ALEXANDER QUON

Deadlines are approaching and finals are on the horizon. Some students at the University of Saskatchewan are not just reaching for textbooks to study, but for pills to help cope with the workload.

For the cost of a latte, students are now able to purchase drugs that can help them study longer and harder. The most popular of these is Adderall, which has the ability to provide everything that a struggling student needs.

A two-month investigation from the Sheaf has dug into the growing drug culture that surrounds the use of Adderall on the U of S campus. We spoke to nine students from a diverse range of colleges, all of whom had used Adderall or similar drugs in an attempt to increase their academic performance. All of the students in this article have had their names changed in order to protect their privacy.

In addition to those individuals, the Sheaf talked to 10 other students who admitted that they had used Adderall but did not want to go on the record for an interview.

Adderall and most drugs that fall into the broader category of study drugs, are classified as stimulants. They are a controlled substance and not available as over the counter medicine.

Dr. Alfred Rémillard, associate dean of research and graduate affairs for the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, identified two medical reasons for the use of stimulants.

“Really, the only official use of stimulants, of which Adderall is, is a thing called narcolepsy,” Rémillard said. “The other is obviously attention deficit disorder.”

Across Canada, a common use of Adderall on campuses is not to help with sleep or concentration, but instead to stay alert, to study and to improve academic performance.

“I use it to help me study and concentrate,” said Olivia. The fourth-year student did not indicate whether she had a medical condition that would require her to take Adderall.

“When I use it, it’s because I’m at a point where I really sort of need the extra help,” Olivia said, before revealing that she didn’t seek the drug out. Adderall was offered to her during her finals for the 2011 winter semester. A friend, recognizing how stressful finals were for Olivia, provided her with access to Adderall. Olivia didn’t know what the pill was when she was given it.

“She was just like, ‘here, this might help’ and just gave me one,” she said. “And it did help.” As a result, Olivia now uses Adderall sporadically during finals in order to give herself a boost.

“There are actually rankings of it, the hardest to find would be Adderall. The easiest to find would be Ritalin or Concerta,” said Liam, a third-year arts and science student who infrequently uses what he calls study drugs.

He first heard about study drugs in high school, after one of his friends was prescribed Adderall. He began to use it in his first semester of university.

“First year was one of those years where I was a big procrastinator, so I would leave everything to the end,” Liam said in late January. “It helped me a lot in that first year but I did, if anything, abuse it the most first year.”

Over a two week period in that first year, Liam used the drug extensively, taking what he described as a dose once a day. During that time period, Liam says that he suffered from insomnia and lost close to 15 pounds.

Rémillard says that weight loss is not uncommon for users of stimulants. Appetite suppression is also a common side effect.

“Even for the use of ADHD, when used appropriately, [weight loss and appetite suppression] is just part of the pharmacology of the drug.”

For Olivia, the side effects were just as — if not more — severe. She indicated that her side effects included heart palpitations, sweating and insomnia that lasted for days at a time.

Other possible short-term side effects can include a euphoric feeling, insomnia, fatigue, increased blood pressure or increased heart rate, while depression is a long-term side effect. Rémillard stressed that many of these side effects are dose dependent and can be controlled when under the supervision of a doctor.

However, when used without a doctor’s supervision, these side effects may become more dangerous.

“It’s the fine balance and I don’t know if they would be able to determine [the correct dosage] on their own. No one would be able to determine it for them because they are not using it for a therapeutic use,” said Rémillard. “I’m not going to say to you that you’re going to be a drug addict and you’re going to be out on the streets; at a certain point it can be helpful but there will be a breaking point.”

Due to the stringent guidelines that surround the prescription of Adderall, Rémillard theorized that the source of illicit Adderall on campus comes from individuals who have a valid prescription. No longer needing their dose, these individuals instead sell it for profit.

The Sheaf’s investigation matched up with Rémillard’s assessment. Most students interviewed had no prescription, noting that they purchased it from friends or acquaintances that did.

