Study, write, read. Study, write, read. Check the clock and it’s 3:00 a.m. Night after night, day after day, students are staying awake until the early morning just to finish their schoolwork.  To get through the countless hours of studying, some students will look for an extra boost to finish their work, and sometimes, this extra boost will be a drug called Adderall.

According to RX List, the Internet drug index, Adderall is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, which is an extreme tendency to randomly fall asleep. In cases where people have ADHD, Adderall can help control their activities and increase their attention spans. However, when used in instances where the person doesn’t have the treatable issue, it becomes a problem.

“Taking very large amounts [of Adderall], more than the usual prescribed amounts, can cause more serious side effects, such as disorganized thinking, grandiosity, talking a lot and, most seriously, psychosis, meaning hallucinations, delusions, and paranoid thinking,” local licensed psychiatrist Robert Pohl said.

One in five U.S. high school students say they have taken prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, according to the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Adderall was among the drugs listed in the survey, and prescription drug abuse was most common among 12th grade students (26 percent) and lowest among 9th grade students (15 percent). There was no difference in prescription drug abuse by gender (20 percent for both male and female students).

Recent graduate Nick Yonish was prescribed a type of Adderall to help him concentrate in middle school.

“The stuff I take is a different kind of Adderall called Concerta, which helps me with remaining focused and concentrating on one thing,” Yonish said. “The only bad thing is that it affects my appetite and makes me not hungry.”

Pohl describes this as a side effect of the drug. Other side effects include nervousness, feeling jittery, and insomnia.

“When I don’t take it it’s hard to remain concentrated, and I get really hyper,” Yonish added. “So, unless it’s the weekend,  I always try to remember to take it.”