Trends in Ritalin Abuse
At their June 2000 meeting, members of NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group
(CEWG)* shared the following information.
The abuse of methylphenidate has been reported in Baltimore, mostly among
middle and high schools students; Boston, especially among middle and
upper-middle class communities; Detroit; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Phoenix; and
Texas.
When abused, methylphenidate tablets are often used orally or crushed and used
intranasally.
In 1999, 165 methylphenidate-related poison calls were made in Detroit; 419
were reported in Texas, with 114 of those involving intentional misuse or
abuse.
On Chicago's South Side, some users inject methylphenidate (this is referred to
as "west coast"😉. Also, some mix it with heroin (a "speedball"😉 or in
combination with both cocaine and heroin for a more potent effect.
http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/addiction.html
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Addicts' Brains Work Harder to Control Behavior
A brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven
National Laboratory reveals that recently abstinent methamphetamine abusers who
reported they avoided harmful situations had higher resting metabolic rates in
a part of the brain responsible for making decisions and modifying behaviors
than those with low harm-avoidance scores. In non-addicted, comparison
subjects, there was no significant association between harm avoidance and
metabolism in this brain region.
New Tool for Studying Animal Models of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory
have demonstrated that a miniature positron emission tomography (PET) scanner,
known as microPET, and the chemical markers used in traditional PET scanning
are sensitive enough to pick up subtle differences in neurochemistry between
known genetic variants of mice.
More Clues About Obesity Revealed by Brain-Imaging Study
The idea that obese people eat too much because they find food more palatable
than lean people do has gained support from a new brain-imaging study at the
U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. The study reveals
that the parts of the brain responsible for sensation in the mouth, lips, and
tongue are more active in obese people than in normal-weight control subjects.
New Food-Addiction Link Found
Scientists at Brookhaven have found that the mere display of food — where
food-deprived subjects are allowed to smell and taste their favorite foods
without actually eating them — causes a significant elevation in brain
dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward.
This activation of the brain’s dopamine motivation circuits is distinct from
the role the brain chemical plays when people actually eat, and may be similar
to what addicts experience when craving drugs.
Brain-Imaging Study Offers Clues to Inhalant Abuse
Inhalant abuse, also known as “huffing,†is a rapidly growing health
problem, particularly among young people. However, little is known about how
inhaled chemicals affect the brain and body. Now, scientists at the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory — inspired by
schoolchildren who wanted to know more about huffing — have produced the
first-ever images showing what parts of the brain and body are most affected by
toluene, a commonly inhaled solvent.
Study Reveals Differences in Patients’ Response to Ritalin
A new brain-imaging study offers insight into why individual patients respond
differently to standard doses of Ritalin, a drug used to treat millions of
children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) each year. The
study, conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National
Laboratory, appears in the March 1, 2002 issue of the journal Synapse.
Methamphetamine mechanism may knock out brain’s ability to “just say noâ€
A new brain-imaging study at Brookhaven reveals that, compared with people who
don’t use drugs, people who abuse methamphetamine have fewer receptors for
dopamine, a brain chemical associated with feelings of reward and pleasure.
Brain Shows Ability to Recover From Some Methamphetamine Damage
A new brain-imaging study at Brookhaven indicates that some of the damage
caused by methamphetamine – a drug abused by ever-increasing numbers of
Americans — can be reversed by prolonged abstinence from the drug. The
results appear in the December 1, 2001 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/ritalin_side_effects.htm
Ritalin Side Effects
Ritalin, the most frequently prescribed stimulant drug for Attention Deficit
Disorder, has been the focus of much controversy. This controversy includes
harmful Ritalin effects, Ritalin abuse (including snorting Ritalin), Ritalin
addiction and other Ritalin side effects.
There are few people in the United States who have not heard of Ritalin. It's
the brand name for a drug called methylphenidate and the ADHD drug of choice
for physicians treating Attention Deficit Disorder. Every day five million
children in America line up for their daily dose of Ritalin.
