Was Tom Cruise Right?

Attention Disorder Drugs Are Abused As Campus Study Aids

(CBS) 
Adderall and Ritalin are serious prescription drugs with real risks and side effects including nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia, and anxiety. The drug information sheets also include a long list of negative drug interactions. If a person is taking a drug with possible chemical interactions, there could be serious consequences.

Adderall XR, the extended release version of Adderall popular on the college scene, has already been banned in Canada because of possible links to cardiac arrhythmias in children. The FDA looked at the same evidence as Canada, but kept Adderall XR on the market. Doctors take extensive medical histories before prescribing Adderall, and patients with possible cardiac complications are not prescribed the drug. This is something that students taking it without a prescription are unlikely to know.

Dr. Bruce Wright, Director of Health and Wellness Services at Washington State University, also warns of possible long-term effects. "The brain has its own kind of intrinsic reward system, so when something happens to us we feel good," he says. "The parts of the brain that are responsible for that are the same parts of the brain that drugs like Adderall impact. With prolonged or frequent medication the brain’s own capacity to do that decreases."

Perhaps of more immediate concern to parents is the indication that Adderall abuse is often accompanied by other drug and alcohol abuse. Based on his survey, Dr. McCabe believes that prescription stimulant abuse "tends to be part of a larger cluster of problem behaviors among college students, including higher rates of other drug use and driving under the influence." Students who had used a prescription stimulant non-medically in the past year were ten times more likely to report marijuana use, twenty times more likely to report cocaine use, and five times more likely to report driving after binge drinking.

Shire Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Adderall, have several programs geared towards educating physicians, patients, parents, and college students about the risks associated with Adderall. Matt Cabrey, a spokesperson for Shire, says that the company has been focusing on educating physicians who prescribe ADHD medications, the patients themselves, and the parents of those patients. In addition, Shire recently initiated an education program designed specifically to reach college students.

Mr. Califano says that the primary role of the pharmaceutical industry should be to cut direct-to-consumer advertising. He also emphasizes the importance of a public health campaign. "The responsibility is for the public health officials," he says. "We’ve gotten through with smoking, now we need that kind of campaign for prescription drugs."

At WSU, Health and Wellness Services has developed tight protocols to carefully monitor and limit the prescription of Adderall and Ritalin. "You can’t just come in and list the symptoms and get on Adderall," says Dr. Wright. Dr. McCabe believes that "the first step is that colleges in the US can become more aware. It may be that schools are able to provide programs to address some of the underlying motives and students won’t feel compelled to use them in that way."

So is Tom Cruise right? Are Adderall and Ritalin really "street drugs?" For some, yes. But, says Dr. Wright, "everything that can be abused is available on the street." What does not fit in Mr. Cruise’s anti-medication diatribe is the fact that Adderall and Ritalin are important and effective medications for patients suffering from ADHD. Concern with the abuse and over-prescription of stimulant medications must be balanced with the sometimes life-changing successes that these drugs have for the people who actually need them.