Editor’s note: The two student users of Ritalin quoted in this article were granted anonymity for their protection. Their names have been changed.

"It’s simple," Joe says.

Crush the pill, snort it with a rolled-up dollar bill — and then wait about five minutes for things to start happening.

Instructions for snorting cocaine?

No, Joe is describing how he snorts Ritalin.

Joe, a 21-year-old junior at the University who spoke only on condition of anonymity, is among the students who are using Ritalin in such numbers that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) now lists it among "drugs of concern."

Ritalin, the brand name for methylphenidate, is the most widely used prescription drug for attention deficit disorder.

It produces a mild stimulant effect when taken in prescribed doses, according to a report by Indiana University professor William Bailey, but it also "can create powerful stimulant effects and serious heath risks when crushed and then snorted like cocaine, or injected like heroin."

Joe said he has snorted Ritalin about 14 times because "sometimes you just don’t want to stop partying."

He said he was prescribed Ritalin during his sophomore year of high school, but he soon was taken off the drug because his mom feared he would start abusing it. Almost five years later, Joe began snorting Ritalin with friends.

The DEA’s definition of Ritalin, as listed on its Web site, is "a Schedule II stimulant that produces pharmacological effects similar to those of cocaine and amphetamine."

Apart from the rush it produces when used improperly, it also causes "appetite suppression, wakefulness and increased focus/attentiveness (for long nights of studying)," according to the Web site.

Joe isn’t the only student who uses Ritalin to get high.

Jane is a 22-year-old senior at the University. She said she, too, has snorted Ritalin.

"Most people our age use it for social purposes, to stay up longer or to drink longer," she said.

This growing trend is not found just among college students.

"It’s a widely used drug around the streets," said Martin Wuttke, clinical director for the Institute of Family Wellness in Atlanta. "When it gets into the black market, it becomes dangerous."

In the Athens-Clarke County area, that’s exactly what is happening.

In the past seven months, Ritalin has been stolen from both Coile Middle School in Winterville and Whit Davis Elementary School in southeastern Clarke County.

A total of 690 Ritalin tablets were stolen from Coile Middle School’s locked medicine cabinet in three different robberies, and 100 tablets were stolen at Whit Davis Elementary, according to the Athens Banner-Herald and Daily News.

The DEA stated on its Web site that Ritalin-type pills are one of the most common prescription drugs to be stolen.

"The pills stolen last weekend — which can be purchased by prescription for about $400 — have a street value of about $4,000," police told the Athens Banner-Herald and Daily News in a Feb. 21 article.

The police’s street price equals $10 per pill, but according to Joe, he can buy Ritalin in Athens for around $3 to $5 per pill. Sometimes he gets itfor free when friends have prescriptions.

So why is the drug still legal to take?

Banning isn’t the solution, according to Flynn Warren, clinical associate professor in the University’s College of Pharmacy.

"The abuse of Ritalin is wrong," he said. "But that doesn’t mean it should be taken away from those who benefit from it."

Ritalin works because of the body’s need to be in balance, Warren said.

The body slows down due to the drug’s speed-up effect, he said.

But, he said, this occurs only when taken properly. When Ritalin is snorted or injected, it increases one’s heart rate and blood pressure and is capable of becoming addictive, Warren said.

"As long as people are being helped, it needs to be made available," he said. "Everything has a risk for the benefit it gives you."

Although people are aware of the side effects of taking Ritalin improperly, the habit will be hard to break for some users.

"Will I snort Ritalin again?" Joe asked. "I probably will."