In recent years, some physicians have started diagnosing students with ADHD and Attention Deficit Disorder once they get to college, despite the fact that these disorders should manifest by the age of seven in most patients. This inconsistency “confounds” many college health service clinicians, Ernst said.

“We feel uncomfortable making the diagnosis, because it’s just not the general notion that people present as adults, although that’s increasingly becoming the situation — adding to our concern that these are being used to divert the drugs or used for competitive advantage instead of for an established diagnosis,” Ernst said.

Students taking Adderall without a prescription — or who take the medicine as a performance enhancer, instead of treatment for a condition — risk a range of mild to serious side effects, including disrupting sleep, affecting appetite — two more common side affects — and heart palpitation.

“I’ve seen students come in and present with cardiac arrhythmia and disclose, after a couple of follow up questions, that they had borrowed a couple Adderall tablets from a friend,” Ernst said.

Controversy arose in February when Richard Fee, a student at Greensboro College in North Carolina, died after becoming addicted to Adderall and other medications, which were repeatedly prescribed despite protests from Fee’s parents that he did not have ADHD. According to The New York Times, Fee’s addiction may have contributed to his suicide, though “few people who misuse stimulants devolve into psychotic or suicidal addicts.”

Some students feel it’s safe to take another person’s prescription, since their friend with the prescription does not experience any side affects. Ernst said every patient responds differently, so students are putting themselves at great risk by taking these drugs.

Andrew said he felt “no significant alteration” in his physical well-being on Adderall. While on the drug, he said he sometimes forgets to eat or drink, so he keeps a water bottle and snack nearby, just in case.

One of the most severe symptoms of the drug — which is intended to keep the body focused — was that Andrew found it difficult to sleep after taking the drug. In contrast, once the drug wore off, Andrew experienced a “crash” — he counteracts with a cup of coffee.

The UHS physicians are aware that many students prescribed these medications do not take them on a consistent basis, creating the potential for a surplus.

When students come in asking for the maximum quantity of pills, Ernst said he and other physicians will often become suspicious and enter into a “negotiation” over the medication to “come up with a realistic quantity,” where they try to determine how many pills a student really needs each month.

“We know that students don’t take these medicines all the time when they’re prescribed, and when someone is reliable for a high quantity, we start (to) wonder if this is to create a surplus for distribution,” Ernst said. “After three to five visits, we can start (to) feel pretty comfortable negotiating.”

Ernst is seriously concerned about the future for prescription drugs on college campuses.

“I do believe the misuse of prescription drugs will continue to become an increasing prevalent problem — and I think college campuses will be ‘ground zero’ for that type of behavior.”

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Students misusing prescription stimulants not only face physical side effects, but also expose themselves to major legal consequences if caught. When asked about these consequences, Andrew was unconcerned. He could not remember a single case of someone being arrested or even questioned for prescription drug abuse.

“I guess it’s a ‘strength in numbers’ type situation … I’m not the only person using it, there’s so many other people. One person is not going to get singled out,” he said.

Diane Brown, University Police spokesperson, said campus police very rarely arrest and prosecute individuals for prescription drug abuse.

In 2011, there were only 102 drug arrests on campus — compared to 314 alcohol related arrests or citations — according to the University’s most recent annual safety report. It's not known what amount of those arrests relate to Adderall.

There is currently one drug recognition expert in the University Police. In most cases, however, the University Police’s main responsibility is to assure students receive proper medical attention when prescription drugs present a danger to their health, Brown said.

Mary Jo Desprez, Alcohol and Other Drug Policy and Prevention Program Administrator, leads the University’s effort to educate students about the potential dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.