Attention-Deficit Drugs Face New Campus Rules

Lisa Beach said it took months before Fresno State’s health service would give her an A.D.H.D. diagnosis. She had to sign a contract for medications.

By ALAN SCHWARZ
April 30, 2013

FRESNO, Calif. — Lisa Beach endured two months of testing and paperwork before the student health office at her college approved a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Then, to get a prescription for Vyvanse, a standard treatment for A.D.H.D., she had to sign a formal contract — promising to submit to drug testing, to see a mental health professional every month and to not share the pills.

Fresno State is one of dozens of colleges tightening the rules on the diagnosis of A.D.H.D. and the subsequent prescription of amphetamine-based medications like Vyvanse and Adderall. Some schools are reconsidering how their student health offices handle A.D.H.D., and even if they should at all.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/us/colleges-tackle-illicit-use-of-adhd-pills.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0