Although I have never taken Adderall, I know plenty of kids who have, whether it was prescribed to them or not. I can vividly recall one day in the library last semester right around finals crunch time. I saw a student move from table to table--not-so-inconspicuously, and rather pleadingly--and ask other students if they had any Adderall on them. Around this time of year, Adderall is a study supplement. Many students pop an Adderall, much like some may guzzle a large cup of coffee or pound a couple shots of espresso, before proceeding to produce a ten-page paper at record pace. Whether this casual consumption is abuse or not is debatable...
I have heard an array of responses from students who have taken Adderall for "academic reasons." One boy in my class said he made a very rookie Adderall mistake. He popped two pills, didn't really feel more focused after half an hour, so he took another one. About twenty minutes later, he still hadn't attained the unrelenting focus he had hoped for, so he took yet another. About an hour later, he felt the effects of the drug. At this point, however, he was experiencing the effects of four pills. He said that although he did write the fastest paper he had ever produced, he was up for the next twenty-four hours. Apparently, Adderall overdose causes some serious sleep deficit.
The article entitled, "Adderall: College Students' Best Friend -- Or Worst Enemy??" sums up the Adderall dilemma nicely:
"The promise of a better GPA with less effort is promise enough for college students across the board to obtain Adderall by any means necessary. Many students admit to actually seeing doctors and purposefully exaggerating symptoms of ADHD to acquire medication. Others simply pop a generously donated pill from their pals (8). The danger lies in the possibility of dependence and the rarely considered effect of the drug on those that have preexisting medical problems that can deteriorate with prolonged use (8)."