University of Colorado police arrested two students on felony drug charges this week after a campus employee reported seeing one of the men sell the other a prescription pill for $5 in the lobby of the school’s Center for Community, officials announced Wednesday.

CU police said Nicholas Busbey, 23, sold Marshall Pedder, 21, a tablet of Vyvanse, a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that also can be used as a “study aid” to help keep students up and alert as they prepare for exams.

Busbey was arrested on suspicion of the unlawful sale of a controlled substance, a Class 3 felony, while Pedder faces a charge of possession of a controlled substance, a Class 6 felony.

Neither Busbey nor Pedder, who both are free on bond, could be reached Wednesday.

CU police spokesman Ryan Huff said campus officers see an increase in the amount of cases involving prescription drugs such as Adderall each semester as students begin to study for big exams. He could not provide specific numbers.

“As we approach midterms and finals we see a handful of these cases in the library or the residence halls,” Huff said. “Students using these as ‘study aids’ want to stay up longer studying and are looking for ways to do that.”

But Huff said students need to remember having even one pill that was not prescribed or selling a prescribed pill to someone without a prescription brings serious charges.

“It’s important for these students to know these are felonies,” Huff said. “It might give them a temporary boost to stay up, but the long-term effect of getting caught is a felony record and a trip to jail.”

‘That is a little harsh’

On the Boulder campus Wednesday, CU freshman Ian Collett said he thought felony charges may be a bit extreme.

“I feel like that is a little harsh,” he said.

Fellow freshmen Zoe Sigle and Caroline O’Malley said while they also get stressed during finals, they have never thought of taking prescription medicine to help them study. Sigle said she takes B-12 vitamins while O’Malley said she drinks a lot of caffeinated drinks if she needs to log some extra study hours.

Huff said every year, incoming students take a class on student responsibility during orientation that involves discussions about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. Huff said the two most common prescription drugs abused by students are Adderall and Oxycodon, a painkiller.

Huff said CU police, along with officials at the Wardenburg Health Center, also do presentations and social media awareness activities throughout the year to get the message across to students.

“There can be some serious consequences for using prescription drugs that are not your own,” Huff said. “It could be for a study aid, it could be to get a high, regardless of what the drug is, it is still a felony if you don’t have a prescription for it.”

‘Those pills are whack’

But freshman Sadie Halnier said she thinks the university could put more emphasis on stopping the use of prescription drugs.

“I feel like they mainly focus on alcohol,” she said.

In fact, O’Malley said she had never heard of drugs such as Adderall being used as study aids.

“I didn’t really know what it was,” she said. “I recognize the name, but I always just associated it with ADHD.”

Freshman Sam Cochran said “almost everybody” he knows has taken prescription medicine to help them study or has at least heard about it, but said he would never consider doing it himself.

“I don’t think it’s worth what it does to your body and your mind to do a little better on a test,” he said. “Just put a little more work in.”

While he disagrees with the use of the drugs, Cochran said he wasn’t sure if felony charges were necessary in this case.

“I think those pills are whack and it’s so easy to become dependant on them, but, at the same time, it was one pill. It’s not like he was trafficking.”

Busbey is due in court Thursday to be formally charged, while Pedder is scheduled to appear before a judge April 4.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Mitchell Byars at 303-473-1329 or byarsm@dailycamera.com.