all of which are heavily induced by a placebo effect (Lakhan). One of the few true side-effects from stimulants that users without ADHD receive is the ability to stay awake for long periods of time. The ability to stay awake no matter how much sleep a person has had is very enticing. It is a main cause for students to take ADHD medication when needing to pull all-nighters. Along with being a reason for students to take stimulants, young adults in the workforce also feel the need to abuse ADHD medication in order to stay awake and do their jobs. 

Being a young adult in the workforce is a huge scene change, just as college is for students coming from high school. Surveys have shown young adults, ages 22-26, taking ADHD medication stimulants in order to stay on task during the day as well as just staying awake (American Addiction Center). The food industry has a huge problem when it comes to using drugs to staying awake and completing tasks. From personal experiences I can say that it is not uncommon for chefs and kitchen workers to be on stimulants, some much worse than ADHD medication, in order to finish all of their work and prepare all of the food around the busiest times of the year. It is now being reported in surveys that around 10% of young adults working in restaurants take stimulants such as Adderall just to be able to do their jobs (American Addiction Centers). If there is one good thing to take away from this sort of abuse, it is that at least those who are abusing the stimulants do not believe it is making them smarter or work harder, they are only using it for the stimulant affect to stay awake. Of course, it is terrible to abuse the drugs like this. With so many students and young adults abusing ADHD medication the question needs to be asked as to whether or not the abusers know there are harmful side-effects.

Most view ADHD medication as a savior. When used correctly it allowed someone affected by the disease to use his or her brain without the usual difficulties and distractions. It works wonders and has changed the lives of many. A large population unaffected by ADHD has also taken a liking to ADHD medication and believes it can augment their brains and make them into highly focused people. The terrible truth is that the medication is actually hurting them. Abusing prescription pills is incredibly dangerous. The reason the pills are only given out with a prescription is so they are taken in safe doses and for the right reasons. For those who are abusing it, ADHD medication can lead to some short-term problems such as inability to sleep coupled with hard come downs and crashes from the stimulant (Miller). If a person is consistently abusing the drug, much worse issues can arise. The user can develop a dependency on ADHD medication even if he or she does not need it. By taking it often, the user’s body becomes used to it and also enjoys the stimulating effect combined with the placebo that the drugs are making the user smarter (Lakhan). If a user develops a dependency for drugs he or she should not even be taking, it is a clear sign that person’s body and mind is in danger. In some cases, users have abused ADHD medication to the point of having to be checked into a rehabilitation facility (American Addiction Centers). How could something that does so much good and seem harmless force people into rehab? A neuroscientist named Dr. Carl Hart was also intrigued by the harmfulness of ADHD medication, specifically Adderall. After extensive studies he concluded that not only are there chemical structures of Adderall and methamphetamine almost identical, they have extremely similar side-effects (Hart). His work does not mean to say that Adderall is as bad as crystal meth or have the same strength, Hart just wants the world to know that Adderall is not something to mess around with and abusing it can lead to addiction and serious health issues (Hart). After learning how strong some of these drugs are, it is amazing how easily doctors are handing out prescriptions for children and adolescents. 

In the past couple of decades, America has been changing its views on child behavioral issues. Rather than simply stating a child “has trouble paying attention” or “often is disruptive”, teachers and psychologists are now questioning why children would behave in such a way (Hinshaw). As a result, more children were diagnosed with ADHD and America was progressively working towards understanding ADHD and why a child who is affected acts the way he or she does. What happened after was detrimental to all the progress that had been made. Following an expected spike in ADHD diagnoses, there was a boom (Hinshaw). Common child behavior is mistaken for signs of ADHD. If a child throws a temper tantrum, a perfectly normal reaction that basically every person has had at least once, then that child might be called hyperactive. So many children are being called hyperactive when in reality they are just being kids (Hinshaw). While it is possible to diagnose a child as young as 3 with ADHD, parents can also wait a few years to see if the symptoms persist (Miller). At an age where the brain is still developing, it can be very dangerous to give ADHD medication to a child who might not even need it. Many people believe the ADHD boom is partly a result of doctors and pharmaceutical companies trying to make more money (Hinshaw). Once someone is prescribed ADHD medication it is very hard to live without it unless that person never needed it in the first place, so if someone gets a prescription then he or she will probably be refilling it for decades. Not only are more people being diagnosed with ADHD for mild symptoms, there are also many reports of people, most commonly teenagers, pretending to have ADHD in order to get a prescription (Lakhan). In other words, there are loads of teenagers walking around taking medication that could be causing a lot of damage. Additionally, there are loads of reports which state some teenagers want prescriptions just so they can sell the pills (Feliz). Anyone who is overprescribed ADHD medication or taking it without a prescription is potentially destroying his or her body.

Vigorous studies spanning decades have been conducted to see whether or not ADHD medication can cause fatal illnesses. After 20 years of closely following adults who are using ADHD medication it was concluded that the drugs would not directly cause a fatal ailment such as heart attack or stroke unless there was a massive overdose. It was also discovered that adults who take ADHD medication are more likely to have high blood pressure and an increased heart rate (Boyles). Combined with other health issues, ADHD medication could be fatal if overused or abused by someone who should not be taking it. High blood pressure and an increased heart rate could also cause other health issues for someone if left untreated or unnoticed. Even though ADHD medication is proven to not be a direct cause of fatal heart attacks or strokes, it is proven to cause heart issues in adulthood (Boyles). The study mentioned above is one of the largest and longest studies conducted, but with the rapid change in ADHD medication usage there are bound to be more problems arising in the near future.

After analyzing the data of ADHD medication and seeing how many people abuse it, it is evident there is a problem. Doctors are handing out prescriptions for ADHD medication like they are candy, and students are consuming the drugs at alarming rates. Furthermore, young adults are abusing ADHD stimulants just to stay awake during the day in order to handle long shifts. One of the main reasons so many people are abusing ADHD medications is the profound lack of knowledge about what the drugs actually do and how they can negatively affect a person’s body. It is vital that our population, specifically teenagers and college students, is taught exactly what the dangers of abusing ADHD medication are. There are still many unknown long-term consequences that stem from the abuse of ADHD medication and they will not be known for another few decades. Until then, people need to really think about what they are putting in their bodies and understand what risks they are taking. Even though ADHD medication can produce amazing results when used correctly, incorrect usage is very dangerous and needs to be taken more seriously.
