The NSDUH Report: Nonmedical Use of Adderall® among Full-Time College Students

According to The NSDUH Report: Nonmedical Use of Adderall® among Full-Time College Students, among persons aged 18 to 22, full-time college students were twice as likely to use Adderall® nonmedically in the past year as those who had not been in college at all or were only part-time students.

Adderall® is the brand name for an amphetamine formulation that is prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and for narcolepsy. Under the Controlled Substance Act, Adderall® is classified as a Schedule II drug because of its high potential for abuse and dependence. Nonmedical use is defined as use without a prescription belonging to the respondent or use that occurred simply for the experience or feeling the drug caused.

The following are brief findings from the report:

• Full-time college students who had used Adderall® nonmedically in the past year were more likely to be polydrug users in the past year than their non Adderall® using counterparts, that is, both to drink alcohol and use other drugs.
• Nearly 90 percent of the full-time college students who had used Adderall® nonmedically in the past year also were past month binge alcohol drinkers and more than half were heavy alcohol users.
• Full-time college students who were nonmedical users of Adderall® were almost 3 times as likely as those who had not used Adderall® nonmedically to have used marijuana in the past year (79.9 vs. 27.2 percent), 8 times more likely to have used cocaine in that period (28.9 vs. 3.6 percent), 8 times more likely to have been nonmedical users of prescription tranquilizers (24.5 vs. 3.0 percent), and 5 times more likely to have been nonmedical users of prescription pain relievers (44.9 vs. 8.7 percent).

For more information, visit the NSDUH Web site to read the full report in PDF or HTML format.