2008 Woodie Awards
Students using drugs to study
Christopher DeFillippi
Issue date: 12/8/04 Section: News
At colleges across the country, the use of drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin to treat Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become increasingly common.
These drugs increase a user's ability to concentrate and increase their levels of energy. The Director of the Counseling Center Ken Garni attests that there are more students who have prescriptions for these drugs.
"When I started here, we rarely if ever here saw students on drugs of any type, we rarely if ever saw students who had been in therapy before," said Garni, who has been at Suffolk for 35 years.
"I don't recall seeing a student with ADD or ADHD for the first 25 years I worked here. I think with the advent of psychotropic drugs which are syndrome-specific, or symptom-specific, the University is now dealing with more students with ADD who were now able to get into college."
Garni also noted that learning and psychological disorders have become increasingly de-stigmatized, leading to more people seeking treatment.
The counselors at Suffolk are trained psychologists and unlike psychiatrists, are not licensed to write prescriptions.
Because of this, students interested in chemical treatment for ADD and ADHD must be referred to the New England Medical Center's department of Psychiatry.
Garni noted there has been an increase in student interest regarding ADD testing.
"There has been a doubling of students seeking testing over the past three or four years," Garni said.
"When we have referred students out for neuro-psych evaluation, ostensibly because they think they have ADD, at most half of those get a full-blown diagnosis for ADD."
There has been increased media scrutiny over illegal usage of Adderall and Ritalin as a study-aid at colleges throughout the country.
These drugs are chemically similar to illegal methamphetamines, are similarly potentially addictive and can cause similar health problems, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.