| When it comes to making the grade,
college students are replacing coffee with prescribed drugs. These
supplements are referred to commonly as bennies, Vitamin R or
jollies. With so much homework and an active social life to balance,
college students are relying on these alertness aids to write
their term papers, cram for examinations or just squeeze more
awake time into a full day. Gone are
the days where a cup of coffee is relied upon as the elixir
to pulling an all-nighter. Students complain that they do not
have enough time to meet the demands of their homework assignments.
Recently, it has come to the attention of college officials
that an emerging number of students are resorting to prescription
stimulants to provide an academic edge.
The reason medical experts are concerned about
the use of prescription stimulants is because they are not being
taken under the supervision of a physician. Not to mention,
these stimulants may trigger detrimental adverse effects. A
manic reaction or even a seizure may transpire as a result of
using these medications. The heart rate may accelerate and the
blood pressure can elevate from the use of unauthorized prescription
stimulants.
The prevalent use of these drugs has been found
to occur at highly-competitive colleges; specifically at northeastern
universities in the United States. The usage rate of unauthorized
prescriptions has jumped by three percent. On the contrary,
medical experts theorize that a student who feels the dire need
to use stimulant drug to enhance academic performance may be
an indication of that some of these students suffer from attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Until college students seek counseling or academic
support, the abuse of these drugs will become persistent means
of students coping with the pressures of college life.
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