Students turn to drugs during finals - Globe Link - Campus

Students turn to drugs during finals - Globe Link - Campus: "According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, the number one 'easy out' is pain relievers, followed closely by anxiety and sleep medications, and stimulants. College students most often use Adderall, '[a] fast-acting mixture of amphetamines...one of a handful of stimulants prescribed for ADHD,' said the Wall Street Journal in a recent report.

Ritalin, 'a stimulant approved by the Food and Drug administration in 1955 [and] frequently prescribed for children,' takes a close second. Most pills that are taken during final exams are rarely prescribed-rather they are taken from someone else's medicine cabinet.

According to the TriState Observer, various 'surveys and interviews of students point to increasing use of amphetamines and other prescription stimulants to help them keep awake and focused on their goal of higher grades.' And more and more college students are learning about it.

Though some would say that a student who uses drugs simply to get through a difficult exam could hardly be classified with someone who uses on a regular basis, the results are often the same: heart or brain damage-even death.

Students who take the drugs never plan on making the choice a habit-it may simply be a way to work less for greater results. Some students have even opted for the 'smart drug' choice using Nootropics such as Ginkgo biloba, Dmae and Choline for 'increased alertness, energy, short and long term memory capacity, concentration levels, and work performance,' said Smartbomb.com, a nutrition emporium online."