Since Attention Deficit Disorder hit the mainstream in the 1980s, prescriptions
for Ritalin have skyrocketed. So have reports of children snorting Ritalin,
Ritalin abuse and harmful Ritalin effects.
While it is true that children can show improvement in ADHD symptoms while on
Ritalin, the Ritalin effects last only several hours. Ritalin effects ADHD
symptoms but the Ritalin effects wears off when the drug wears off.
In most cases the Ritalin side effects are mild but some, though rare, are
life-threatening. Nervousness and insomnia are the most common adverse Ritalin
side effects.
Parents need to be clear about the benefits as well as the potential Ritalin
effects – including the potential for Ritalin abuse and addiction - before
administering Ritalin to their children.
Common Ritalin side effects are:
difficulty sleeping
loss of appetite
irritability
nervousness
stomach aches
headaches
dry mouth
blurry vision
      nausea
dizziness
drowsiness
ticks
Other Ritalin side effects can include:
hypersensitivity
anorexia
palpitations
blood pressure and pulse changes
cardiac arrhythmia
      anemia
scalp hair loss
toxic psychosis
The following, though rare, have also been reported as Ritalin side effects:
abnormal liver function
cerebral arteritis
leukopenia
death
Some doctors believe that stimulants may also make the symptoms of Tourette's
syndrome worse, though recent research is inconclusive. Some children
experience "withdrawals" from coming off of the dose as Ritalin side effects.
Parents should alert their doctor to any Ritalin side effects experienced.
It is recommended that, since safety and effectiveness of Ritalin has not been
established and can cause especially severe reactions in children under 6 years
of age, Ritalin should not be used for that age group. Despite that, the number
of stimulants prescribed for children ages 2 to 4 has increased 200 to 300
percent between 1991 and 1995.
Ritalin can be helpful in the short term in reducing ADHD symptoms but no
physician will claim that Ritalin cures ADHD. Stimulants used for ADHD symptoms
merely postpone dealing with the root cause of the behavioral and attentional
problems.
The more lasting and more entrapping Ritalin effects is the high potential for
Ritalin abuse and addiction.
Of the many psychoactive drugs prescribed to children in the United States, two
controlled substances are widely prescribed to treat children: methylphenidate
(Ritalin and the newest form of Ritalin, Concerta) and amphetamine (Adderall
and Dexedrine).
Both of these substances are powerful stimulants classified as Schedule II
narcotics in the Controlled Substances Act since 1971. Schedule II is the
classification for medical drugs with the highest abuse potential and addiction
profile.
Ritalin abuse and Ritalin addiction are prevalent Ritalin side effects. Ritalin
is closely related to the illegal street drugs Methamphetamine, street name
"crystal meth." Ironically, our society imprisons people for manufacturing
drugs similar to the drugs physicians commonly prescribe to millions of
children.
A significant amount of literature is available that describes Ritalin abuse
and Ritalin addiction. Like amphetamines and cocaine, Ritalin abuse and
snorting Ritalin can lead to marked tolerance and addiction.
Data from physicians, parents, schools, poison control centers, adolescent
treatment centers and law enforcement show that adolescents who abuse Ritalin
commonly obtain the drug from people that have valid physician prescriptions
for Ritalin.
Adolescents give and sell their Ritalin medication to schoolmates and friends,
who are taking Ritalin orally, crushing the tablets and snorting Ritalin powder
like cocaine. Another form of Ritalin abuse is through dissolving Ritalin in
water and injecting the fluid.
The pattern of Ritalin abuse and addiction is characterized by increasing
dosages and frequent episodes of bingeing, followed by severe depression.
Severe Ritalin side effects, including death, have been reported with Ritalin
abuse and addiction.
Drug Enforcement Agency data shows that Ritalin abuse and addiction has high
potential. The inappropriate use of Ritalin, Ritalin abuse and snorting Ritalin
carries significant risks.
