Stimulant drugs, including methylphenidate and amphetamine, were first approved for the control of behavior in children during the mid-1950s. Since then, there have been periodic attempts to promote their usage, and periodic public reactions against the practice. In fact, the first Congressional hearings critical of stimulant medication were held in the early 1970s when an estimated 100,000-200,000 children were receiving these drugs.

Since the early 1990s, North America has turned to psychoactive drugs in unprecedented numbers for the control of children. In November 1999, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned about a record six-fold increase in Ritalin production between 1990 and 1995. In 1995, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), a agency of the World Health Organization, deplored that "10 to 12 percent of all boys between the ages 6 and 14 in the United States have been diagnosed as having ADD and are being treated with methylphenidate [Ritalin]." In March 1997, the board declared, "The therapeutic use of methylphenidate is now under scrutiny by the American medical community; the INCB welcomes this." The United States uses approximately 90% of the world's Ritalin.

V. How the medications work

Hundreds of animal studies and human clinical trials leave no doubt about how the medication works.

First, the drugs suppress all spontaneous behavior. In healthy chimpanzees and other animals, this can be measured with precision as a reduction in all spontaneous or self-generated activities. In animals and in humans, this is manifested in a reduction in the following behaviors: (1) exploration and curiosity; (2) socializing, and (3) playing.

Second, the drugs increase obsessive-compulsive behaviors, including very limited, overly focused activities.

But the drugs have their downsides. At the low levels commonly prescribed, mild side effects can include insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, stomachaches, and increased blood pressure. The same dopaminergic action that helps ADHD sufferers focus also stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers, particularly at high levels, which can cause addiction. Toxic doses—a danger when stimulants are taken illegally or without physician supervision—can trigger irregular heartbeat, hyperthermia, hallucinations, and psychosis. The drugs can also aggravate such physical and psychiatric conditions as hypertension, glaucoma, and eating disorders or interact poorly with cold medicines, asthma medications, and certain antidepressants.

Lynn and students who have used the drugs without a prescription reported experiencing some unpleasant reactions to Ritalin and Adderall, including “crippling nervousness,” headaches, teeth grinding, diarrhea, and obsessiveness.

Call your doctor right away if you or your child have any new or worsening mental symptoms or problems while taking RITALIN LA, especially seeing or hearing things that are not real, believing things that are not real, or are suspicious.

What side effects can this medication cause? Return to top

Methylphenidate may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

* nervousness
* difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
* dizziness
* nausea
* vomiting
* loss of appetite
* stomach pain
* diarrhea
* headache
* painful menstruation

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

* fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
* chest pain
* shortness of breath
* excessive tiredness
* slow or difficult speech
* dizziness or faintness
* weakness or numbness of an arm or leg
* seizures
* changes in vision or blurred vision
* agitation
* abnormal thoughts
* hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
* motor tics or verbal tics
* depression
* mood changes
* fever
* sore throat
* unusual bleeding or bruising
* muscle or joint pain
* hives
* rash
* itching
* difficulty breathing or swallowing

Methylphenidate may cause sudden death in children and teenagers with heart defects or serious heart problems. This medication also may cause sudden death, heart attack or stroke in adults, especially adults with heart defects or serious heart problems. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, starting in 1999, began testing the blood of thousands of Americans to determine what synthetic chemicals are being carried in their blood, their body fat and their body organs. The results of these tests -- more than 10,000 people have been tested so far -- is that every single person tested was found to carry hundreds of these synthetic chemicals.