My Friend took his first little blue pill (Adderall) yesterday. Granted, it was only 5 milligrams but he still took it for the purpose of most WMU students I meet take it for; to get shit done.

He said to me, “I feel like I have done half a bump of coke.”

This wasn’t the first time I had heard the great study drug compared to cocaine. After all, Adderall is an amphetamine, a stimulant. It is amazing how WMU students frantically search for their sacred Adderall because without it, they believe they may not score as well on their test or do as good on their papers. Due to the frequent comparison of Adderall to “hardcore” ampephatamines/stimulants it makes sense why Adderall is known around WMU as “Campus Crack”.


What if there was a quick fix to perk you up and “make” you study for an exam that you’ve known about for weeks, but haven’t studied a thing? Then here it is,  11pm the night before and you can barely keep your eyes open but desperately need to stay awake and study? Apparently coffee and Red Bull are no longer a desirable fix for a lot of WMU students. I have noticed a dramatic amount of students around me looking for Adderall to give them the inspiration they need to study. I did not know about the frequent use of this wonder drug until four years ago when I lived in the dorms at Western Michigan University. When I say “did not know” I don’t literally mean that. Actually, Adderall is a very well known drug but I had always associated Adderall solely with individuals who are diagnosed ADHD/ADD. Now it seems that Adderall is in high demand in an underground collegiate market place, at least at WMU.

Do you know where I can get some Addie’s?

Doesn’t that sound a little silly? Well, four years ago I believe I answered my fellow Henry Hall resident with a confused, “some what”? Now you can ask me where to get Addies, Jollies, or Amps I would know of three people to call who use their Adderall prescription as a source of income; feeding the average sleep deprived, unmotivated Western Student.

$$$

Apparently the going rate for ONE Adderall pill around WMU’s campus is from 3-5 dollars, depending on the milligrams. In my personal experiences I have seen 5, 10, 20, and 30 milligram tablets/capsules. As one would assume, the greater the milligrams the higher the price.  This is just my assumption, but it seems most college students are still covered under their parents medical insurance and therefore not paying much or anything for their prescriptions. This leads me to believe (reasonably so) that many who were prescribed ADHD medication in their youth are no longer taking it. Instead, they have the opportunity sell them to the non-prescribed late night study bug. My neighbor has been prescribed Adderall since he was 8 years old, we will just call him neighbor Joe. Neighbor Joe is now 24 and says that he hasn’t been taking it for about 5 years. However he still gets his prescription filled habitually every month. He knows that if he keeps them around, sooner or later somebody will call needing to buy a few of his pills. Neighbor Joe graduated last year but still has his many dedicated Adderall Junkies who call him frequently, especially during exam time.


SCENARIO: One individual goes to Walmart to get their Adderall prescription filled for the month. Most prescriptions at Walmart are $4, and one prescription is 30 pills (in many cases). If they sell 30 pills in the month before their next prescription they have made from 90-150 dollars. Plenty of each cash for a monthly bar tab.



Adderall and other ADHD stimulant drugs have become a part of this incredible underground prescription drug phenomenon at WMU. About Three weeks ago my roommate received a gift from his older lady friend. He was very excited about it. As he proudly held it up in my direction to show me a cheesy clay jar labeled “Bad Habits” he explained that he would:

“Use it to keep his drugs in”!!

As charming as this gift was, I was concerned with his proclaimed use for it. I mean, I think I would notice if my roommate was doing drugs, so i found his comment irrelevant because as far as I know he didn’t even have drugs in the house. So to this regard I had to be nosy and ask him what drugs he was referring to. Of course, I said it in a joking manner but I seriously was anticipating the answer.

“I can keep my Adderall,Vicadin, Xanax, and Zolloft in here. hahaha.”

I realize how ridiculous his answer seems. But this was, in all seriousness, his answer. Before I realized to what magnitude my fellow Bronco’s used prescription drugs I would have assumed that my roommates previous comment regarding his brand new “Bad Habits” jar would be referring to something like marijuana, cocaine, or mushrooms. Aren’t these what DRUGS are anyway? These are what I used to believe the kind of drugs I thought my colleagues were doing. But now, 4 years in, I have had a dramatic Revelation. The drug/s of choice for many WMU scholars are those which are prescribed (to some) legally. Maybe the thought of abusing prescription drugs is less concerning. Or maybe they are just easier to get your hands on.

Whatever the case may be, one should understand that this minor underground prescription drug operation around WMU is spreading like wildfire.  It is also important to understand that the people who partake in this illegal drug activity are most likely aware of the consequences and fully acknowledge that it is illegal. However, when dealing with prescription drugs many people feel more safe. Also,  most of the students who seek out the aide of Adderall do intend to use it for mainly scholarly purposes. They are good students who have hopes of high achievement and honor. Many of the students whoI know use it, myself include, take it for the purposes of being able to study better, longer, and harder. Hopefully recieving a descent grade in return. It seems like a harmless but helpful drug.

All of these presumptions that I have construed are all from personal experience and personal discussions with acquaintances. I am 22. I have lived in many different student dorms, apartments, housing, etc. I have made friends with many people. And from each and every one I have gathered small details of conversations I have either taken part in or over heard. From these details and experimental stages of my personal young adulthood I believe I can personally make valid assumptions of the growing abuse of adderall and precription-like drugs.

However, Going beyond personal experience and the quiant campus of WMU, I decided to see if my current perseptions of Adderall abuse were valid elsewhere. First of all, I began my quest with my beloved search engine, Google. By typing in “Adderall abuse” in the search bar, over 2 million results came up. I recall that when scrolling over the first Google results page the phrases “Addiction”, “Overdose”, and “High” stuck out to me. Mainly because people usually associate such intense language to drugs more commonly recognized as illegal substances. This provides information that Adderall is addictive and it can be potentially dangerous.


Here is a short video I stumbled upon on YouTube. It is some news station in Atlanta reporting Adderall abuse on college campus.