Finding “Study Drugs”

Unfortunately, Ritalin, Adderall and all the other drugs prescribed for difficulty focusing and hyperactivity can be found almost anywhere. If you are in high school or college, you are likely to have a large supply readily to hand, with pushers (your fellow students) eager to make an easy profit from you.

In some schools, as many as 25 percent of the students take one of these drugs regularly. The Drug Enforcement Administration found that many schools had more of these drugs than the neighborhood pharmacy.

Why is study drug abuse so common? It is all too easy for a “friend” to take some of his little brother’s prescription pills and turn around and sell them at $5 a pop.

Or a student eager for a quick fix tells a school nurse he has a “study disorder” and “can’t concentrate.” He gets a prescription and stocks up on the pills for future use, handing out extras to his friends.

While the law forbids unrestricted distribution of these powerful stimulants,* the sad fact remains that these substances are freely available almost anywhere. Kiddie cocaine, as it has been called, is handed out like candy.

* stimulant: a drug that increases immediate energy and alertness, but that is accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate and breathing

Updated: 2025