Study Drugs “Don’t Make You Smarter”

Abstract

Despite the growing literature on nonmedical prescription drug use among students in North America, existing research does not investigate the potential convergences of nonusing student attitudes on drug acceptability with those of their stimulant-using peers. Analysis of 36 interviews with nonmedical stimulant prescription drug-using and nonusing undergraduate students in Canada provides insight into evaluations of drug acceptability within a competitive, top-tier research university context. Interviews are analyzed thematically with attention to practices students engage in to assess nonmedical stimulant use, and discourses students use to position the acceptability of such use. Interview results illustrate commonalities in how using and non-using students weigh the risks and advantages of nonmedical prescription stimulant use in relation to the pursuit of scholastic success. These findings are used to critically engage with the construct of drug acceptability, as conceptualized in the drug normalization framework of Howard Parker and colleagues. To conclude, recommendations are made for future research, and implications for university policies are considered.