Many teens who take the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall as a “study drug” are unaware it is an amphetamine, a new study finds. Some high school and college students take Adderall because they think it will improve their mental function and school performance, according to HealthDay. Nonmedical (not using a drug as directed by a doctor) use of amphetamines, such as Adderall, can lead to abuse and dependency, as well as medical problems such as seizures and heart problems, the article notes. The new study included 24,000 high school seniors. Although 8 percent reported nonmedical amphetamine use, and 7 percent reported nonmedical Adderall use in the past year, 29 percent of those who used Adderall nonmedically reported no nonmedical amphetamine use. “Our findings suggest that many young people are unaware that Adderall is an amphetamine,” lead author Joseph Palamar of NYU said in a news release. “In addition, such conflicting reports...

A survey of college students finds 29 percent mistakenly think drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase school performance. An additional 38 percent are unsure of the drugs’ effects on school performance, HealthDay reports. There is no evidence that stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall are effective study aids, the article notes. The survey included almost 7,300 students, none of whom had been diagnosed with ADHD. The belief that stimulant drugs increase school performance was especially high among students who misused the drugs. Among the 11 percent of students who said they had used stimulant medication for non-medical reasons in the past six months, almost two-thirds believed the drugs would boost their grades. The findings appear in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

New research suggests that college students who regularly consume energy drinks are at a greater risk for future alcohol use disorder, cocaine use or nonmedical use (misuse) of prescription stimulants. The research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Scientists from the University of Maryland, College Park, asked college students who were approximately 21 years old about their past-year use of energy drinks – highly caffeinated products marketed primarily to teens and young adults. Participants were followed over the next three years to determine whether probabilities of past-year energy drink use increased, decreased or remained consistent, and at year five were assessed for past-year substance use. In groups that showed consistent or increasing probabilities of using energy drinks over the years, researchers found higher rates of cocaine use, prescription stimulant misuse and alcohol use disorder – but not marijuana or tobacco...

The rate of binge drinking among college students is dropping, according to a study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Binge drinking among college students increased from 37 percent to 45 percent between 1999 and 2005, but declined to 37 percent by 2014, the study found. Among young adults not enrolled in college, rates of binge drinking rose from 36 percent in 1999 to 40 percent in 2014, HealthDay reports. The findings are published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. “A number of factors may have contributed to the recent reduction in binge drinking and its related problems among college students,” lead researcher Ralph Hingson said in a news release. He noted an increased emphasis by college administrators on adopting interventions aimed at reducing problem drinking may have played a role.

First-time marijuana use among college students is at the highest level in three decades, a new study finds. Among 19- to 22-year-olds who had never used marijuana by 12th grade, those who go to college are 51 percent more likely to try the drug than those who do not attend college, HealthDay reports. “These days if you’re in college, about 1 in 5 students will become first-time marijuana users. If you don’t go to college, your chances are more like 1 in 10,” said lead researcher Richard Miech of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The findings appear in the American Journal of Public Health.

Parties, alcohol, and freedom have long gone hand in hand with college - for as long as teenagers have been leaving mom and dad to begin their educations. It isn't any wonder that college students make up one of the highest ranking demographic groups for alcohol abuse. Estimates reflect that just over 60 percent of college students have used alcohol in the last 30 days, and that as many as two-thirds of those students have taken part in binge drinking in the same period. That is a change from college students' drinking habits from the past. While the use of alcohol has remained constant for the last few decades, instances of binge drinking have increased dramatically over that time frame, and that can carry some serious risks, reports NJ alcohol rehab center Summit Behavioral Health. Binge drinking is defined as imbibing 5 or more consecutive drinks for men, and 4 or...

College students in the United States are using more marijuana than in previous years, according to a new study. Last year 38 percent of college students said they used marijuana in the past year, up from 30 percent in 2006. Use of other drugs, including opioids and amphetamines, declined among college students, HealthDay reports. The findings come from the Monitoring the Future study, conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. More students may be using marijuana because of a decrease in perceived risk, the researchers say. “This increase in use and decrease in perceived risk of harm regarding marijuana use should be taken seriously by college administrators, parents and students themselves,” study co-lead researcher John Schulenberg said in a news release.

U.S. college students are more likely to drink and less likely to smoke than their peers who aren’t enrolled in school, a new survey finds. College students are also more likely to binge drink than 18- to 22-year-olds who are not in college. The survey, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found 60 percent of full-time college students said they are current drinkers, compared with 51.5 percent of their non-student peers. Among college students, 38 percent said they had a binge-drinking episode at least once in the past month, compared with 33.5 percent of their peers who were not in college, HealthDay reports. The survey found 18 percent of college students smoked, compared with 32.6 percent of their peers who were not in college.

A new study finds college students who misuse prescription stimulants are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compared with students not misusing stimulants. UPI reports students who misused stimulants also were more likely to have conduct disorder or substance use disorder. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. “We know that untreated ADHD is associated with increased risk of alcohol- and drug-use disorders, so it is not surprising that we found high rates of co-occurring ADHD and of stimulant-use and overall substance-use disorders in those misusing stimulants,” Dr. Timothy Wilens, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, said in a press release.

A growing number of college students are trying to avoid alcohol-related weight gain through a practice known as “drunkorexia,” CBS News reports. Students skip meals, exercise heavily before drinking alcohol, take laxatives or diuretics, or vomit after drinking. Some students engage in drunkorexia to get a faster buzz, the article notes. Researchers at the University of Houston presented data at the recent Research Society on Alcoholism annual meeting that suggests the practice is increasing. They surveyed 1,184 college students, who said they had drunk alcohol heavily at least once in the previous month. More than 80 percent said they had engaged in at least one drunkorexia-related behavior in the previous three months. College athletes and those who lived in fraternity and sorority houses were more likely to engage in drunkorexia, study author Dipali Rinker told CBS News. While previous studies have suggested drunkorexia is more common among women, the new study...