At the end of November, as finals approach, a team of graduate assistants and volunteers will campaign throughout campus to inform students about the severity of abusing the prescription drug Adderall.

Adderall is a central nervous system amphetamine. It, along with other amphetamines like cocaine, has a high potential for abuse and addiction. Adderall is prescribed to treat symptoms of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and should only be taken under the supervision of a medical physician.

However, abusing Adderall has become an increasing trend among college students, including many at UD, according to Brie Slife, a graduate assistant for the Institute for Technology Enhanced Learning. Students without a prescription to the drug have little trouble buying it from friends or other schoolmates. Commonly, students concerned with overachieving and overloaded with responsibilities tend to use the drug to prolong wakefulness in order to get more tasks accomplished or study longer.

'Students think they can go out three nights of the week and then take an Adderall and get good grades as a result, but they don't realize the adverse effects,' Slife said. 'You wouldn't take someone's blood pressure medicine so why would you take their Adderall? It just doesn't make sense.'

Many students may be unaware of the running risks of Adderall usage. The Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration, according to http://www.fda.org and http://www.dea.gov, warn that Adderall may worsen mental illness, increase heart rates, cause long-term heart and artery damage, and has recently been linked to seizures.

'Kids tend to not realize that Adderall is a real, powerful medication,' said Dr. Mary Buchwalder of the UD Health Center. 'The normal response to a stimulant is that it would make anyone feel more alert, but this one has the addictive potential.'

Misusing Adderall also puts students at risk for getting charged with substance abuse at UD. Prescription drug abuse will be treated the same as any subtance abuse, which according to the UD Student Handbook carries a $250 fine for the first offense and mandatory drug and alcohol abuse courses. The second offense is temporary suspension, and the third offense is expulsion. UD is treating Adderall as it would any other harmful drug.

'Our goal for the campaign is to try and get awareness out to students before finals, because that's a pretty stressful time and usually involves a lot of cramming,' said Lizzy Harold, a graduate assistant in the Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention. 'We want to focus on all students, but overachievers stereotypically tend to abuse the drug more because it has been said to give them better grades.'

The campaign is structured to help students realize that there are other alternatives to staying awake and focusing; abusing Adderall is one of the worst options. The campaign will involve table tents, brochures, and posters among other informative options.

'We just want to make more students aware that this is dangerous and this is becoming a growing problem,' Harold said. 'Eventually we would like to take it further and have it be an ongoing educational process. But for now, we just want students to be aware.'

For help or further information, contact the Counseling Center or the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Office.