CREDIT: OCUSFOCUS / ISTOCK / THINKSTOCK
Students can feel overwhelmed when trying to balance school, work and more. But "study drugs" like Adderall should not be the response.

In an episode of his show Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver made a comment about a potentially dangerous drug that has somehow become a normalized part of the college experience.

“That's expensive. We're talking Adderall in the Yale library during final's week expensive,” Oliver said.

Adderall, a drug intended to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become the studydrug of choice for some students.

In a patient with ADHD the drug is supposed to increase the ability to pay attention, concentrate, stay focused and stop fidgeting according to WebMD. It is a combination of two stimulants: amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. These stimulants restore the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain which leads to better concentration and focus.

Doctors warn that Adderall can be addictive and explicitly warn users not to share their prescription for this reason.

According to a study released by Health Canada and the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS) in 2011, 22.9 per cent of Canadians aged 15 years or older had used a psychoactive pharmaceutical drug. These include Adderall and other stimulant drugs used to treat ADHD such as Ritalin, Concerta and Dexedrine, though only 0.9 per cent of Canadians reported using a stimulant drug that year.

Though only less than one per cent of Canadians say they used a stimulant drug, never mind abused it, the report also states that Canadians between the ages of 15 to 24 are five times more likely to use a stimulant drug nonmedically than those 25 and over.

It is unsurprising that this age range happens to be the same age range as the majority of college and university students.

A Fanshawe student, who asked to remain anonymous and to be referred to as Bass Monkey, said he has struggled with a number of addictions in his past, including an Adderall addiction.

He said the drug would not only help him concentrate but that it would also give him a slight buzz. He said he knows just how addictive it can be.

His addiction was so severe that he almost overdosed on the drug.

“I ended up treating it like a drug instead of something to concentrate on,” he said. “I was chasing that buzz on Adderall, I didn't care about the concentration part of it.”

He said in one night he did over 100 milligrams of Adderall, or about five pills. He said the symptoms were severe and though he was not hospitalized he is positive he was dangerously close to overdosing.

“I couldn't sleep all night and I thought I was dying, I was very anxious and paranoid. I haven't touched Adderall since.”

Bass Monkey said Adderall was one of the more expensive drugs he has purchased, averaging between $15 and $20 for just one pill. But much like Oliver's joke about Adderall in the Yale library during final's week, the drug can be sold for as much as someone is willing to spend on it because it is harder to access for anyone without a prescription.

“If [students] think a burst of concentration is worth it so that they can cram for their exams, then they would pay a lot more,” Bass Monkey said. He speculated that students may be willing to pay over $40 for a single Adderall pill.

The high cost of the drug has to do in part with how difficult it is to access. Bass Monkey got his from a friend who has been prescribed Adderall for their ADHD, so anyone who wants to use it non-medically has to find someone with a prescription who is willing to sell.

Bass Monkey warns students that relying on the drug to concentrate can be a slippery slope to an addiction.

For tips on how to avoid feeling overwhelmed with school work, read Study tips for the distracted student by Kori Frederick.