SouthFlorida.com | City Link Magazine

While pursuing joint degrees in law and business at the University of Miami, Justin Hertzberg and Jason Neufeld have met many students who take Adderall or Ritalin, drugs typically used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in order to stay up all night and study. Some of them lie to doctors to get prescriptions, while others buy pills illegally for $5 to $10 apiece, sometimes crushing and snorting them to feel the effects more quickly.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that people who misuse such drugs risk decreased appetite and weight loss, headaches, mood changes, addiction, adverse cardiovascular events and even death. Hertzberg, 25, says he and Neufeld, 26, want nothing to do with illegal drugs but do want to be able to pull off all-night cramming sessions.

"There are dangerous risks with abusing [prescription] drugs, but there is also the benefit that you can sit in a room for 10 hours and study nonstop," Hertzberg explains.

So the budding entrepreneurs sought another way to achieve that state. Last August, after raising money from investors and family friends, the pair established Joint Degree Labs in Coral Gables, where they produce 15-caplet packs of the product they've named Focuset (Focuset.com).

Since herbs and vitamins are not their area of expertise, they consulted with South Florida-based nutraceutical developer Stewart Padveen and California health-food-store owner Joshua Lane to concoct a blend of natural ingredients and vitamins. They also recruited Dr. Dennis Padla, a Michigan psychiatrist who incorporates pharmaceuticals and natural remedies into his practice, as the lab's chief medical adviser.

Hertzberg and Neufeld claim the resulting product -- which includes green-tea-leaf extract, Rhodiola rosea root extract, yerba mat� leaf, guarana seed extract, magnesium and vitamins B-6 and B-12 -- helps users focus for long periods without causing ugly side effects. Neufeld says they initially sought a natural alternative for themselves but eventually decided to offer it to other people, including those who were taking illegally obtained prescription drugs.

"Why not try putting something healthy in your body before going to this extreme level?" Neufeld asks. "There's no in-between [with prescription drugs]. It's either you're not focused or you're putting a dangerous amphetamine in your body that's tearing up your stomach, your liver and is addictive."

But Dr. Eugenio Rothe, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Miami, cautions that using any substance to stay awake all night is a problem. "Taking drugs to stay up because you haven't studied and didn't plan well enough is maladaptive behavior," he argues. "Making your maladaptive behavior safer so that you can get high on something that may not be as harmful as pure amphetamine is a very flawed premise." He also warns about the lack of testing, research and quality-control standards for products such as Focuset that don't require FDA approval.

Hertzberg concedes that Focuset isn't subject to FDA testing but notes that the company lists the amount of each ingredient on the packaging and is seeking a clinic to conduct tests "to verify that this is an effective product." No clinical trial, however, has yet taken place.

Meanwhile, Joint Degree Labs is selling Focuset as a daily supplement, advertising its "natural ingredients that support enhanced focus, concentration, energy and brain function." The company is offering a back-to-school special promoted through ads in college newspapers and on Facebook and MySpace, as well as fliers distributed at college bookstores.

"We hope they'll at least give us a shot," Neufeld adds. "That's why we have a money-back guarantee. If you don't like it, send it back."