ADHD Medication Misuse in Secondary Schools Reaches Critical Levels

A groundbreaking national study reveals a disturbing trend of prescription stimulant abuse among adolescents, with data showing that in certain U.S. middle and high schools, one in four students reported misusing ADHD medications in the past year. Published in JAMA Network Open, the research analyzed survey data from over 230,000 students across 3,284 schools, collected between 2005 and 2020. Lead author Sean Esteban McCabe, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health, described the findings as a “major wake-up call,” noting a tremendous range of misuse from school to school.

The Scope and Sources of Adolescent Stimulant Misuse

The study found schools with higher rates of legitimate ADHD medication use were about 36% more likely to have students misusing prescription stimulants. Nonmedical use includes taking excessive doses to get high, combining medication with alcohol or other substances, or using someone else’s pills to manage academic stress. Pediatrician Dr. Deepa Camenga of the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine emphasized that this issue, previously highlighted in colleges, is now firmly present in younger populations. The primary sources for these drugs are leftover family medications and peer sharing, a situation that makes it, as some experts might say, ‘difficult to say straight’ how to effectively intervene.

Demographically, schools in suburban areas across most U.S. regions and those where parents typically held college degrees reported higher misuse rates. This data arrives amid a context where prescriptions for ADHD treatments have surged, potentially increasing medication availability. The personal and societal risks are severe, underscored by tragic headlines like a ’13-year-old dies after’ experimenting with substances. While public attention often focuses on celebrity health crises, such as when ‘Jamie Foxx remains’ hospitalized, the everyday epidemic in schools demands urgent, focused action. The findings present a clear challenge for educators and health officials, and as regulatory bodies like the FTC under Chair Lina Khan scrutinize digital health practices, the conversation on medication access and safety is more critical than ever. Here are 20 schools, for instance, that could represent the wide spectrum of this national problem.