first of all, april.gene.20, yes, of course you can be “successful” and do drugs. at least for a while. however, it is difficult to maintain a “once-and-a-while” habit – at least for most people. you can be an addict and maintain a 4.0 GPA at an ivy league – I did it – but there are serious ramifications that may not be immediately evident.

also, drugs are overwhelmingly expensive, as any true addict knows.

and dude, alice20, you are naive. i personally did drugs because I was routinely raped for years of my life – and drugs make you happy, that’s why people do them, duh. believe it or not people actually have real life problems that cannot be easily resolved by reading. tell someone who is having a panic attack to read… great. i mean, really.

and simpson, the pain you feel is real, but so is the posibility of recovery.

Anyway, I don’t buy these ideas about inattentive parents or “peer pressure” – “kids” – teenagers – they have unique personalities and shouldn’t be subjected to these sweeping generalizations that the articles I’ve read on this website make about them.

This article, however, was very interesting. I’ve been using prescription stimulants, sometimes along with other drugs, for the past two years. Honestly I think the doctors missed something about me, because I can’t stay on task very long, especially considering the time it takes me to complete just one of my weekly assignments (I have a 17 credit workload right now, including four grueling studio classes) – hence that whole self medicating idea – which is another interesting concept on it’s own. I strongly disagree with the idea that “there’s no such thing as a smart drug” – everyone needs something different to keep them going, everyone wants to feel a certain way – and this helps them perform better. Education about the risks is great, but like one girl says in the article, some people feel that the risk is worth it – why? Because it works.

And you know what, No-Doz and strong coffee – that’s not very healthy either.

I’m an 18-year-old girl who has personally never experimented with drugs or alcohol. I think this is because I’m not easily influenced and because I have a great relationship with my parents. Also, there are so many other ways to “escape from pressure in life” that are not dangerous to a person’s health – just involve yourself in positive activities such as fun sports, reading, art, community service, etc.

Drug and Alcohol Course

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_talbot.

One Harvard student explains his need to focus and be productive: “One of the most impressive features of being a student is how aware you are of a twenty-four-hour work cycle. When you conceive of what you have to do for school, it’s not in terms of nine to five but in terms of what you can physically do in a week while still achieving a variety of goals in a variety of realms—social, romantic, sexual, extracurricular, résumé-building, academic commitments.”

It’s definitely true that life as a college student is unbelievably busy, but are stimulants really the answer? I am out of college 2 years and really didn’t see much “off label” stimulant experimentation. But in that short of a period of time, many college students now(even many that I know) look upon this as normalized behavior.