0:03 Hey, man, glad you made it. I've got something new for you to try. Come on, you want one? 0:11 Being offered drugs at a party isn't uncommon and neither is a decision that follows. Over the recent years, Adderall has become a hot party favor for young people. Students are mixing this stimulant with alcohol assuming that it will let them party all night long. And they're wrong. Over 60% of Adderall users get the drug from friends according to a recent study. Some may use it hoping to achieve academic success while others take it recreationally without knowing the full side effects. It's easy to obtain with a prescription from a doctor whether or not someone actually has an attention deficit disorder. So why are so many young people choosing to take this drug? I'm Mark McKelvie. 0:50 And I'm Aneta Rebiskewski . 0:52 Welcome to this week's special episode of Millennial Addictions, where we uncover the mysteries of Adderall. 0:57 On today's show, we're diving into the misuse and misunderstandings of Adderall. You'll hear from a University of Guelph student who found himself tricking his doctor to get a prescription for the drug. You'll hear from a doctor at the University of Toronto who specializes in addiction and pharmacology. And you'll hear from students like you debating the pros and cons of Adderall. 1:36 It all started a year ago when John visited his doctor. John is a pseudonym for the University of gold student who didn't want to be named publicly for the story. His first experience with Adderall happened in his freshman year at university when he was offered the drug by some friends. This led to John's decision of asking his doctor about obtaining a prescription. 1:57 It was actually a pretty easy process, like I was buying it sporadically from like friends and like people that I know that had it. And then I had to go to the doctor because I was sick, like I had an ear infection or something and I while I was there, I was like, I might as well tell her that I can't focus. And then she had to run some tests and stuff. And I had to go back like two or three times, but I pretty much just told her that I can't focus and I've made myself like all distracted, kind of like, read about what ADD is and then just play that back to her. 2:21 I never really thought it would be that easy for people to get a drug, especially Adderall. 2:26 You know makes you think about how dangerous it can be that some drugs are easily obtained. 2:30 All John had to do was pretend to have the symptoms of somebody with ADHD. He darted his eyes around the room a few times and didn't even keep eye contact with the doctor. And from there, the doctor was convinced to start the next step of the process based on John's explanation of how he fails to focus on everyday tasks. 2:48 It took three times it was like an instant thing I had to fill out a couple questionnaires regarding it that that would give him like little kids that have ADD. Like does your son actually there's a motor in him and he can't stop walking around does he does he interrupt people this and that. I had to fill it out it was really weird because they get 22 year old kid filling out a form for a six year old and I had to give a form to my boss at work or somebody like a teacher or somebody that I worked with closely and they had to fill it out their perspective me. Which is obviously like a little bit manufactured and then I went back and had some more questions. She kind of like did a whole interview and asked me first she thought I had like anxiety or something but I obviously didn't know it was just it was just I wanted the Adderall or any sort of like thing like that just to help me study and after about three sessions, she she just gave it to me. 3:32 After receiving his prescription, John recalls being super stoked on his free supply of Adderall. But after nearly two weeks, John remembered why he got the prescription in the first place for his incapability to focus while studying and not just for fun. 3:48 Naturally, I've always been super, I don't think I have a really severe ADHD or like ADHD. I just don't think if I don't care about something that much I can't force myself to to study it or like read it. So like when you have to read like a 20 page paper about like some research that you don't care about, I'd be doing half a page going on my phone doing half a page, it will take me two days. Whereas now I could just sit there tell myself I need to do it, do it in two hours or however long it takes and then it just, it just makes your time more productive. 4:17 Next, we have Dr. Michelle Arnet, a toxicology and pharmacology professor at the University of Toronto, specializing in how chronic addiction plays a role in society at large. 4:28 Nobody really thinks about this, but you know if somebody's on methylphenidate or modafinil, to help them with their study habits and they're not sleeping, this is actually counterintuitive because sleep is actually where memory forms and all of our cognitive abilities come from. So if you are pulling all nighters, even with under the influence of stimulants, you are affecting your long term memory and your ability to write an exam in a day or two. So it's like they think they're helping but then by not sleeping, they're actually not allowing memory formations to consolidate, and therefore, the effects may not necessarily be as beneficial as they think. 