Imperial Valley News

Denver, Colorado - If grandma and grandpa’s medications are not safe in our homes because of break-ins, and the exposure to other family members and visitor misuse, then where and how do we evaluate and control the childhood drug: Ritalin?

University of Maryland Center For Sustenance Abuse Research did the following well-documented and researched 5 page paper on the profile and history of Ritalin, generic name Methamphetamine.

Ritalin is just one brand name for methylphenidates. Sustained- or extended-release formulas of methylphenidates are sold as Ritalin SR, Ritalin LA, Metadate ER, Metadate CD, Methylin ER, Focalin, and Concerta. In the United Sates Methylphenidates Schedule II controlled substances.

Ritalin or Methampheamines are well-known prescription and street drugs. Every school kid and their playmates, who are seen as a behavior problem at home and or at school, know this drug of choice. It is also known and the drug of choice by every desperate young mother trying to control her weight gain or needing additional energy to keep up with all of the activities expected from today’s families. Don’t get me wrong. Not every child and every mother uses drugs to get through the day, but there are certainly large enough numbers of parents and children using prescription drugs daily to begin to question the sanity of the adults in charge, not to mention the medical communities and the laws that govern the use of such prescription drugs.

Most well-intentioned parents have also been brought up to believe in the unquestioned authority and guidance of school systems and the medical profession. Programs are developed to keep our school age children off drugs. Laws are written to keep even the parents from “weed”. Why would there be such a dichotomy of interests in suggesting a child should be evaluated and placed on prescription Methampheamines? How many parents go to a doctor’s office and realize just what it is they are asking the doctor to evaluate and prescribe? I can’t think of one quality parent that would knowingly give a child CRACK or Cocaine. I have known parents that would deceptively get the medications prescribed for the child and then take the Ritalin substances themselves for obvious reasons stated previously.

Consider there may actually be a legitimate medical reason to place a child on Ritalin, though from my reading, research and personal opinion, I can’t imagine what that reason would be. Do these drugs make a real measurable difference in the long-term improvement and function of this minimal medical declared brain dysfunction?

Now at last, some parents are getting the message. Some parents are doing their homework and not just relying on one medical source for information. A comprehensive study of this subject was processed at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and discovered this startling fact. A five-year study of hyperkinetic children who were prescribed Ritalin or Chloropromazine had no significant differences from the children given a placebo. The study states it appeared the children given the drugs appeared to be initially more manageable, The degree of improvement and emotional adjustments were identical at the end of 5 years as children who had no medical intervention. Maybe it is time to look for different answers.

Could the increased use of Ritalin type drugs be responsible for other addictions seen in young adults? Maybe it is time for parents and schools to teach coping skills rather than pill popping skills. Is it possible we also need to assist in educating our children about their playmates prescription medications or not allowing them to associate with children who’s parents send children to school with these medications or have them lying about at home?

Because Ritalin drugs and the clones are addictive, and so is the abuse potential, Ritalin and Concerta are classified by the DEA, Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the same as cocaine and opium. A Virginia high school senior died while “snorting” Ritalin, a drug of choice among high school and college students.

Every parent of school age children should be aware of the following information when making decisions about recommendations from the child’s teachers as the school first evaluate a child and make recommendations to see local doctors for follow up about suspected diagnosis of hyperkinetic children.

The International Drug Evaluation and Classification Program used to train Drug Recognition Experts, DRE agents, uses 7 drug classifications for prescription and street drugs alike. The DRE program was originally initiated by the LAPD, Los Angeles Police Department, in the early 1970’s and is now in use by other states.

Physicians have been aware different types of drugs affect people differently. Regardless of the drug, they may all be categorized and classified by specific shared symptomatologies or the effects of the drugs. The DRE process of categorization uses the long-accepted medical facts to classify drugs into the following 7 categories:

Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants, CNS Stimulants, Hallucinogens, Phencyclidine (PCP) and its analogs, Narcotic Analgesics, Inhalants, and Cannabis. Drugs from each of these categories can affect a person’s central nervous system and impair a person’s normal faculties, including a person’s ability to safely operate mechanical machinery or handle the daily functions of life.

(1) Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants - CNS Depressants slow down the operations of the brain and the body. Examples of CNS Depressants include alcohol, barbiturates, anti-anxiety tranquilizers (e.g., Valium, Librium, Xanax, Prozac, and Thorazine), GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol and many other anti-depressants (e.g., as Zoloft, Paxil).

(2) Central Nervous System (CNS) Stimulants - CNS Stimulants accelerate the heart rate and elevate the blood pressure and “speed-up” or over-stimulate the body. Examples of CNS Stimulants include, Cocaine, “Crack”, Amphetamines and Methamphetamine (“Crank”), Ritalin.

Ritalin is just one brand name for methylphenidate. Sustained- or extended-release formulas of methylphenidate are sold as Ritalin SR, Ritalin LA, Metadate ER, Metadate CD, Methylin ER, Focalin, and Concerta.

(3) Hallucinogens - Hallucinogens cause the user to perceive things differently than they actually are. Examples include LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin and MDMA (Ecstasy).

(4) Dissociative Anesthetics - One of the seven drug categories. It includes drugs that inhibit pain by cutting off or dissociating the brain’s perception of the pain. PCP and it’s analogs are examples of Dissociative Anesthetics.

(5) Narcotic Analgesics - A narcotic analgesic relieves pain, induces euphoria and creates mood changes in the user. Examples of narcotic analgesics include Opium, Codeine, Heroin, Demerol, Darvon, Morphine, Methadone, Vicodin and OxyContin.

(6) Inhalants - Inhalants include a wide variety of breathable substances that produce mind-altering results and effects. Examples of inhalants include Toluene, plastic cement, paint, gasoline, paint thinners, hair sprays and various anesthetic gases.

(7) Cannabis - Cannabis is the scientific name for marijuana. The active ingredient in cannabis is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. This category includes cannabinoids and synthetics like Dronabinol.