Students abusing drugs to improve performance - Cadtle Hills News

March 10, 2013, 3 a.m.

One in 12 university students misuse prescription stimulants such as Ritalin to try to get better grades, a study has found.

Researchers said the misuse of pharmaceutical stimulants such as methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin), dexamphetamine (Adderall) and modafinil (Provigil) was especially high among law and medical students. The students took the psychostimulants because they believed they would enhance focus, memory and concentration.

The survey on four campuses in 2011-12 drew responses from more than 2000 students.

The lead researcher, performance psychologist Jason Mazanov of the University of NSW, said it was clear that ''Australian university students are using substances to increase their performance at university''.

But the findings needed to be interpreted with caution because it was possible the survey attracted a higher proportion of users than non-users, he said.

''We need to make a decision about whether it's a problem and whether we want to regulate it,'' Dr Mazanov said.

''Darren'', a final-year law student at the University of Sydney who wished to remain anonymous, recently gave up dealing in Ritalin because he ''got a real job''.

But he said it was ''very easy to get'' because many students who had been prescribed Ritalin for ADHD as children were tired of taking the pills.

''There were enough people who were prescribed them and who were happy to either give them to me or sell them to me very cheaply.''

The going rate was about $2.50 for a 10 milligram tablet, he said.

''I mostly did it for fun. I didn't make any money. I got to meet people and go out to parties where I would not otherwise get to be.''

There was ''zero evidence'' that the drugs actually improved users' academic performance or their job prospects, Dr Mazonov said.

''Darren'' said it was much more common to use the drugs for play than work.

''People say it is a focus drug but it doesn't make you necessarily focus on study,'' he said. ''It is just whatever is in front of you … If the phone rings you are likely to just get sidetracked and go off and do something else.''

The University of Queensland's Jayne Lucke said findings on their effectiveness for study were mixed and depended on what drugs and which person.

For example, it appeared ''people who start with a lower level of memory ability have a greater improvement than people who are already high-performing'', but the improvement was ''very small''.

Professor Lucke, who has an Australian Research Council grant to delve further into why and how students use pharmaceutical stimulants, said US research suggested typical users were struggling with middling grades - ''the fraternity type who is also using lots of alcohol and illicit drugs, someone who wants to party'' - rather than high-performing students trying to get to the top of the class.

Despite anecdotal evidence, ''there is no hard data'' for increasing use of prescription stimulants for study purposes, said Dr Sharlene Kaye, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.