When the University of Maryland accepted your child, you likely could not have been prouder. Like most other parents, you probably had visions of him or her attending classes, lounging outside studying, making new friends, joining clubs, reaching academic achievement and generally having a full college experience.
What you may not have anticipated, however, is that college experience resulting in criminal charges. Though you may have worried that your children may consume alcohol at parties or make other irresponsible decisions, you may not have considered the possibility of him or her using someone else’s prescription medication in efforts to stay focused.
What are study drugs?
Certain medications used for the treatment of ADHD are commonly misused by college students. They may refer to them as study drugs or smart pills, but in general, students who use the drugs believe that they will help them stay focused, allow them to stay awake longer to study and help them retain information better. However, studies into the use of medications like Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and others have not found that they improve memory, learning or academic achievement.
ADHD medication can result in individuals feeling more focused and as if they have more energy, but those feelings do not necessarily correlate with greater academic performance.
Where do they come from?
Unfortunately, study drugs can circulate through a campus by various means. A person with a legitimate prescription may let a friend have a pill or two, or someone on campus could be selling the drugs after obtaining them from someone else or selling their own prescription.
Though these medications can be helpful to individuals living with ADHD, a doctor properly monitors that use. If your child took the medication without a prescription, it is possible to suffer side effects like addiction, negative mental effects and negative physical effects. Of course, too much of the medication could result in an overdose that proves fatal.
Who can face charges?
If authorities found your child in possession of a drug for which he or she did not have a prescription, criminal charges for drug possession are likely. Though other users and the person selling the drugs could also face charges, your concern should focus on your own child’s ordeal. In efforts to help him or her through this predicament in the best manner possible, you may want to contact an attorney.