TODAY'S TMJ4

I-Team: Campus Crisis

MILWAUKEE - It's a troubling new crisis on campus. Students are taking powerful pills--not to get high, but to get better grades!

The I-Team did an eye-opening hidden camera investigation.

The pressure to get good grades is what's turning some students to prescription drugs these days--not to get high, but to get smart! Drugs like Adderall-- it's a popular amphetamine that first got noticed during World War II.

Psychiatrist James Hurth explains, "Lots of pilots trying to stay awake for long, long hours."

Dr. Hurth works at the Huiras Center for Substance Abuse in Mequon. He uses Adderall and other drugs like Ritalin to treat patients who have trouble focusing.

In the treatment of ADD, amphetamines can make a huge difference in a person's ability to do well in school, and do well socially," Dr. Hurth explains.

Dr. Hurth also stresses It is important for parents to understand that these drugs are safe if used as prescribed--and that parents should not take their children off them for fear of becoming drug addicts.

However, lots of students with no particular problem quickly figure out Adderall can help them too: Help them focus intensely for a test, help them stay up for days to catch up on their studying, but they don't know the incredible risks.

When asked if students could potentially die from these drugs, Dr. David Gummin, Medical Director at the Wisconsin Poison Center at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, says, "Yes, absolutely."

Dr. Gummin says they see Adderall and amphetamine problems all the time now. The scariest part: Students bumming an Adderall pill or two, and some are ending up addicted.

Almost every college student we talked to has heard of this popular studying 'technique.'

Here's what a few had to say: "I've personally never tried it, but I can understand the high it gives you--kind of tweaks you out." "Kids will try anything these days." "Not really since I've been in college, but in high school definitely I remember people used to take it before they took the ACT." As early as high school!!!

So how do kids get these drugs? Turns out, they're everywhere. "There are so many people on stimulant meds legitimately...that some teens, adolescents, college students, have taken to purchasing medication from those getting it legitimately," Dr. Gummin explains.

So we went looking. We took our hidden camera to UWM and asked some students if they knew how to get Adderall. Here are some student responses: "I used to know. I don't have that connection anymore." "If I still did I'd be hitting that connection up." "I know some people that take it, but I don't know where to get it."

One student we talked to takes "Concerta," a drug like Adderall. He says he'd never sell it to other students. "No, no, I don't want to be arrested!" he exclaims.

He's right! We have several police reports showing UWM students arrested last year for Adderall-related crimes. The reports say things like, "Got it from a friend", "having trouble concentrating on exams", and "purchased 20 pills for $50."

Dorms are mentioned, like Sandburg Hall and Cambridge Commons.

Sarah Belstock, a Health Educator on campus, serves as UWM's Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Coordinator. She says, "We're certainly concerned about the lack of information these students have about these substances at the time they're choosing to take them."

UWM's not alone. We found national headlines like "Harvard On Speed" and "Turning To Adderall To Get A's". It's a small pill with a powerful temptation to get ahead at any cost.

This huge market for Adderall is also leading to a new kind of drug pusher--Students who've learned to fake ADD symptoms to get a prescription so they can sell it on the street at a big profit.