Is using Adderall illegally cheating? It's not a question Daniel Swinton, director of student conduct, struggles to answer.
“You almost want to equate it to steroid usage," said Swinton, who advises the Honor Council. "Some students say, 'this is coffee.' Well, coffee isn't a prescription drug. In my opinion, it is an improper use of the drug that could constitute cheating."
E. Bronson Ingram Professor of Neuroscience Jeffrey D. Schall, who taught a class on Neuro Ethics two years ago, said the drug is like a steroid in theory. But he is not convinced.
Schall also said he is not certain the drug helps students in the way that they think it does. Students can study for longer, but he doesn't believe more effectively.
“We should not take for granted that it has the effect it is supposed to have. I don’t know if there have been enough studies yet to determine if it has," Schall said.
This distinction, between steroid or study aid, is less clear to students, according to data obtained by InsideVandy.com and The Hustler.
Of the 268 randomly selected respondents, exactly 50.0 percent said they did not think using Adderall without a prescription was cheating, and 18.3 percent of students polled said they were unsure.
"We know we have a problem," Swinton said. Part of the problem, he believes, is that the drug seems harmless and is so readily available. “We don’t see it. It is a little tiny pill that changes hands, and it is fairly quick.”
Swinton also said students may perceive the drug to be less dangerous. Dr. Louise Hanson, director of student health, said taking the drug has minor side effects for students who do not have ADHD or ADD. When taken in low doses, the drug can have the same benefits, regardless of a student's medical need.
"You take a person who doesn't have the diagnosis and give them the medicine, and they'd probably focus even a little better than they might normally," Hanson said.
Of students polled by The Hustler, 25.4 percent reported they had taken Adderall to study. Exactly 20.0 percent of students who had never been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD said they had taken the drug.
"A lot of students will say, 'Well, no, I was never tested, but when I take it, I seem to perform better and do better,'" Hanson said. "We all would really, in theory, do better with those medicines, and that's not to say we should all take them."
There is no explicit language about the use of drugs like Adderall in the Honor Code, and Swinton said he does not expect the need for a change.
“I don’t know if the Honor Code needs to be amended to a trend, as much as I think the Honor Code can encompass the issue,” he said. “Something like this could fall underneath attempting to get an unfair advantage. You are using means other than what some higher being — nature or some deity — gave you."
Centennial Professor of Philosophy John Lachs said he believes if all students had full access to the drug, the issue of academic integrity would be less controversial.
“I don’t find it a problem to use external means to improve concentration," he said.
“The truth is, we have been using drugs to help us for some time,” he said. He doesn't believe what the "purists" have to say, explaining that what he considers to be unfair is that the drug is not accessible to everyone.
But if everyone is able to take the drug, Schall said he does not see any real benefit anymore.
"Assume it could make you and everyone else 10 percent smarter. It remains the case that if everyone takes it and everyone succeeds, you still have some level of competition. What is the point?” Schall said.
Ruth Kinsey contributed reporting to this article.
