Project 4

I only have Microsoft Works and for some reason it wont let me upload a work’s file so the only thing i could do was copy it into the actual blog post. thankyou.

“What’s an “A” Worth?”

As we grow up we learn through society that it is best to do well in school. To get excellent marks in school is definitely smiled upon by our friends and families and is the key to becoming successful in the real world. Throughout high-school we are pushed to the limit to put our best effort into everything we do. The number one reason to get good grades in high school has always been so we could get into a good college. Since nowadays you have to have some sort of higher education to get majority of well paying jobs, many college students are striving to make the grade to make them the person all the businesses want to hire right away. This has resulted in newer generations of college students looking for an edge other than caffeine to stay awake and somewhat alert while studying for that final exam or to stay concentrated on their studies while at school. Students are turning to prescription drugs such as Ritalin to give them a mental “boost”. To them it may seem like this drug works wonders and isn’t potentially dangerous at all. After all, who could argue that taking this drug without a prescription is a bad thing after feeling more alert, focused, and on tasked than ever before after taking it? What they don’t know is that even though on the outside everything may seem “OK” about taking this drug without a prescription to help study, but what they don’t know is how potentially dangerous this drug can with or without a prescription.

Ritalin, or Methylphenidate, is a psycho-stimulant drug that is approved and prescribed for ADD, ADHD, and Narcolepsy; but it can also be prescribed for off-label use for obesity, depression, and lethargy. Ritalin was first synthesized in 1944 and by the

1960’s it was being prescribed to children to treat ADD and ADHD. Today, Ritalin is the most commonly medication prescribed to treat ADHD in the world. Today on college campuses Ritalin is becoming the next best thing among students. College students should not take Ritalin because of the negative health effects that they may experience and it is just morally wrong to do it in the first place.

Even though it may seem relatively harmless to take Ritalin without a prescription, what is rarely known is all the negative effects that it may have on someone. There is a long list of possible negative side effects to the user such as headaches, appetite loss, abdominal pain, dizziness, hypersensitivity, stunted growth, blood pressure change, increased heart rate, and sweating. This is only about 2/3rds of the side effects that a person my experience. Some people may even experience worse side effects such as hearing voices, hallucinating, anxiety, aggression, and paranoid delusions.

Another reason Ritalin shouldn’t be taken without a prescription is because of it’s high potential for abuse. Because it is a prescription medication, many people tend to believe that Ritalin is safe to abuse but what they don’t know is that Ritalin is more potent than Cocaine in the way it effects the “pleasure” chemicals in a person’s brain. Believe it or not, Ritalin is so strong that it is nearly indistinguishable by cocaine addicts when they abuse Ritalin.

Yes, It is important to achieve good grades in school for many different reasons and drugs such as Ritalin may seem harmless and “ok” to use, but after going through the negative side effects which may eventually lead up to abuse and soon after death. It really isn’t worth risking. However, even though I’ve gone through all these negative things Ritalin may cause, one must ask themselves “what’s an “A” worth?”

Wikipedia

. 09/12/2009. Wikipedia, Web. 9 Dec 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate>.