More College Students Abusing Prescription Drug Stimulants

A study released by the University of Michigan found that 7 percent of college students used prescription drugs as stimulants for non-medical purposes during their lifetimes, and 4 percent have done it in the past month.The national study included data from students at 119 four-year colleges and was published in the January issue of the Addiction Journal.

Three of the prescription drugs that were being abused by college students included in the study were the addictive stimulants Ritalin, Adderall and Dexedrine. These drugs are categorized as Schedule II narcotics by the Federal Drug Administration. This is the same classification given to drugs like heroin and cocaine.

 These prescription drugs are used to treat the subjective diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study also found that students who abuse these drugs non-medically are much more likely to abuse other substances such as alcohol, ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine.  It was also reported that this group of students were more likely to engage in risky behavior such as driving after heavy drinking.

J.T. Daily was a student at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Having been put on the addictive stimulant Dexedrine as a teenager, Daily said, "The effects of taking Dexedrine for me were worse than drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana. In college, I knew many other students, including athletes that abused it regularly."
In fact, it became so popular that he would go through 400 pills in a month because so many other people were abusing his prescription as well. J.T. wound up on ecstasy and later became addicted to cocaine. He ended up dropping out of college because of his addiction, but thankfully received treatment through the Narconon Arrowhead Drug Rehabilitation and Education Program.

According to Narconon Arrowhead\s Executive Director, Gary W. Smith, C.C.D.C., "We have seen a significant number of individuals addicted to methamphetamine, cocaine who have enrolled in our program whose drug use started when they were diagnosed with ADHD and then put on prescription stimulants used to treat this disorder. Unfortunately more times then not these kids were misdiagnosed put on these drugs only to become drug addicts by the time they reached adulthood."

Narconon Arrowhead is a non-traditional rehabilitation and education program that is very effective in helping people become drug-free. Based on the research and developments by L. Ron Hubbard, Narconon Arrowhead is the largest and most successful private residential drug rehabilitation center in the nation.

Having successfully overcome his addiction several years ago, today J.T. Daily is the Director of Drug Education for Narconon Arrowhead and he has personally lectured to tens of thousands of students across the country. His prevention presentations have helped enlighten kids and adults about the truth about drugs and addiction.

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