ISAN
2008
TAYLOR LEADS JAYHAWKS IN WIN AGAINST AGGIES
Freshman guard scores 23 points against New Mexico State. SPORTS | 1B
Jayplay Inside
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 73
OVERSTIMULATED
STUDENT SENATE
$36K left in budget for group funding
Student Senate funds for groups are being depleted faster than usual this year.
Senate has about $30,000 remaining in its unallocated account to use until the end of the school year. Senate started the year with a budget of $108,168.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
CLIMATE
FULL STORY PAGE 8A
Sun, vitamins help students battle their winter blues
With the threat of the impending winter hanging over campus, a little ray of sunshine could go a long way. One out of three Americans is likely to be affected by the changing of the seasons.
CAMPUS
Winter party introduces international organization
Students for Global Awareness is holding its first Winter Soiree tonight at 6:30 at the Spencer Museum of Art, Milica Rastovic, SGA president, said the social event would serve as the launch party for her organization, which was established this semester and planned to become more active next semester.
FULL STORY PAGE 2A
BY HALEY JONES
hjones@kansan.com
A
lexis lay on the edge of her bed, staring vacantly at the floor, not wanting to get up. It had been three days since she last took Aderall, two days
since she had even left her bedroom. She was trying for the fourth time to quit the prescription stimulant she had been using to motivate herself for three years.
"I went into a really dark place for a long time," she said. "I was sleeping all the time, I couldn't move."
Alexis, who like the other illegal users of Adderall quoted in this story asked that her name not be used, is among a growing number of students at the University of Kansas who have used the amphetamine stimulant intended to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and narcolepsy.
Last year, Watkins Memorial Health Center filled 941 prescriptions for Adderall and similar stimulants, accounting for eight percent of its overall drug sales. That figure doesn't include students who fill prescriptions in their home towns or at off-campus pharmacies, including discount stores like Wal-Mart Inc., where a one-month supply of
20 milligrams costs $113 compared to $155 at Watkins.
Adderall is Food and Drug Administration-approved for the estimated four percent of adults in the United States who are diagnosed with ADHD, but for the college students who pop an Adderall without a prescription to get high, stay awake, lose weight or party harder, it's a risky move that could lead to addiction or health issues.
The amphetamine cocktail increases energy, alertness and enhances concentration for three to five hours. Its reputation has caused Addalerd to fall into the hands of people who want it rather than need it. What's more, some medical professionals say Addalerd may not be effective in treating ADHD in users older than 16.
ITS SCOPE AND USE
The medical community recognizes Adderall's benefits in calming children who have ADHD, but its effectiveness at treating adults college age or older is debatable.
"When you get past adolescence, it starts having more of a hyperactivity-inducing effect rather than calming, which is the opposite of why it was initially prescribed," he said. "At that stage it turns into exactly
Elias Michaelis, distinguished professor and director of the pharmacology and toxicology department, said Addlerall decreased hyperactivity only in users younger than 16.
He said users who take Adderall into adulthood risked losing neurochemicals in their brains and exhibiting abnormal behaviors, such as abusing and becoming dependent on the drug.
what an amphetamine does."
One KU student who was prescribed Adderrall in high school and continued taking it in to his college years with disastrous results was Thor Nystrom, a May graduate and former Kansan writer.
"Adderall is definitely a gateway drug," he said. "When I got to college, that's when I started drinking heavily for the first time while taking my Prozac with Adderall. It was just a horrible mix and it did a number on my head. That's when I started to act erratically."
Adderrall is especially popular among college students. Sales have increased more than 3,000 percent since 2002 for Shire Pharmaceuticals, Adderrall's distributor. A study by the University of Wisconsin found that as many as one in five college students have taken Adderral or Ritalin, a similar stimulant, without a doctor's prescription. If those numbers held true at the University, about 6,000 KU students would have used Adderrall.
Cathy Thrasher, chief pharmacist at Watkins, said Watkins had more Adderrall prescriptions than the average drug store because its clientele was between the ages of 18 and 25.
Myra Strother, staff physician at Watkins, said she treated between 100
and 150 students diagnosed with ADHD at any one time each semester.
Watkins requires patients to pass a battery of tests and psychiatric evaluations before receiving a diagnosis of ADHD and a prescription for Adderall. Patients must then see their doctor on a regular basis and prescriptions are non-refillable
"Here we're real picky," Strother said. "We don't want people taking it unless they really need it to function."
While the process to obtain Adderall is closely managed, a black market of Adderal "pharming" thrives with prescribed users selling their pills to other students, even though it is a felony according to federal law.
Criminal penalties for first-time illegal possession of Adderall range from fines of up to $20,000 to a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment, but Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said he knew of no arrests made in Lawrence for illegal possession.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
Medical professionals disagree on whether Adderall is safe or even addictive, Nancy Hamilton, associate professor of psychology, said a substance was addictive only if a person developed the regular habit of using it and without it would experience negative symptoms and
SEE ADDERALL ON PAGE 4A
HOLIDAYS
Tree lighting ceremony tonight includes Jayhawks
Ornament on National Christmas Tree celebrates 2008 national championship
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
Ornamentals honoring the 2008 National Champion Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team will decorate both the national and the Kansas State trees at the White House. The ornaments feature the official championship logo and also recognize the four previous national titles.
When President George W. Bush and his wife Laura light the National Christmas Tree tonight live on C-SPAN, a little bit of Rock Chalk Jayhawk will be sprinkled in with the holiday cheer.
"It's a special honor that obviously
One ornament from each state will hang on the National Tree and 50 from each state will hang on each state's individual tree. Anita Wolgast, who has been designing the Kansas ornament since 1981, decided the Jayhawks would be a perfect group to represent the state of Kansas in Washington, D.C., this holiday season.
doesn't come around every year," said Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director. "It's something that we're very proud of. It's one more way that Kansas can celebrate the national championship."
"The guidelines say to create something that symbolizes the history, heritage and culture of our state." Wolgast said. "And we're just so proud of the history and
culture that KU has provided the state of Kansas."
Wolgast, a Topeka native, last used an athletic team on the ornament in 2003, when Kansas State football was honored for playing in 10 consecutive bowl games. But after Mario Chalmers' three pointer sent the 2008 National Championship game into overtime and the Jayhawks defeated Memphis 75-68, she said it was a no-brainer to honor them on this year's ornament.
The lighting ceremony, which traditionally draws more than 20,000 spectators in person and millions more on TV, runs from 4 to 5 p.m. CDT tonight.
Wolgast won't be in attendance this
year, but said she had been to several of the lighting ceremonies in the past. She said getting to represent the state of Kansas and display her ornament was a feeling like no other.
“It's an absolute thrill,” Wolgast said. “I went last year and it's just a thrill and a joy to be able to do this and have a place in history. It's fun to stand in front of our tree as the people walk by, because they don't know who I am and they make comments about it. It’s a joy to be able to do this every year.”
The ornaments are available for purchase in the KU campus bookstores and at www.kustore.com.
index
Edited by Becka Cremer
Classifieds. 6B Opinion. 7A
Crossword. 6A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 6A Sudoku. 6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2008 The University Daily Kansan
MARKET DEFIES PESSIMISM CLOSES UP 2 PERCENT WED.
Despite fluctuating throughout the day because of concern about the recession, the Dow ended on a positive note. ECONOMY | 5A
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