The May suicide of Vanderbilt student Kyle Craig shocked his friends and family. Described by his father as "focused, happy, achieving and social," Craig held down a 3.5 GPA, played in a band on campus and looked to a career in investment banking.
But during his junior year, he started using Adderall to keep up with his responsibilities, eventually obtaining a prescription for the drug. And now the pills, used legally and illegally by scores of students nationwide, are being blamed for the downward spiral that lead to Craig's death.
ABC has more:
By junior year in 2009, Kyle told his parents he had lost interest in the fraternity parties that used to be so much fun, they thought perhaps this personality change was a sign of maturity, but only in retrospect did they realize these were the earliest signs of a growing psychosis caused by Adderall abuse.
After his death Kyle's classmates and friends told his parents, "Everyone takes Adderall."
The Craigs make no excuses for Kyle's choices, but they believe the effects of Adderall abuse, coupled with a cluster of suicides in his hometown that year, likely created the "perfect storm" that lured him to the train tracks.
Read Kyle's full story here.
According to a study released earlier this year, it is easy for students in want of Adderall to obtain a prescription by faking symptoms of ADHD. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that "even someone with a cursory knowledge of the disorder could simulate the symptoms."
What do you think? Have you taken Adderall? Has it affected you in a negative manner? Weigh in below.