Hilltop pill popping

Focus, motivation, discipline, and even guaranteed weight loss — all products of one little orange pill that has students asking, “Do you know where I can get some Adderall?”

“It is crazy that something so small could literally change my whole life,” one SMU junior said. With all the pill-popping fads that plague society, any intelligent consumer would say that such a “magic pill” is too good to be true. However, the reality of the matter is that for many of today’s youth, Adderall has become an essential aspect of their daily routine.

Half of the people taking Adderall on a daily basis do not have a prescription for the controlled substance. “I know it is sad, but I just can’t do my work without it,” another SMU student said, who scores his daily dose from his over prescribed roommate. So if half the people taking Adderall do not have a monthly prescription for the remedy, then how do so many people consistently manage to fulfill their fix?

Society has a fixated image of what the stereotypical drug lord embodies. Movies like Scarface and Blow have endowed us with an insight into the lives of money hungry kingpins such as Tony Montana and Pablo Escobar, and the cutthroat lifestyles that they lead. While cocaine and marijuana were the drugs of choice for dealers and addicts of past generations, our generation has spawned a new breed of patrons that in turn demands a new breed of suppliers.

Students on college campuses across the country are getting a lesson in economics that cannot be found in textbooks. It is an innovative approach to supply and demand. Walking down the halls of any college dorm it is inevitable that you will run into two types of students: student (a) who is on a desperate manhunt for Adderall and student (b) who has an influx of the orange gold at the end of every month. So naturally, just like our economics textbooks say, as long as there is a market for a product, the product will thrive. Consequently, a black market centered on the buying and selling of Adderall has flourished and is only getting stronger.

As a young college student, you are finally granted the freedom you have sought after for so long. However, the catch is that most students do not have enough money to truly indulge in the four-year party as lavishly as they would like too. While some students might pursue a part time job to ensure a little extra cash flow, others choose to embrace a less traditional line of work.

“I get 90 pills every month, but I only need between 30 and 45. So when people are willing to pay me $5 a pill for what would otherwise go to waste, how can I say no? I mean that is $200 to $300 a month, in my pocket for doing nothing. I would be stupid not too.” The source quoted asked that his identity remain anonymous in consideration of the fact that his newfound profession is highly illegal.

Adderall is a controlled substance, meaning that if caught in possession of Adderall without a valid prescription, it is the same offense as if you were caught with marijuana. This applies to anyone selling the controlled substance as well. If authorities were to get word of someone selling Adderall, they would face the same charges as someone trafficking marijuana.

Despite the drastic consequences that anyone caught indulging in this black market might face, Adderall cannot be stopped from circulating throughout the masses. Each new person who tries Adderall is convinced of its power and often become dependent on the pill to endure tasks that prior to their experimentation had no problem completing. Over the past few years, kids have found ways to utilize the drug that doctors could have never imagined. Adderall is methamphetamine based, which means it is basically a form of speed. Initially intended to help kids with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) focus in school, Adderall has taken on a whole new role for some users.

Methamphetamines naturally suppress a users appetite. “Anyone who has ever tried it will tell you that food is the last thing on your mind when you are cracked out on Adderall,” sophomore Francis Ryburn said. Consequently, Adderall has become the newest diet craze for many weight-obsessed girls.

Some athletes have even turned to Adderall as a performance-enhancing drug. Evidently, breaking down Adderall into a fine powder and snorting it as you would cocaine provides an immediate rush of adrenaline. The same sensation one would get from taking speed just enhanced. “In high school our quarterback would do lines of Adderall before every game and it would make him go nuts. He said it put him in the zone,” one SMU Kappa Alpha pledge said.

Adderall has become such an epidemic that the stimulant has become the inspiration for hit television shows such as Desperate Housewives. For anyone who has watched this new hit series, you would know that no subject is taboo. On an episode that aired in January, one of the main characters was struggling to keep up with her hectic schedule. When she noticed that one of her fellow desperate housewives seemed to be effortlessly managing a lifestyle even more demanding than her own, she became determined to get to the bottom of her secret. Her secret? You guessed it. She had been skimming her kids Adderall.

Adderall first showed up in schools in the early ‘90s. In less than 10 years it has become one of the most commonly prescribed prescriptions. Now the impact of Adderall far exceeds the classroom. It has swept high school and college campuses across the country and even weaseled its way into the depths of mainstream society.

Despite its popularity in the United States, Adderall was recently banned in Canada. A rather bold proclamation for a country that is notorious for its lenient drug and healthcare policies. Such a rash action did not go unnoticed in the United States. Consequently, psychologist and parents are starting to realize that there might be a problem worth confronting.

The market for Adderall is only growing and consequently the temptation for many prescribed users – to benefit from the high demand for the controlled substance – is unavoidable. Most people caught up in this black market are unaware of the severe consequences and detrimental side effects that non-prescribed users potentially face. Since it’s not marijuana or cocaine, most people do not think twice about blatantly handing someone Adderall in the hallway or bathroom. However, society is no longer ignorant to the epidemic at hand and it is now only a matter of time before Adderall becomes the new drug of choice.