Ritalin Abuse

In this article we are not discussing the use of Ritalin when prescribed for ADHD, but the abuse of this substance by people for recreational purposes.

Ritalin, a trade name for the prescription drug methylphenidate, is a central nervous system stimulant, and is prescribed frequently to treat children who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Ritalin has also been the focus of much controversy.

Probably the most controversial theme in the Ritalin debate is the question if its use can lead to psychological drug dependence in the long run.

A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry titled "Is methylphenidate like cocaine?" concluded that indeed it was. Its lead author, Nora Volkow, director of nuclear medicine at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., used positron emission tomography scans to look at where and how quickly Ritalin acts in the brain. In Volkow's study, eight healthy male volunteers were injected with the drug. Their scans were then compared with those subjects in previous studies who had been injected with cocaine. The authors reported that the distribution of Ritalin in the human brain was "almost identical to that of cocaine." The drugs' effects also peaked at almost the same time — between four and ten minutes in the case of Ritalin, and two to eight minutes for cocaine. Even the highs were similar.

When Ritalin was given to cocaine users, they said it was "almost indistinguishable." The only significant difference was that Ritalin took more than four times as long — ninety minutes — to leave the body. "We're dealing with a drug that does have properties very similar to cocaine," Volkow concluded.

It is therefore quite understandable why Ritalin — nicknamed "Vitamin R," "The R Ball," "The Smart Pill," "Skittles" or "Smarties" — has become the drug of choice in American middle schools, where kids share their own prescriptions or sell pills to friends who crush them up and snort the powder for a quick high. The result has been increased drug dealing among the young, plus several teen deaths.

The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey indicates that four percent of high school seniors in the United States abused the drug at least once in the past year. Although less common, Ritalin is abused among adults as well. The Drug Enforcement Administration has received reports of Ritalin abuse among diverse segments of the population —ranging from healthcare professionals to street addicts.

In Western Canada, "T's and R's," "T's and Rits," "One and Ones," "Crackers," and "Set" are street names for a mixture of the prescription drugs Talwin (pentazocine) and Ritalin. When combined and injected, Talwin, a painkiller, and Ritalin produce a brief but intense sense of euphoria similar to the effect of heroin mixed with cocaine.

Although taking a stimulant orally is very different from injecting or snorting it, there are warnings that, even when taken orally, its use has the potential of creating long-term drug dependence. According to psychopharmacologist Susan Schenk of Texas A&M University, children treated with Ritalin are three times more likely to develop a taste for cocaine. She reached this conclusion after teaming up with Nadine Lambert, a developmental psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who followed five thousand children with ADHD from adolescence to adulthood.