Here are some
excerpts from a
report I wrote regarding the usage of Ritalin, particularly its over-
subscription and usage for
recreational purposes.
2. Results
2.1 Findings
According to the federal
Drug Enforcement Administration, more than one in every 30 Americans between 5 and 19 years old have a prescription for Ritalin in the United States to
control their
behaviour (or in some cases,
narcolepsy).
2.1.2 - Attitudes towards Ritalin’s usage
Some
doctors and
child psychologists are against the usage of the drug Ritalin, especially in less major circumstances (when the child’s behaviour is manageable by
other means, for example). The opinion between parents varies, too. All parents believe their children achieving at school is a
good thing, but some parents are not willing to place their children on drugs such as Ritalin. The major arguments for this are that the
long-term effects of the drug are not yet known and that Ritalin, like all stimulants, can cause depression and other problems on
withdrawal.
Another issue is when the person should actually be withdrawn from the drug. When they finish
primary school? When they finish
high school? When they finish
tertiary education? The problem with all stimulants is not
physical addiction, but
psychological addictions that need to be treated with
counselling.
2.1.4 – Misuse/abuse of Ritalin
Due to the nature of stimulants such as Ritalin,
dexamphetamine, etc. they have the potential to be misused in many ways. Students are known to
crush and snuff Ritalin tablets, or even form a solution with it and inject, to improve their
concentration whilst
studying.
Also, Ritalin is used as a recreational drug and can cause euphoria and
hallucinations at high dosages. The side affects of these actions are not
life threatening, but can be dangerous. Placing children on Ritalin gives them the means, and may even promote, their using of stimulant drugs for recreation.
3. Conclusion
To sum up, it can be seen that Ritalin is a
dangerous drug. Apart from the physical problems it has been shown to cause in the long term, such as growth suppression and weight loss, there are also
psychological issues that may be introduced by placing children on the drug.
The drug has been
overprescribed in the United States already, according to many doctors. The usage of the drug has increased 600% in the past 5 years. Ritalin’s objective is the same as Soma’s
(Reference from a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, referred to in a part of the report I haven't included): Control. This is
oppression that has been covered up by the promise of better grades. Due to this, many parents have refused to give their children the drug, and many doctors have stopped prescribing it in all but
extreme cases.
With the usage of Ritalin being so high, the ease of obtaining the drug is also high. This is making it a choice for students who use the drug to study and those who use the drug for recreation alike.
These points must be addressed before the usage of this drug becomes even more of a
problem.
4. Recommendations
Based on the results of this
investigation, the following
recommendations can be made:
- Parents should study the physical and psychological problems the drug can cause, whether it is long term or short term effects.
- Doctors recommend that children who need the drug go on “drug holidays”, on weekends, school holidays, etc. This helps lower the psychological dependence and show how the drug is really affecting the child (by seeing them in comparison).
- Since the people selling Ritalin to students and recreational drug users alike are the ones who have the drug prescribed, the police cannot crack down on importers or distributors of the drug. The only way to stop the flow of the drug is to stop it being prescribed to those who do not need it, and who may otherwise sell it.
The only two
URLs I referenced in my bibliography were:
- http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r03.html
- http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/rbook/drug.html