The Drug Adderall, Also Known as "Ivy League Crack," is Not What it's Cracked Up to Be

Reassurance comes in orange. Adderall XR (Extended Release) - the most popular form of the drug today - was released in August of 2004 and has resonated in ways that no previous medications for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) have. With a half life of ten to thirteen hours in adults and nine to eleven in children, the medication has fit perfectly into the lives of typical Americans. Students in all levels of higher education have turned, in constantly increasing numbers, to it and similar drugs to keep them focused and alert through marathon study and paper-writing sessions.

Adderall is composed of mixed amphetamines, making it ostensibly an illogical choice for a hyperactivity treatment. Amphetamines, after all, stimulate the brain and its mental processes into working faster. Amphetamines are known for - and, in fact, are produced and used solely for - releasing neurotransmitters, like dopamine and adrenaline from the central nervous system. Any reasonable person cannot be faulted for asking him or herself a question: How can a stimulant that sparks the release of adrenaline in the human body be used effectively for helping people stay calm and focused?

The answer has to do with the particular areas in the brain that the drug is designed to affect. The human brain sends countless chemical signals to areas of the body; these messages are delivered by neurotransmitters - like norepinephrine, acetylcholine, or dopamine - at an incredible rate. In people who suffer from ADHD, the brain cannot communicate these signals effectively; the piece of the brain that dispatches the chemical messages is not doing its job.

This is where Adderall comes in. By sparking the brain into action and forcing it to work faster than it normally does, Adderall allows the brain to be a successful dispatcher.

Stimulant abusers in this country are met with different eyes than are crack and heroin abusers. This is because the stimulant dependence is an affliction that is shared by many. The widespread acceptance of caffeine exploitation has made the social incentives for avoiding stimulant abuse dangerously weak. The line between their parents drinking five cups of coffee a day to get through a day at the office and children taking ADD and ADHD medications to study for five straight hours without losing focus became fragile even when the drugs of choice were not amphetamine based.

When Adderall became the doctor's number-one choice for treating ADHD several years ago, the line cracked. When time-released, one-a-day Adderall XR was developed in 2004, the line shattered. As a result of the addictive nature of the drug taking hold and spreading like an unforgiving virus, the line is now absolutely obliterated and its pieces are lying all over the ground, inert and doing nothing.

Independent surveys measure Adderall XR usage at a level of at least twenty percent of current college students; it has become affectionately known in college circles as "the ivy-league crack". The description is accurate in more ways that one. On the drug, users are alert, self-assured, bold, and elated; life without the drug is not the same as life with it.

There is one stark difference between Adderall and crack, though, and it is the reason crack rose to prominence on American streets: Crack is cheap. For Adderall XR's continuous, uninterrupted flow of assuredness and alertness, students pay between five and ten dollars per pill. When one pill barely gets a depended through a four-hour study session, five to ten dollars a piece is not cheap.

The drug is not, for the most part, viewed by its current users as a boost that allows them to achieve more than they normally could achieve; it is thought of as a vital part of their daily life. Without the drug, many students feel that they would never be able to perform at their heightened levels. Most cannot envision going through life without the drug.

That is the scariest part. Never mind the fact that the long-term effects on the brain's chemical makeup are completely unknown because the drug has not been in use long enough. Never mind the elevated heart rate or the feelings of depression that inevitably occur after the drug has robbed the brain of all the dopamine it had in storage. It is so dangerous and so threatening because its real benefit - concentrated confidence - is something that breeds dependence the moment it is experienced. Students remain prisoners of their own insecurities if they stop taking the drug-they are left weakened, vulnerable, and very much afraid of what they must face on their own.

It is interesting that the makers of Adderall include, among the many listed side effects of the drug, possible loss of sleep. That is an awful lot like Robitissum including possible loss of cough on its label. Adderall has invaded this country in ways that other drugs never have. It is not being smuggled in by corrupt traffickers under the shroud of darkness; it is not being sold by depraved dealers on the corners of dirty streets; it is not being purchased by immoral and hopeless addicts; and its warnings are not hidden from those who need to see them most.

Worse. Adderall is a drug that is being manufactured in broad daylight in federally regulated factories; it is being sold by well-dressed salesmen with business cards and MBAs; it is being purchased by high-school valedictorians and Harvard undergrads; its warnings are printed in colored ink right on the label.

Adderall's creation, rise in popularity, and widespread abuse have 298 million witnesses. Every significant event in the drug's history happened right before the country's eyes, but no one has paid attention to the takeoff. I am willing to bet that due attention will be paid to the crash.