More and more college students are taking the ADHD drug Adderall to help them make it through finals week, notes a recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.

  Penned by columnist Megan Twohey, the article notes that this is a practice that can have deadly results.

Adderall is from a family of drugs known as amphetamines and works much like cocaine, notes Twohey.  Those who use it are often able to stay awake and focused for hours, making it the perfect drug, many believe, for hours of test cramming.  Because use of the drug is so rampant, many college students possess prescriptions for it.  Some are eager to sell their medications while others simply give it away to friends.

“If you can take a drug that allows you to stay awake through finals week and concentrate on relatively boring topics, you can see how the word would spread,” said William Frankenberger, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He led a 2004 survey of students on a University of Wisconsin campus that found 14 percent had abused Adderall or another ADHD medication.

The drug has a high potential for abuse so using it without a prescription can be dangerous. Side effects of Adderall include insomnia, irritability and loss of appetite and, in very extreme cases, it can cause heart attacks, hallucinations, or paranoia.  There have even been reports of death link to Adderall and other ADHD medications.