Throwback Thursday: Column in 2004 found occasional use of Ritalin to have benign effects

Throwback Thursdays are our chance to reflect on past events on or near campus and relate them to the present day. Each week, we showcase and analyze an old article from the Daily Bruin archives in an effort to chronicle the campus’ history.

Week four at UCLA is fast approaching. Students can say hello to a growing swamp of quizzes, midterms, papers and assignments. As the pressure and workload build up, it can feel tempting to use substances such as caffeine – or in some extreme circumstances, Adderall or Ritalin – to stay awake and on the grind.

Bruins from 14 years ago seemed to think the same thing. In 2004, Opinion columnist Ilana Fried wrote an Opinion column about the relatively benign effects of the occasional use of Ritalin. She compared the effects of small doses of Ritalin to those of caffeine pills. While Ritalin use among students is not as common as Adderall use, Fried might have gotten a few things wrong about Ritalin and its supposed tameness.

Ritalin is a stimulant drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a sleep disorder known as narcolepsy. The drug works by increasing levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain, helping people to focus and avoid distractions. These seemingly appealing effects might be enticing to some students during stressful times.

“Ritalin’s side effects may include feelings that are uncomfortable but relatively innocuous,” Fried wrote at the time.

But it’s probably not great for recreational use; the drug can also affect students in less innocuous ways.

According to Fried’s column, the Physician’s Desk Reference Guide states, “Chronic abuse (of Ritalin) can lead to marked tolerance levels and psychological dependence with varying degrees of abnormal behavior.”

This suggests Ritalin abuse could negatively impact the health of those who are not prescribed to it.

Moreover, modern research shows large doses of Ritalin have similar effects to those of cocaine, though cocaine increases dopamine levels much faster than Ritalin does. If users are not careful, Ritalin could become a gateway drug – even for occasional and moderate users as they grow a tolerance for the substance – that encourages the use of cocaine to feel more instantaneous effects.

Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said studies suggest using Ritalin to treat ADHD does not increase the risk of drug abuse down the road. However, nonmedical use of Ritalin and other stimulant drugs can lead to addiction.

Additionally, a study done on rats and published in 2017 shows chronic use of Ritalin causes changes in brain chemistry that affects biological factors, such as body weight, food consumption, motor activity and anxiety levels. Female rats required a lower dose of Ritalin than male rats to experience these effects.

While the jury is still out on one-off recreational Ritalin use, it might be better just to not take Ritalin at all, as there could be risks associated with nonchronic use that have yet to be demonstrated in research.

That is of little comfort to students, who are constantly told to better manage their time, prioritize important tasks, and implement healthy sleeping and eating habits. But despite that, and despite the fact the quarter system has become more difficult over the past 14 years, students should try their best to put this advice into action. While using Ritalin or Adderall could be a short-term solution, it is by no means an ideal method as students may slowly become dependent on it.