“I know a lot of people who use Adderall,” said Mason, a second-year student hoping to transfer into Edwards School of Business. “I have friends who have prescriptions and I can just get it off of them.

“A good portion of my friends [use it] and then they always mention, because they know I have it, ‘Oh I know a lot of people who want to buy Adderall.’”

This was a common phrase heard during the course of our investigation. Almost every individual the Sheaf interviewed indicated that they knew numerous friends or acquaintances who wanted to use study drugs. While anecdotal, the testimonies stand in stark contrast to the data that the U of S is currently using.

The 2013 National College Health Assessment surveyed 34,039 individuals on 32 campuses across Canada. Self-reported data indicates the general health of students across the country as well as what medications they may be using.

At the U of S, the survey was sent out to 4,500 randomly selected student emails. The survey had a 32 per cent response rate.

Documents obtained by the Sheaf, including information from those surveyed and a study by the NCHA, shows that only 2.2 per cent of U of S respondents indicated that they had used stimulants without having a prescription for the drug. The national sample responded at a rate of 3.7 percent.

There are plans to conduct the survey again in 2016.

Patti McDougall, vice-provost teaching and learning at the U of S, said that the university takes any new details into account when considering on-campus drug use.

“If we become aware of a growing problem then it absolutely warrants our attention,” McDougall said.

During the course of our correspondence, McDougall admitted that as a result of the Sheaf’s interest in the topic, she had already began the process of her own investigation into Adderall use on campus.

While the U of S has no explicit provision against Adderall usage — it is a legally permitted drug when you have a prescription for it — McDougall indicated that anyone caught using drugs in an attempt to achieve better grades could face an academic misconduct penalty.

Section II (t) of the university’s Regulations on Student Academic Misconduct states that “using or attempting to use personal relationships, bribes, threats or illegal conduct to gain unearned grades or academic advantages” would meet the criteria of academic misconduct.

McDougall verified that in the two years she has been vice-provost of teaching and learning, no student has been charged with that provision in relation to study drugs.

In order for a student to be charged with academic misconduct, someone would first have to come forward with a complaint against a student.

There are two types of academic misconduct in the U of S student code of conduct: formal and informal. Informal misconduct occurs when a student has acted out of misunderstanding or carelessness, while formal misconduct means that the issue is serious enough to require a panel hearing. If based upon the balance of probabilities the panel believes that the student has breached the academic code, they will be found guilty.

If found guilty of academic misconduct, students at the U of S can expect to receive a punishment ranging from a zero on an assignment to expulsion, depending on the college and the severity of the offence.

Punishment can be more severe for those caught selling Adderall. In addition to facing charge of non-academic misconduct from the U of S, McDougall indicated that anyone who was caught selling Adderall would have their case referred to the police.

Adderall is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Anyone caught selling the drug faces up to seven years in prison or a fine of $2,000 and one year in prison.

Despite the risks, Liam indicated that he’s never felt bad about taking Adderall while studying. He compared it to how some students use coffee to stay awake and study for longer.

“I’ve known some people who don’t rely on caffeine and there [are] some people who use caffeine,” he said. “The biggest risk is that it can easily be abused.”

Even though he doesn’t have a prescription for it, Liam indicated that he would still like to see Adderall remain a controlled substance. He chooses not to attempt to get a prescription because he believes that it may lead to him abusing it more.

There is still very little data on Adderall drug use on Canadian campuses. Rémillard said he may soon attempt to change that situation. He expressed interest in going on an administrative leave in order to study the use of psychiatric drugs among students. It would be in an attempt to find out how much and why they are taking them. Adderall would be included in the study.

Mason said even though he has used Adderall, he doesn’t think that the U of S should be more accepting of its use on campus, even if it is becoming more common.

“It happens a lot more than people know it does, but I don’t think they should be accepting of it because it still is technically a drug. If you don’t need it, you shouldn’t be taking it.”