Increased use of Non-Prescription Ritalin by Students

An article came into my hand-dandy yahoo alerts that talked about usage of non-prescription Ritalin and Adderall. These are both schedule II drugs, in the same addictive category as PCP, cocaine opium and more.

The main stress of the article is on college students using these drugs to get through finals.  This not only builds an unhealthy study habit, it also makes drugs a solution to stress.  There are so many other solutions - like scheduling your life out, predicting what's coming up, making sure you are happy with what you are doing in life, etc.  

Why do you think kids in school are turning to drugs instead of managing their stresses with time-tested methods?  Are they lazy and want an easy way out?  Or is it that our society is fundamentally geared to think drugs will handle our problems?  Let me know what you think.

I'm Back

Hi! I know I've been off for a while, sorry. I have been working at getting a new job and all sorts of life stuff has been coming up. I'm back now though, so you should be getting semi-consistent posts from now on. :)

Just as a little tidbit, here's an interesting link: Military Suicide Rising. While some may say that the rate of military suicide is rising due to PTSD, I'd say there is more behind that. Obviously, I'm not a doctor, but here's my idea:

War is an awful thing. It certainly is extremely upsetting. So we are giving our military men and women - the people who are willing to give up their lives for us, we give them SSRIs and other drugs that deal in Serotonin reuptake. The majority of these drugs has suicide as a side effect.

While my opinions are anti-war, a part of my family has been heavily involved in the military since World War II. I respect and admire them and their bravery. It is extremely upsetting to me that we are allowing people who are willing to die for us and our country drugs that could make them kill themselves.

What do you think?