- A 1996 DEA survey found that between 30 and 50 percent of adolescents in drug
treatment centers reported Ritalin abuse – taken orally, through snorting
Ritalin or injection.
- A 1998 Indiana University survey of 44,000 students found that about seven
percent of high school students surveyed reported Ritalin abuse – taken
orally, through snorting Ritalin or injection - at least once. Of those
students, 2.5 percent reported Ritalin abuse monthly or more often.
Reports from students and faculty on college campuses also show Ritalin abuse.
These reports indicate that students use Ritalin as a study aid and a party
drug in the same manner that amphetamine was used on campuses in the 1960s.
Since 1991, prescriptions for all drugs to treat Attention Deficit Disorder
have quintupled. This year about six million children - roughly one child out
of every eight - will take Ritalin or other forms of ADHD medications.
Ritalin abuse and addiction increased with the increase in Ritalin
prescriptions. Poison control data, emergency room data and high school surveys
all indicate that Ritalin abuse has increased significantly since 1990.
In 1990, there were 271 emergency room mentions for methylphenidate (Ritalin)
in the Drug Abuse Warning Network. In 1998, there were 1,727 mentions – a
sixty-fold increase - for methylphenidate (Ritalin) in the Drug Abuse Warning
Network. Children between the ages of 10 and 17 accounting for 56 percent of
those emergency room visits from Ritalin abuse.
According to the United Nations, the U.S. produces and consumes about 85
percent of the world's production of methylphenidate (Ritalin). Continued
increases in the medical prescription of Ritalin can only lead to increased
Ritalin abuse and addiction among children.
JUST LIKE COCAINE
Ritalin is often referred to as "Kiddie Cocaine" for good reason. Long-term
Ritalin effects have been linked to brain development abnormalities similar to
those found with cocaine use.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, one of American's leading
medical journals, published an article in August entitled "Ritalin Acts Much
Like Cocaine."
An Archives of General Psychiatry report states; "Cocaine has pharmacological
actions that are very similar to those of methylphenidate (Ritalin), which is
now the most commonly prescribed psychotropic medicine for children in the
U.S."
DEA data on methylphenidate and amphetamine for the treatment of ADD symptoms
shows:
- That methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) and amphetamine (Adderall,
Dexedrine) produce effects similar to cocaine in laboratory animals and in
humans.
- In clinical studies, methylphenidate and amphetamine produce behavioral and
psychological effects similar to cocaine.
In simple terms, this data means that the human body cannot tell the difference
between cocaine, amphetamine, or Ritalin.
Ritalin effects children the same way related stimulants like cocaine effect
adults. Just as predictably, children are subject to Ritalin side effects, as
adults are subject to the side effects of cocaine and other stimulant drugs.
Aside from the Ritalin side effects and potential for Ritalin abuse and
addiction, another disturbing aspect of Ritalin is the long-term Ritalin side
effects.
Until recently physicians believed that Ritalin side effects remained as
short-term. Scientists at the University at Buffalo found otherwise. Research
with gene expression in animals suggests that Ritalin has the potential for
causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure and function.
Methylphenidate (Ritalin) appears to initiate changes in brain function that
remain long after the therapeutic Ritalin effects dissipate.
While research now indicates adverse long-term Ritalin side effects physically,
other studies show that Ritalin use does not make an impact on behavior in the
long run.
A comprehensive follow-up study at Montreal Children's Hospital revealed that
the behavior of hyperactive children did not differ significantly from the
behavior of non-hyperactive children after taking ADHD medication for five
years.
"Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with Ritalin were initially
more manageable, the degree of improvement and emotional adjustment was
essentially identical at the end of five years to that seen in a group of kids
who had received no medication at all," the report stated.
Given the lack of long-term benefits, the potential for long-term Ritalin side
effects and Ritalin abuse and addiction, many parents uncomfortable with
Ritalin side effects choose alternative treatments for Attention Deficit
Disorder.
Jan
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,
but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
Albert Einstein