Take it easy

I was sitting at the bar the other night complaining to a friend about how late my homework was going to keep me up. Instead of telling me to leave the bar and get to work, my friend offered me an Adderall. I was a bit taken aback. Of course I've run across my fair share of Adderall use in the past few years, but it wasn't even midterm week yet! If I needed to rely on illegal prescription stimulants at this point in the semester, I was definitely in trouble.

For those who are unfamiliar with Adderall, it is an amphetamine commonly prescribed to people with ADHD and some other conditions. When college students abuse it, it's often to improve their ability to concentrate while they're studying. The National Institute of Drug Abuse conducted a survey in 2004 that found that nearly 6 percent of students at "more competitive" colleges had taken Adderall in the past year. That compares to 1.3 percent of the students at "less competitive" colleges. In general, the study found that the more competitive the school, the higher the rate of Adderall use.

In an incredibly unscientific casual survey of my friends who've used the drug, users reported that taking the pill allowed them to get a greater amount of work done in a smaller amount of time than they would have been able to do without it. Many of them also said that the drug made them a bit testy and therefore wasn't that fun to use on a regular basis. A few of them also drew comparisons between the drug and cocaine: One called it "diet coke," and another said that if he ran out of Adderall he just took cocaine to study. I don't actually know how many Dukies use Adderall, but I've certainly come across the drug much more than I anticipated.

Most people I know save their stash of pills for "academic emergencies," but I also know people who use Adderall fairly regularly. Let's face it: Duke can be hard. I've been lucky enough to have professors who demand a high level of engagement with the material, and learning simply takes time. But so do extracurriculars, sports, clubs, drinking and watching "The Office" on TV Links. I'm continually amazed by all the stuff my peers do. I wonder how they have time to get their work done. Perhaps some of us are just stellar at time management, but some are not.

I asked one good friend who seems to be involved in every activity on campus if he ever used Adderall. He replied that he hadn't taken the pill but that he drank eight to 10 cups of coffee a day. I was struck by the comparison he drew. Yes, coffee is legal, but it is essentially being abused in the same way as Adderall. I don't care that Adderall is illegal or that it could be considered a performance-enhancing drug and is potentially immoral. I'm troubled that Adderall lets us sustain a lifestyle that would otherwise be impossible. It isn't the problem-it's just a symptom. There has been a lot of concern about the drug, but focusing on the abuse without looking at the root causes of its use is pointless.

So why do we take Adderall? I think it's fairly simple: There simply aren't enough hours in the day for us to do everything we've committed to doing. For a lot of us, it's not a new problem. Many of us grew up in our moms' minivans being shuttled from one after-school activity to another. In high school, we were encouraged to fill our time with as many things as possible. As time has gone on, we've increased our workload to the point where our bodies literally cannot keep up. Regularly taking drugs to complete homework is a red flag. It is messing with your body's chemistry to make it be able to do something it's not supposed to be able to do.

I advocate listening to our bodies and cutting back a bit. Even if you're not taking Adderall, chances are you're drinking too much coffee or just not getting enough sleep. Perhaps dropping that fifth class is a good idea. Maybe you really don't have enough time to devote to three different campus clubs. Staying in on a Tuesday night instead of going to a bar could be healthy. I think we need to get away from the notion that "work hard, play hard" is a good idea. We need to learn how to take it easy.

Julia Torti is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Monday.