Looking For an Edge
Our culture is one that uses drugs, it isn’t a big surprise when people start looking for and edge, we have seen it many times in athletics but it isn’t just there that it happens
As high schoolers prepare for final exams, some teens might be tempted to use a "study drug" - a prescription stimulant or amphetamine or anything else - to gain an academic edge. Study drugs refer to stimulant medications typically prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); commonly prescribed medicines in this category include Adderall, Concerta,Ritalin, and Vyvanse. This term can also be in reference to using non prescription medications such as “Wake - Ups” (caffeine pills) or the overuse of energy drinks such as Red Bull. I have also talked to teens who have used drugs like cocaine to keep themselves up and going to get schoolwork done.
As with much teen drug and alcohol use and abuse parents do not always know what is going on.
Among parents of teens who have not been prescribed a stimulant medication for ADHD, just 1% said they believe their teen has used a study drug to help study or improve grades, according to the latest University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. However, recent national data from Monitoring the Future indicate that 10% of high school sophomores and 12% of high school seniors say they've used an amphetamine or stimulant medication not prescribed by their doctor.
Is what you are thinking true??
If teens think something is going to help then they will believe what they think, that is generally the biggest part of the problem.
Sometimes students without ADHD take someone else's medication, to try to stay awake and alert and try to improve their scores on exams or assignments. Taking study drugs has not been proven to improve students' grades, and it can be very dangerous to their health, says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. "Taking these medications when they are not prescribed for you can lead to acute exhaustion, abnormal heart rhythms and even confusion and psychosis if the teens get addicted and go into withdrawal," says Davis. "What we found in this poll is a clear mismatch between what parents believe and what their kids are reporting.
But even though parents may not be recognizing these behaviors in their own kids, this poll also showed that one-half of the parents say they are very concerned about this abuse in their communities," Davis says. Despite this concern, only 27 percent of parents polled said they have talked to their teens about using study drugs. "If we are going to make a dent in this problem, and truly reduce the abuse of these drugs, we need parents, educators, health care professionals and all who interact with teens to be more proactive about discussing the issue," says Davis. "We know teens may be sharing drugs or spreading the word that these medications can give their grades a boost. But the bottom line is that these prescription medications are drugs, and teens who use them without a prescription are taking a serious risk with their health," Davis says.
Parents - get educated - talk with (not to) your teens.
