Good Grade Pill …

Call it anything you want—be Good Grade Pill or most commonly known as Study Drugs among kids. Yes. we are no longer talking about illegal drugs, we are talking about stimulant drugs that can help the A.D.H.D kids to concentrate. But, who do you think are taking these drugs nowadays? –Now you are seeing the picture that I am painting. Yes. They are those students who want to do better at school –in fact they are those who are A or B students.

Let’s take a step back, why are they here today? What made these kids taking prescription drugs? Yes, the parents, and the society. We have high expectation on our kids. Some of us are sending the messages that Ivy League schools are THE schools. And they need good grades and high SAT tests. Where are we when they are struggling to keep up with the peer pressure? –Are we there to be with them or we are merely pushing and giving them pressures?

Do we want our kids to do well so badly that we merely closing our eyes and don’t see anything? Let’s take a dive into the so call Good Grade Pill aka Study Drugs. According to the article “Risky Rise of the Good-Grade Pill” by Alan Schwarz, “The number of prescriptions for A.D.H.D. medications dispensed for young people ages 10 to 19 has risen 26 percent since 2007, to almost 21 million yearly, according to IMS Health, a health care information company — a number that experts estimate corresponds to more than two million individuals.”

“The boy exhaled. Before opening the car door, he recalled recently, he twisted open a capsule of orange powder and arranged it in a neat line on the armrest. He leaned over, closed one nostril and snorted it. Throughout the parking lot, he said, eight of his friends did the same thing.” In fact, ““Everyone in school either has a prescription or has a friend who does,” the boy said.” – I am dumbfounded!

Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

Don’t mind them, they got the prescriptions either thru their own doctors or thru friends who have prescriptions and decided to either sell them or share with their friends. And how? you ask…--“Christine, a junior sitting nearby, said she followed the well-known lines to get her drugs directly and legally, a script for scripts. “I’m not able to focus on schoolwork,” she said in a mockingly anxious voice. “I’m constantly looking out the window.” –Yes, that is all needed, some of the kids mentioned in the article said, some of the doctors didn’t even finish listening and the prescription was already written.

I am not sure what else to say … I hope you would find this blog as a reminder to all of us, parents, to look beyond grade, work with our children and perhaps stop and listening to them before they are tempted to turn themselves to the “Study Drugs” for help.

Until next stop,

Journey of Life