Study details Adderall, marijuana use at IU

One often hears of alcohol use at IU, but often, not as much is heard about
drug use.

According to the Indiana College Substance Use Survey of spring 2011, 15.6 percent of IU-Bloomington students improperly used Adderall — either used without a prescription or consumed more than the prescribed dose ­— in the six months before the survey was conducted.

“I think that students will take for granted how serious drug use is,” said Jackie Daniels, interim director of the Office of Alternative Screening and Intervention Services. 

She said students think prescription drugs are OK to use because doctors can prescribe them because and they are available at
pharmacies.

Daniels said many students use Adderall to cram for tests. 

“It doesn’t increase your retention,” she said. “It really just makes you more alert and focused.”

Others, she said, take it so they can drink more alcohol without feeling as impaired, although combining alcohol and amphetamines can
be deadly.

“If you don’t know your own physiology, mixing those two drugs is a really good way to find out,” she said. “And usually they find out in an autopsy.” 

For people who consume amphetamines during a long period of time, they can develop psychosis and possibly be hospitalized, she said.

“You’re basically playing with your own chemistry,” Daniels said.

She said students today have high expectations placed on them. Some students may share their prescription medication with friends to help them study, which is a felony.
“It’s a lot different than getting a misdemeanor charge for underage drinking,” she said.  
The survey also outlined behavior of marijuana use at IU.

According to the survey, the rate of use of marijuana at IU is about 12 percentage points higher than statewide use, although Daniels said she believes the use at IU is probably similar to use in the rest of the country.

“We have great enforcement on this campus, so a lot of people will get busted,” she said.

She said she hasn’t decided her exact position on the legalization of marijuana, but said legality doesn’t equal safety. She said the OASIS office conducts two alcohol interventions, one marijuana intervention and a marijuana seminar. She said the aftermath of using the drug may result in pre-trial diversion, probation and jail time for a felony.

She said a major problem with drugs is students don’t know how it will affect their body the first time they use it.

Students get drugs from a variety of different sources, such as friends, home and the Internet, she said.

“The tolerance for drug dealing on this campus is absolutely zero,” she said.
Students caught in the act are usually expelled.

Daniels said she encourages people to lock up their medications so friends don’t have the opportunity to swipe them. She said some students give medications to friends as a way to help them study, without realizing the dangers.

“Friends have a lot of power over their other friends,” she said. “If you care about your friends, do something.”

She urges students to watch out for signs their friends may be having problems, such as mood changes, loss of interest, poor academic performance and weight loss and gain.

Daniels said a new student organization is being formed to help students make a difference on campus and teach them how to deal with emergency situations. The group, which has yet to be named, will have a call-out at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Oak Room.

“We want to hear what they think is important,” she said.

Daniels said students need to remember that there is life after college and just one mistake might mean death.

“I’ve had friends that overdosed,” she said. “I overdosed as a college student.”
She said that experience helped her to get on the right path.

“It’s a really important issue, because for a lot of people it can be life or death,” she said. “They need to value themselves as much as the staff, faculty and administration values them instead of altering the pieces of them that we value.”