FOR STUDENTS, 'STUDY DRUGS' FUEL COMPETITIVE URGE

Some Overlook Negative Effects of Ritalin, Other Stimulants

Before heading off to her four-hour-long studio class, a University of
California-Berkeley architecture major pops a quick Dexadrine pill, a
stimulant used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder.

But she does not have ADD. Her pill bottle has her younger brother's name on
it. He was diagnosed with the disorder her sophomore year-just about the
time her major started demanding long hours of tediously gluing models
together.

"I started taking it for studio because there were so many all-nighters that
I had to pull," she says. "It really helps me to focus and stay awake."

Focus. Stay awake. Pulling all-nighters. For many UC Berkeley students,
these words describe the way they cope with the barrage of papers, finals
and projects that accompany the highly competitive university environment.

They get by with coffee, sleeping bags in the library, toothbrushes and
contact lens cases in studio lockers, and on-the-go meals. But sometimes
these are not enough to keep up, and many turn to stimulants like Ritalin,
Dexadrine and Aderol to stay focused and awake during long nights of work.

These medications work to calm down individuals with ADD and Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, who tend to exhibit signs of impulsivity,
inattentiveness and or hyperactivity.

They produce a stimulating or "speedy" effect on those without the disorder.
Both those with and without disorder experience an increased ability to
focus, which makes the drug ideal for studying under pressure.

The architecture student, who requested to remain anonymous, says she gets
the pills as leftovers from her brother when he does not have schoolwork and
does not need the drug.

Although the pills do not help her creativity, they are very useful for the
manual labor of construction, she says.

"Once I have figured out what I am going to build and I have designed it, I
will take a pill to help me focus on the busywork of building it," she says.
"It sort of hinders your creativity -- so I always figure out the design
before taking a pill."

The woman, 21, had never discussed her use of Dexadrine with other
architecture students, and was surprised when she discovered several of her
peers also use the drug for the same reasons.

"One day in studio, some guy brought it in and before I knew it, other
people were piping up," she says. "Some other guy was like, 'Oh, I like
Aderol better.'"

The student says that she thinks of the drug as simply an alternative to
caffeine.

"It will hit at first and you'll feel yourself talking a lot really fast --
and it's great because it replaces the need to drink four cups of coffee,"
she says.

The architecture student says the negative effects of the drug she has felt
include loss of appetite, dry mouth and often being exhausted and
unproductive, but not able to fall asleep.

"Sometimes if I take it and finish my work for studio early, I'll
obsessively clean my room," she explained. "For me, the only bad thing about
it is that it makes it really difficult to fall asleep. But that could be
like coffee, too."

But stimulants like Dexadrine, Aderol and Ritalin are more harmful than
caffeine. They may cause permanent damage to the brain, says David Presti, a
UC Berkeley professor of neurobiology.

"Coffee is likely to be relatively safer than Ritalin," he says. "The drugs
most prone to producing addiction are those that cause changes in the reward
and reinforcement circuitry of the brain that are difficult to overcome.
This may occur with repeated use of Ritalin on a frequent basis in higher
doses."

According to the Physician's Desk Reference Guide, Ritalin abuse causes an
increase in heart rate and blood pressure. The publication also lists the
drug as possibly leading to heart attacks, strokes and "psychological
dependence with varying degrees of abnormal behavior."

Since the architecture student's sophomore year, her use of the drug has
increased to the point where she now uses it nearly every other day.

"Whether I take it or not really depends on how much I have," she says. "If
I have a lot I will sometimes take it right before I have to go to studio
class, instead of just for all-nighters.

"But sometimes I have to ration it out -- so I have to think 'should I take
it Sunday, Monday, Tuesday?' Or 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday?'"

For her, the drug has also begun to play a role in the time she spends out
of class.

"If you take it when you go out drinking or partying, you don't pass out
quite as early," she says. "Also, when I am really hung over I will take a
pill to help me snap out of it."

Jack, an undeclared UC Berkeley junior who asked that his last name be
withheld, says that he began trading marijuana for "uppers" like Aderol,
Ritalin and Dexadrine when he came to college because of the high-stress
atmosphere on this campus.

"Freshman year, I started realizing that homework assignments are hard at
Berkeley," he says. "Since there is no supervision or anyone to tell you
when to do your homework, you are sitting there at the last minute looking
for something to help you write a paper the night before."

Jack says these stimulants have become a "crutch" for him -- they give him a
way of having study time.

"Once you start using it, it is hard to stop," he says. "It becomes a way of
designating a time to study-because when you take it you have to study."

Wanda Thrower, a drug and alcohol counselor at University Health Services,
says although she rarely sees students taking Ritalin, she sees many
students using crystal methamphetamine for the same reasons.

"I get concerned about crystal meth use, especially around finals and
midterms," Thrower says. "When they first start using it, students believe
they can do all-nighters and are more focused. When it has been a success,
they fear that they can't function or study without it."

Ritalin has become such a part of student culture that those who are
addicted often do not see it as such, says Dr. Eric Heiligenstein, the
clinical director of psychiatry for the University of Wisconsin.

Heiligenstein conducted a study among 100 university students, finding one
in five students regularly misuse their prescriptions of Ritalin, Dexadrine,
or Aderol without a doctor's supervision.

"We were surprised at how the abuse of the drug had been integrated into the
way people thought about things," he says. "It is more of a common thing --
part of one's repertoire for coping with homework or pulling an
all-nighter."

Heiligenstein also says Ritalin is highly addictive and has often been
compared chemically to cocaine in the effect it has on the brain. Experts
have disagreed on the severity of Ritalin's effects --some say it is far
worse than cocaine, while others maintain it is virtually harmless.

Even with the potential risks involved with taking these stimulants, these
students feel their health is a small price to pay for the competitive edge
these drugs offer.

"One person hears of someone taking it and getting what they had to do done.
You think, 'This is the magic bean that I can take to make everything
okay,'" said a junior majoring in comparative literature, who has seen
widespread use of the stimulants among her peers and did not want her name
to be used.

"People have convinced themselves that these drugs are in no way equivalent
to ecstasy or cocaine because everyone is doing it and a doctor prescribed
it," she said.

"The scary thing is that even if people knew how bad this was for your body,
I am sure people would still use them because there is this desperation to
be on top."