Methylphenidate, which most commonly trades as Ritalin, is a controlled substance and stimulant drug that doctors can prescribe for the treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy. It has gained a reputation as a “smart” drug, due to its popularity among college students for its purported benefits for concentration. Although its reputation for recreational use is notably confined to America, it is popular among an undercurrent of Irish students. This is most evident around exam time, when students are under most pressure with the weight of a year’s work to revise. To that end, a black market for these pills has emerged, as students look for help with cramming sessions and essay deadlines. Leaving aside the ethical implications of taking drugs for an advantage over your peers, Ritalin poses several health risks, which are exacerbated when taken without medical advice.
He listed “psychosis, seizures, mania and stroke” as less common, but potentially lethal side effects of these substances
In an email exchange with The University Times, Dr David McGrath said it is the position of the College Health Service, of which he the director, that Ritalin and similar medications are “subject to additional prescribing and safety monitoring requirements”. He noted that “its use can be limited due to common side effects including insomnia, anxiety, agitation, irritability, and anorexia”. In addition, he listed “psychosis, seizures, mania and stroke” as less common, but potentially lethal side effects of these substances. However, he acknowledged their use as medication for ADHD and stressed that students “who are legitimately prescribed medication should not in any way be penalised, stigmatised or stand accused of using study aids”.
Indeed, for many students with ADHD who find it difficult to concentrate, Ritalin provides a means to focus on tasks that would otherwise present serious difficulty. For that reason, it is legitimately prescribed and proves itself a valuable lifeline for certain students, who might otherwise struggle with the attention-based aspects of college. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a third-year English student who has a prescription for Ritalin certified its usefulness for keeping up with the college workload, saying: “I think it’s great for focus. I’m not sure I could without it”. However, he also cautioned that “sometimes I feel it makes you too focused and you end up focusing too much on one particular aspect of the work at hand”. Like most things, focus requires a balance. There’s a risk of detrimentally high concentration from these drugs, such that students often report being caught up on separate tasks to their intended work. Indeed, the risk is sharpened for unprescribed users, where drugs like Ritalin can prompt standard attention capacities into overdrive.
Like with all drugs sold illegally, there is the risk of impurities and outright contamination with other substances, given that products on the black market are not subject to the rigours of quality control.
There’s also the associated risks of buying from an unregulated market. While Dr McGrath has expressed that “I would imagine that there is no drug that you can’t type in the name and find online” he warned of the uncertainty surrounding online pharmaceuticals since “the drugs you receive in the post might not be the drugs that they are marketed as”. Like with all drugs sold illegally, there is the risk of impurities and outright contamination with other substances, given that products on the black market are not subject to the rigours of quality control. There is a further concern for student health, insofar as these substances are addictive, with the potential for dependency to develop. This is most pertinent in the period after essay deadlines and exams, when the initial reason for taking them ceases to be, but users are still inclined to take them. Even if students do not continue to take Ritalin over the summer months, they may nonetheless undergo bodily withdrawal and the symptoms that ensue.
Ultimately, however, the issue around unprescribed use of these drugs comes back to a fundamental question about education. Do we consider education to be a competition in which the primary measure of success is to outstrip each other? Or do we consider education to be about knowledge and the liberating pursuit of truth? Undoubtedly, the pressurised system of exams contributes to a sense of fear for many students but we must each face the challenge by reflecting on whether education is a means to end or whether it is the end itself.
