The use of medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among college students who don’t have ADHD is increasing. Most students who abuse ADHD meds do so when they have a big test, or need to pull an "all-nighter" to study or finish a project. But experts say that the benefits students believe they are receiving by abusing ADHD meds are largely imagined:
The idea’s so simple: Just pop a bill and become Encyclopedia Brown. Hate to break it to you, but that’s not how it works. Adderall and Ritalin are prescription medications for a reason. For one thing, they take weeks of regular use before they are properly metabolized for use by the brain: One pill a few hours before class won’t suddenly increase your cognitive ability. -- Source: La Voz Weekly (De Anza College, Calif.)