By Josh Faber ’12, Staff Writer

National studies conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration have shown that as much as 3-7% of healthy high school students have resorted at least once to using Ritalin, a drug prescribed to treat ADHD, to boost their GPAs and SAT scores. That’s more than 1 million high school students.

Experts at the University of Florida concluded that “undergraduates, as well as high school SAT-takers, are increasingly turning to prescription stimulants to boost concentration during long study sessions and all-nighters.” Of course doctors and teachers do not condone this form of drug abuse, but given the circumstances, can students really be held accountable for their personal drug use? High school is a four-year dose of stress with homework and tests at the vanguard. If a student suddenly had the means to dispel his or her academic stress, he or she could reach a higher level of achievement.

At the University of Kentucky, students use a variety of illicit substances to enhance their academic performance. Stressed out students commonly use Ritalin to pump out papers and alcohol to loosen up as they study. At college, where an atmosphere of intense academic pressure pervades, students are only carrying out what is demanded of them. That is, they are doing everything in their power to earn good grades. Moreover, while many students use Ritalin to get a quick high by snorting the crushed up drug or injecting it into their bodies, using it to study serves a more worthy purpose.

In addition to GPA, high school students’ fixation on tests such as the SAT and the ACT also encourages Ritalin abuse. When parents and teachers stress the importance of these tests as the single most important assessments that determine their students’ futures, students get scared. In these situations, can the students truly take the blame for their determination to do well on standardized tests? No. With all the weight placed on these  assessments, a junior or senior would almost be expected to walk into his or her test with a few milligrams of Ritalin in his or her body. What’s more, the drug has few significant side effects unless taken in high doses.

Considering the stress students endure nowadays, it was inevitable that they would discover a seemingly “simple” way to meet expectations. This solution may be wrong in that it puts others at a competitive disadvantage, but it cannot be scorned. For those who are repulsed by Ritalin abuse, ask yourselves whose fault it is.