RITALIN,
BY CHRISTOPHER TENNANTSTUDENT.COM CORRESPONDENTWhen David Green gets ready to write a term paper, he boots up his computer, pulls his chair close to his desk and draws a deep breath. He crushes a tablet of Ritalin beneath a textbook, leans over his desk blotter and inhales the small mound of white powder. The Harvard sophomore says Ritalin, a concentration drug for which he does not have a prescription, helps him focus on his schoolwork. "In all honesty, I haven't written a paper without Ritalin since my junior year in high school. I even wrote my Harvard essay on it," said Green, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. "It keeps you up when you're tired, and makes you much more aware of what you're doing. Although there are certain risks involved, I think it's worth it." From cups of joe to rails of blow, college students' abuse of stimulants is hardly a new phenomenon. Amphetamine-based drugs like Ritalin have long been among the sedulous set's favorite fuels fo!r all-night study sessions. But as college becomes more competitive and time grows more precious, students at campuses across the country have begun experimenting with Ritalin. Some swallow pills, while others crush tablets into powder and snort the drug l
------------------------------------------------------------------------ the rush you need to keep doing it, and when you do come down... most people get depressed." An overdose can cause a similarly adverse reaction in prescribed users. The body shuts down in a reaction known as the "zombie effect." And other medications can complicate or intensify Ritalin's effects. "I've had quite a few students tell me that they wanted to stay up late so they took their friend's Ritalin - [they tell me] usually because they were afraid the drug might interact with any medication I might be giving them," said Pam Houle, a nurse in Plymouth infirmary. Still, the problem of Ritalin abuse has not been widely recognized among most college health officials yet. At least not officially. time especially, most kids are willing to sell or give away part of their prescriptions," Green said. "Most people I know have at least tried it, or use it occasionally when they have a particularly heavy workload." Ritalin and the Scholar Although Ritalin abuse is far from epidemic at Harvard, the drug's impact on the lives of some students is incontrovertible, Green said. "I know a girl in the freshman class who actually stole a script pad from the health center and faked her own prescription," Green said. "She's an unbelievably smart girl, got a 1600 on her SAT, but is convinced she needs to snort Ritalin in order to do all her work." "She's become an absolute speed-freak - up all night and strung out all day. Ironically, she's failing two of her classes," Green said. Catherine Hurley, a sophomore at Brown University who transferred from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said Ritalin abuse among college students is deceptively widespread. "I knew a number of people a! t Madison who used Ritalin to study and have met just as many here," Hurley said. "Often it's the people you would least expect to be doing it." Many prescribed users swear by the drug, and laud all that it has done to help them. "It really helps you concentrate. You can focus on what you're reading without worrying about distraction," said Trinity sophomore Alex Garnick, a prescribed Ritalin user. "When I don't take it there's a very visible difference in my behavior." Ritalin's known side effects include tachycardia, dizziness, anorexia, insomnia, depression, loss of appetite, dry mout
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Approximate Word count = 1582
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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