adderall is a stimulant used to treat adhd. it can help people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to maintain focus. but there’s a thriving black market selling adderall to people who don’t actually have adhd, especially on university campuses, where it’s sometimes used by people who don’t medically need it to remain alert and increase productivity.
that’s dangerous in itself: long-term adderall abuse can lead to depression, heart disease, aggression, mood swings and panic attacks, among many other undesirable symptoms. but the risk of accidentally taking a drug that contains fentanyl is substantially higher.
last fall, the u.s. drug enforcement agency released
its first public safety alert in six years
, warning of the dangers of fake prescription pills. they had seized 9.5 million pills that contained lethal amounts of fentanyl, which they said accounted for nearly half of all the illegal pills they had seized in total. fake pills are often made to resemble adderall, xanax or oxycontin.
“the united states is facing an unprecedented crisis of overdose deaths fuelled by illegally manufactured fentanyl and methamphetamine,” dea administrator anne milgram said in a statement at the time. “counterfeit pills that contain these dangerous and extremely addictive drugs are more lethal and more accessible than ever before.”
harm reduction measures
some university campuses, including usc, have started campaigning to release fentanyl testing strips, which were
only recently decriminalized
in states including new mexico, wisconsin, tennessee and alabama. (they’re still illegal in many states,
including florida
.)