Stimulant Drug Abuse Can Start Early
It used to be school was concerned with Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, also known as the 3 "Rs" in education. Starting in the 1960s a new idea was spawned in education, that children who have trouble learning need to be "medicated". Since that point teen suicides have tripled int he U.S. Today suicide is the second leading cause of death for youths age 15-24. One drug, now a popular street drug was and continues to be broadly prescribed to children who don't behave properly, that drug chemically known as methylphenidate, is now the fourth "R" in education and commonly known as Ritalin.
Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a Schedule II amphetamine, and like all Schedule II drugs has a high potential for abuse and produces many of the same effects as cocaine and other amphetamines. Once a drug popularly given to children, it is now embattled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as large quantities end up on the streets and addicts dissolve the tablets and inject them or crush and snort them. Injection is done as a faster and more powerful high, however, probably little known to the addict, injecting Ritalin blocks small blood vessels, the result of which causes serious damage to the lungs and the retina of the eye.
Like methamphetamine, Ritalin can cause severe psychological addiction and psychotic episodes. Thus we get the rising teen suicide rate, school violence and shootings and more concerns in our schoolyards for police then outside of them.
According to the DEA, the primary use of Ritalin is to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. As such the DEA notes a parallel in the increased use of this drug to treat ADHD and the abuse of the drug among adolescents and young adults. On one hand we have the DEA trying to crack down on the abuse of this Schedule II substance, and on the other we have small children being given it like candy. A question many wonder, but perhaps are too confused to ask is, why is it the children of today need amphetamines to get through third grade when earlier students didn't?
Children should not have to take Schedule II amphetamines to get through school. As a child's body is still developing any such chemical added to the body can cause serious health consequences. If a child isn't making it in school, perhaps a tutor not the medicine cabinet should be consulted.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, they note ADHD symptoms as early as 7 years of age. They also note a "paradoxically calming and focusing effect" in using drugs such as Ritalin on children. There are a few factors these statements omit.
The potency of Ritalin and its abuse and physical and psychological effects don't change simply because the drug is given to a child. Here is what does happen. The more of a drug that is given to someone, based on body weight, the more toxic the effects become. A small amount of a drug acts as a stimulant, a larger amount acts as a depressant, a large enough amount of the drug fast enough will kill one.
Simply put, the reason children on Ritalin seem "calm" is the second condition above has been achieve. Yes, Ritalin is a stimulant, however, a large enough amount of the drug given to anyone, in proportion to body weight, will act as a depressant. This will slow or calm down the hyper child, by raising the toxicity of their body.
The Truth Behind ADHD
The real truth behind ADHD is there is no neurological, biological or chemical or genetic test to determine ADHD. The criteria to determine ADHD in 1987 was VOTED into existence by American Psychiatric Association Committee Members and published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Within a year, 500,000 children in the U.S. alone were diagnosed with it. So if you are wondering what the science is behind ADHD, realize there isn't any. As with any drug craze, it doesn't make sense to someone who isn't drug oriented as to why one turns to a drug in the first place. In this case, it is not the addict who is trying to overcome a personal problem with a drug, but more a teacher or school or parent who is trying to overcome their child's problem with a drug. There is no other mystery to it than that.
Society has been being sold on the idea that taking a drug is the solution for any problem they may have. Drug addicts often start their addiction because of being shy, depressed, or lonely. Narconon drug rehabilitation programs teach an addict the reason behind these conditions and the addict no longer has to seek drugs as a solution to these issues.
Adverse Effects of Ritalin
Children who learn from the age of 7 that if they have a problem they need to take a drug, are not set on a path of a drug-free life. One often overlooked by-product of giving children stimulants is that when they are taking off their Ritalin at puberty, they are already trained to seek drugs to feel good. Many Amphetamine addicts arriving at Narconon centers have listed Ritalin as one of the first stimulants they abused. When they are taken off them in their teens they found that stimulants like Methamphetamine and Crystal Meth gave them the rush they had gotten used to while taking Ritalin. Thus they often began self-medicating themselves into a greater addiction.
A few of the side effects to Ritalin that have been reported are: increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased body temperature, decreased sleep and appetite which can then lead to malnutrition. Repeated use, as in the case of ADHD children, can lead to feelings of hostility, paranoia, suppression of growth has been reported, as well as, nervousness, skin rashes, joint pain, anorexia, dizziness, palpitations, headache, irregular heartbeat, seizures, severe psychological dependence and psychosis.
Ritalin is not a solution to anyone's learning problem and can easily lead to addiction. The drug itself has been labeled by the FDA with a black box warning for this reason. If you or someone you know has become addicted to Ritalin, call Narconon for a confidential consultation on how we can help. There are solutions at Narconon.