from University of Michigan
Nationwide data suggests ten percent of
high school students have used an
amphetamine or stimulant medication—
not prescribed by their doctor—to try to
stay alert and improve their scores on
tests. Dr. Matthew Davis of the University
of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital says
taking study drugs has not been proven to
improve test scores, and it can be very
dangerous to their health. He says
students without ADHD who take someone
else’s medication risk acute exhaustion,
abnormal heart rhythms and even
confusion if they become addicted and go
into withdrawal. Despite evidence that one
in ten teens use study drugs, only one in
one-hundred parents believe their teens
have used prescription stimulants to
improve grades according to a new
University of Michigan poll—a clear
mismatch between what parents believe
and what their kids are reporting.