Adderall Use

The topic I want to investigate is the illicit use of Adderall among college students in the United States. I will be focusing on the prevalence of Adderall on campuses, associations between Adderall usage and other drug use, motives for Adderall usage, and differences in Adderall use based on gender and ethnicity. I selected this topic because I have become increasingly aware of the usage of this drug by my peers. The drug is primarily used to gain an academic advantage over other students. As a neuroscience major, I have studied the effects of various drugs on the human body. I have studied the effects of stimulants similar to Adderall and am interested in looking into the effects of Adderall on the body and its abuse amongst college students.

The results of my research will just identify the problem and make known the extent of Adderall and stimulant abuse. Future research will be needed in three distinct directions in order to elicit a change in policies. The directions for future research are: (1) the effectiveness of stimulants on individuals without ADHD; (2) the long-term health effects of stimulant abuse in non-ADHD users; and (3) mechanisms to easily test for Adderall use in students. Research in the first field will determine if Adderall abusers are truly gaining an academic advantage over their non-abusing peers. If it is found that they are gaining an academic advantage, universities will be forced to make a change in order to preserve equality. Research in the second field will determine the dangers of Adderall abuse. If Adderall is found to be extremely damaging to the brain or body, then health organizations will place pressure on universities to act in a way to slow the illicit use of Adderall by college students. The last field of research will provide the universities with tools to determine the students who are abusing Adderall. As of now, universities have no way to enforce policies against the illicit use of Adderall or other stimulants because they have no effective way to determine if a person is using Adderall. Right now the only way for a university to

My research will begin using Google to uncover background information on the history of Adderall and the growth of Adderall as a substance of abuse. After developing a solid understanding of Adderall’s usage history, I will switch my focus to finding peer reviewed scientific articles that mention aspects of how prevalent the illicit use of Adderall is amongst college students. To find these articles, I will access the databases PubMed, MEDLINE, WorldCat, and Google Scholar. The search terms that will yield the most results will most likely be a combination of these keywords: “Adderall,” “amphetamine,” “dextroamphetamine,” “nootropic,” “smart drug,” “stimulant,” “memory enhancer,” “college,” “university,” and “student.” After gathering all necessary information, I will be able to formulate a literature review that examines the current state of Adderall abuse amongst college