Santa Clara University

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Jill has always had trouble focusing. In middle school and high school, she has struggled to maintain her attention on class, homework, and other academic responsibilities. If not for her own determination and the encouragement of her parents, she probably would have never gone to college as she does now.

However, with midterms just around the corner, her inattentive tendencies are flaring worse than ever. And with poor grades after her first semester, she needs to do well on these tests to keep her GPA above her scholarship’s cutoff. Fortunately, a friend of hers, one familiar with Jill’s problems, has a prescription for Adderall and offers some to Jill so she can concentrate better during finals.

Jill only plans to take the pills this one time considering summer is so near. She doesn’t think she’s getting an advantage because her peers can already focus better than she can. She really needs higher grades this semester to keep her scholarship.

Is it all right if she takes some Adderall? Here are some resources that may be helpful:

Is Using Study Drugs Cheating

Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy (Nature)

Adderall (& Other Stimulant) Abuse on Campus

Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Photo by hipsxxheart available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License.

It has been a hectic fall quarter. Jack is checking his finals schedule: two exams on Tuesday (back to back) and two on Wednesday. How is he going to possibly do all of this studying? As he sits looking over his notes, Amanda, a classmate sits next to him, and he complains about  the amount of work he's going to have to do.

She suggests Jack take a pill to help him concentrate and study better: Adderall. He really doesn't know what Adderall is, but Amanda says it will be okay.  She has a prescription (a lot of kids take it for attention deficit disorder to help them focus), and he can trust her. She assures him that many college kids take Adderall and other drugs to help them study during finals week. Does Jack take the pill, believing his classmate and hoping that this will really help? Or does he decide that maybe it's not such a good idea to be taking pills to study especially if it's someone else's prescription?

Here are some resources that may be helpful:

 Is Using Study Drugs Cheating

Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy (Nature)

Adderall (& Other Stimulant) Abuse on Campus

Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Photo by hipsxxheart available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License.