Resource Officer Chad Walton believes a new drug has taken a foothold among U.S. teenagers. According to Walton, Adderall is being selected as the drug of choice by teenagers in the United States.

“Adderall is just so easy to get,” Walton said. “Its accessibility is really why it is so popular among kids everywhere today.”
Adderall is typically prescribed to help cases of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) along with acting as a mood stabilizer for some, according to Walton. The drug, which typically has a street value of $5 to $10 per pill, was abused by 7.4 percent of high schoolers in 2013, down from 7.6 percent in 2012, according to The University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Study (MTF). These results are not always fully conclusive according to Julie Tadros, nurse, who believes the results could vary up to 15 percent either way due to the unreliability and dishonesty associated with such tests .

“Some who take Adderall just don’t want to take all of their medicine and see the excess as a great way to make a couple extra bucks or trade for different pills,” Walton said. “The fact is that selling Adderall to someone who isn’t prescribed is a crime so there’s a huge risk in selling Adderall.”

According to WebMD.com, Adderall is a combination of stimulants (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) and is thought to work by restoring the balance of certain natural neurotransmitters in the brain. Many see the draw in taking non-prescribed Adderall because the drug helps concentration or
focus, but according to Walton the effects vary from person to person.

“The symptoms [of Adderall] vary for everyone but most get rapid heart rate, which offers the rush some want, high blood pressure, sweats and even hallucinations in some cases,” Walton said. “For others it has the exact opposite effect where it slows everything down, and even still some people’s bodies reject the drug altogether which is dangerous because they can get really sick with nausea or other illnesses and it’s a bad situation.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies Adderall, and other prescription stimulants as a Class 2 controlled substance, which is the same as morphine and cocaine. Adderall is classified as a Class 2 substance because of its addictive qualities. This means that getting caught selling Adderall can result in being prosecuted as a felony.

Yet the non-illegal side of this drug has its benefits to those who need it according to Tadros.

“Adderall, if prescribed to the right person, can be life changing,” Tadros said. “But it’s not without its dangers of the increased heart rate or any other symptoms someone might develop because of it. You shouldn’t be taking it unless you’re prescribed. There’s just too much risk associated with it.”
Tadros is not the only one who knows the underlying problems of taking Adderall without a prescrip- tion. Walton also agrees Adderall poses a health threat to those who take it illegally.

“[Adderall] is a lot more dangerous than people think,” Walton said. “People think since it’s prescribed it’s safe to take for everyone, but there’s so many other factors that go into those prescriptions, so it’s really not safe for any- one. It’s a dangerous drug.”