5:07 Adderall is an amphetamine, similarly to coffee it stimulates your brain, but unlike coffee, it improves your cognitive ability. More specifically, when it comes to focus and retention. 5:18 They can increase motor activity, so even if someone is driving or bike could have unwanted effects. If they're they don't have distinct control, just because of the increased motor activity. 5:32 So we can see how the drug has potential to improve academic success, but it's still like studies to prove so. When I first came to Ryerson, I didn't know how competitive my journalism program would be. 5:42 Yeah, I find that with a smaller program size, the pressure is really high for us. I didn't really expect it to be like this, but you feel more competition with your peers to be the best journalists. And for me, I use that as motivation. 5:55 For people who are considering grad school, the pressure to do well is enormous. Adderall could give them the confidence they need to succeed. Students in the University of Toronto's pre-medical program are feeling the pressure too. Many of them see futures in research or as doctors so the numbers they get in their undergrad really matter. 6:14 A cognitive enhancer is used on students second, divide the accepted use of cognitive enhancers in students with learning disabilities. Finally, we will extend our arguments for short term use of cognitive. 6:24 You have a very high stress environment you need to do you actually need to study harder, because everybody is studying hard. So it's very competitive and a lot of time you you run short, and you're in terms of your time, and so you just don't feel that you have enough time to get things done. So you need to probably just like have a lot of coffee or drink a lot of coffee. So people that's what people do, right or stay in the library, like the whole overnights and that's the solution a lot of people try. And some people use things like Adderall. I know people that are using it at U of T. and it's been helping them. They literally they use it, they don't sleep for three days. They're alert and awake to get something done, so it's a solution. So it's the system that are pushing the student to to choose this. We know that everybody is not at the same level. 7:04 In terms of this aspect, u of t is fucking dogshit because it preaches that it wants its students to like have good mental health and all these things. But it's mental health policy is terrible, and it does for students into our competitive nature. 7:19 Ryerson has plenty of tough programs like that, like finding yourself pushing a corner can't ever be fun. 7:24 What's great about Ryerson is that we have counseling resources here that can be accessed easily through our student resources. But other programs or schools might not necessarily have that luxury. I really find myself being thankful for the journalism professors who take the time to make sure all students are doing their best, but also feeling their best. 7:43 While some students are trying to achieve academic success, others were using Adderall recreationally without knowing the full risks. Dr. Arnet explains the dangers of mixing two substances together. 7:53 Often individuals when they think of a speedball they think of you know, some of famous people who've died from speed balls, you know, cocaine and heroin, crack and benzodiazepines. But you know, speed balls are anything from Adderall and alcohol to Redbull and alcohol. So one of the concerns with the combination of speed balls or these combinations of stimulants and depressants is that you can actually delay, you can have a delayed overdose 8:20 U of T student Elliott Davidson thinks university students are old enough to know the consequences of their actions. But is that true for everyone? 8:29 Recreational use is tough to cover. I think that in a lot of ways, you know, we are adults, and we're allowed to make our own decisions in terms of doing this, you know, taking recreational drugs. And I think that the current system in terms of legalization, decriminalization is sort of bad, because as we talked about in the debate, it pushes people into the black market. Which means that it is less safe for individuals to be taking those drugs. 8:56 I don't know about you, Mark, but I'm still learning to take full accountability for myself, especially being in university and being so far away from home, 9:04 We're in our 20s and we've had experiences to grow from, but I still fully acknowledge that I'm naive to many things and experiences. I don't think you stopped growing up once you turn 18. 9:13 I think there is like I guess some sort of like debate whether one person increasing their skills or like their abilities to study longer, work harder, kind of puts everybody at an unfair advantage. But I also do feel we're not all naturally the same at studying. And for some people like I don't think it even brings them up higher than anybody else it kind of might just bring them on to the same level. 9:33 Many of us just like john are trying to find that perfect life balance as young adults. And school can cause a lot of pressures that sometimes leads to using stimulants like Adderall. 9:43 School brings pressure but health is important, so think about your options carefully. And that wraps up for a special episode on Adderall misuse for our show Millennial Addictions. Catch next week's episode about Instagram doesn't really reflect our reality. I'm Mark McKelvie. 9:57 And I'm Aneta Rebiskewski.