Asking doctors for stimulants

Quick View. Nov. 6, 2006.

Some physicians feel pressured to meet students' and parents' demands for prescription stimulants to enhance cognitive abilities when studying.

A nationwide survey of 640 doctors done by Flemington, N.J.-based marketing firm HCD Research was released in September.

A study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence earlier this year said that more than 1.5 million students have used prescription stimulants. Many students turn to the Internet or campus drug dealers for the behavioral drugs. These are physicians' responses when asked about what they are seeing in their offices.

67% of physicians surveyed say that within the past year a parent has requested a behavioral drug such as Ritalin, with the goal of improving the academic performance of their child, who they believed did not have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.