Healthy Skepticism Library item: 936

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Adams L.
How Ritalin became poor man’s cocaine
The Herald 2005 Mar 23

Full text:

A powerful drug used to treat hyperactivity in children is being abused by a growing number of adults and students, experts warned yesterday.
Ritalin has been described as the “poor man’s cocaine”, with pills selling for as little as 50p each.
Drugscope, a leading drugs policy centre, has said there is increasing evidence of adults misusing the stimulant across the UK.
Martin Barnes, the charity’s chief executive, said the evidence of misuse was “highly concerning” and warned of serious health risks.
Crew 2000, the Edinburgh-based drugs group, said it had also received anecdotal evidence about the class B drug’s misuse.
Ritalin is a mild stimulant – an amphetamine – which works on the central nervous system to improve concentration. The controversial drug is already used to treat thousands of Scottish children suffering from ADHD.
Possible side-effects of misuse are typical of stimulants and include insomnia, loss of appetite, dizziness and depression on withdrawal.
Last year a record 34,710 prescriptions were handed out to Scottish children, compared with 14,302 in 1999.
A spokeswoman for Drugscope said: “We have been contacted by university students who say they know people who have used ritalin to help them stay awake to write essays and dissertations.
“This is certainly something that people are becoming increasingly aware of. It is not just used as a study aid, but we understand dealers have started to sell it on as well.”
A survey published this year by the journal, Addiction, suggested that 7% of US college students had at some time used prescription stimulants for “non-medical” uses.
A study on the illicit use of ritalin, conducted by psychiatrists from Wisconsin University, found that one-fifth of college students interviewed had taken the drug at least once, and that many had turned to it or other stimulants for all-night cramming sessions or recreational highs.
John Arthur, the manager of Crew 2000, said there was some evidence of its use in Scotland. “We have heard about this and are aware of anecdotal reports that it is more available than it used to be,” he said.
“We have heard reports of students using it. It is certainly not the drug of choice on the dance scene, but there is a concern that people watch these things on television and that it has an impact on usage.”
Schools have also been warned that urgent safeguards should be introduced to prevent children from abusing ritalin.
Janice Hill, of the children’s charity Overload Network, wrote to Malcolm Chisholm, the communities minister, last week to ask him to provide better training and facilities in schools and care homes to ensure the drugs are correctly stored and given out to pupils.
Overload Network has received more than 45 calls about children and parents in Scotland misusing ritalin by grinding it up and snorting the pills, which can allegedly be bought for 50p.
The group was told that a number of female pupils were taking it as an appetite suppressant. The charity also found evidence of the prescription drugs being stored in unlocked drawers and administered by dinner ladies.
One nine-year-old boy in Dundee was given eight tablets to take to school, but always arrived with seven. It is thought that he and other pupils were bullied by children keen to get hold of the drug.
Ms Hill said the group also came across allegations of dealers offering gifts to children who agreed to pass on the tablets.
She said she had written to the communities minister to ask for urgent action to deal with the problem in schools and children’s residential homes.
She said: “Ministers need to look at this and put in place safeguards to prevent misuse of the drug in schools. We found evidence of it being kept in unlocked drawers in schools and handed out by dinner ladies – many of whom didn’t even know it is a class B drug.
“Because of the huge rise in it being prescribed, we need teachers to be educated about how it can be misused.”