WHAT'S WRONG WITH RITALIN?

"Some children, of course, have problems so severe that drugs like Ritalin are a godsend. But that has little to do with the most obvious reason millions of American children are taking Ritalin: compliance. One day at a time, the drug continues to make children do what their parents and teachers either will not or cannot get them to do without it: Sit down, shut up, keep still, pay attention. In short, Ritalin is a cure for childhood." -- Mary Eberstadt (Reading, Writing, and Ritalin)

MIGHT AS WELL ASK "WHAT'S WRONG WITH COCAINE?" Contemporary U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports (Nov 1999) state that more than 10 percent of school-age children have been diagnosed with either ADD or ADHD. In some schools, as many as 20 percent of students are medicated each day. Prescriptions for methylphenidate (Ritalin) have increased more than 600 percent in just ten years. At the current rate, more eight million school children in this country will be on the drug by the year 2000 (keep in mind that's less than two months away). Prescription sales are more than $1 billion a year. AMERICANS use five times more Ritalin than all other countries combined.

The DEA is heavily involved in Ritalin use because Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a powerful stimulant and has quickly become a sought-after street drug. While it can have a calming effect on younger children with ADD, in older individuals it acts as a stimulant or form of "speed" which the DEA warns has the same properties as cocaine.

Upton, New York: Brookhaven National Laboratory: When Ritalin was injected into healthy test subjects, it had the same pattern of distribution in the brain as cocaine demonstrated by studies conducted on coke addicts.) In fact, cocaine addicts, could not distinguish Ritalin from cocaine. Ritalin's effects peaked between four and 10 minutes, which is similar to cocaine's at two to eight minutes. The only significant difference the researchers uncovered was that Ritalin took four times longer (90 minutes) to leave the body than cocaine.

Berkeley, California: University of California at Berkeley studies found that Ritalin users were three times more likely to develop a "taste" for cocaine than nonusers. Some researchers now fear that, like amphetamines, Ritalin use alters brain chemistry in such a way that the use of cocaine has a stronger effect than it would otherwise, thereby increasing the risk of addiction. (Notes from DEA meeting, Dec 96)

These cocaine-like effects have apparently been a factor in Ritalin's popularity as a street drug. According to a recent study on this issue, 16% of children on Ritalin reported that they had been approached to sell their medication and 4% reported having it stolen at least once. (Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 98,19:187-192)

Brookhaven Laboratory researchers have been following 5,000 children with attention disorders from childhood into adulthood. Based on their findings, it appears that when Ritalin treated ADHD children reach adolescence, they exhibit higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse and the Ritalin users are involved in more criminal activities and accidents compared nonusers of Ritalin. The destructive pattern appears to continue into adulthood, with higher rates of divorce, low self-esteem and depression. More than a third of these individuals drop out of the school system completely and one-tenth attempt suicide.

In addition to the eight million school children currently on medication for ADD or ADHD, it is now estimated that more than 13 million adults suffer from these disorders, and more are diagnosed every day. Keep in mind that these numbers don't include Europe and the rest of the world, where Ritalin sales are starting to skyrocket.

Positron-emission tomography (PET) studies have revealed that individuals with ADD and ADHD have difficulty with glucose metabolism. (In simpler terms, they have blood sugar problems). Children are affected most by blood sugar problems due to the fact that half of their daily caloric intake is used to fuel brain activity.

Studies have revealed that ADHD children release only about half the amount of catecholamines as normal children. Using PET scans, researchers found an uncontrolled drop in blood sugar which significantly decreased brain activity in ADD/ADHD children.

The studies also reported that ADHD children become physically hyperactive in an unconscious effort to force their adrenal glands to release more catecholamines (these are the hormones commonly referred to as 'adrenaline" that can result in extraordinary acts of strength during times of stress - they also make you feel like you have the jitters). These children apparently are unconsciously placing their bodies under stress in an attempt to "squeeze" more hormones from their already weakened adrenal glands. [Pediatric Resident 95;38(4).-539-421].

- Excerpt from Alternatives Newsletter, October, 1999, David Williams, Ph.D. – Editor.

NEWSPAPER STORY: DAILY TELEGRAPH

Students using drugs for exams

• HIGH school and university students are buying powerful prescription drugs for as little as $1 to beat the stress of end-of-year exams.
  
  
• The drug Ritalin - a form of amphetamine or speed used to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - is being sold to help students "stay awake" during intense last-minute cramming sessions.
  
  
• Students prescribed Ritalin for ADHD are on-selling the drug to schoolmates unaware it could seriously damage their health.
  
  
• Health authorities fear a 20-fold increase in Ritalin prescription numbers in recent years is feeding the schoolyard drug trade.
  
  
• The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said Ritalin worked like a "super speed". "Students are using this to keep awake to finish things," RACGP chairman David Dammery said. "There's no question it's (Ritalin) been diverted. The kids are selling. It's been happening more in the last couple of months."
  
  
• Dr Dammery warned unprescribed use of the drug caused aggression, anxiety and heart seizures.
  
  
• The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said single Ritalin tablets were being sold for anything between $1 and $20 on the black market. A pack of 100 tablets costs around $75.
  
  
• "It's not good as a study aid - you're going to become more confused, you will become quite agitated - and you're not going to concentrate a lot," NDARC spokesman Paul Dillon said.
  
  
• Departing Alcohol and Drugs Council of Australia chief David Crosbie said had noticed a blowout in prescription numbers of Ritalin, making it easier for people to gain access. "The level of prescribing it has become much more available in the community," he said. He was aware of kids using the drug as a study aid. "But it isn't necessarily a smart drug. It has mood altering qualities," he said. "The reaction is different for each person so it may not even help you."
  
  
• Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said ADHD may be overdiagnosed by doctors who are under pressure from parents to explain their child's disruptive behaviour. "These kids that are being prescribed, aren't taking it - they're selling it," he said. Dr Carr-Gregg said it was "predominantly" senior high school students.
  
  
• An Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence report last year warned ADHD children had been bullied at school into handing over their drugs.
  
  
• State health department figures show the number of Ritalin tablets prescribed has soared exponentially since 1990, with some states posting a 20-fold increase.
  
  
• Ritalin, also known as methylphenidate, should only be prescribed by paediatricians, child psychiatrists and GP's who have specialized training.
  
  
• ADHD is a behavioural syndrome where hyperactivity and inattention causes social and learning difficulties.

  - David Kaiser, Ph.D.