NHS SPENDS MILLIONS ON DRUG THAT TURNS CHILDREN INTO 'DRONES'

http://www2.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/10244/NHS+spends+millions+on+drug+that+turns+children+in to+'drones'

NHS SPENDS MILLIONS ON DRUG THAT TURNS CHILDREN INTO 'DRONES'

Blair: dishing out more unnecessary money?

Sunday June 17,2007
By Lucy Johnston, Health Editor

THE NHS is spending more than £1million a month on mind-altering drugs
designed to help to calm hyperactive children.

Doctors now write almost 7,500 prescriptions a week for Ritalin tablets,
known as "chill pills".

They cost about £200 a year per child and are likely to cost taxpayers a
total of £12.48million this year, figures obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act have revealed.

The revelation comes as new figures show that Ritalin or similar drugs are
being linked to at least 11 deaths in Britain.

Last night the UK licensing authority, the Medicines and Healthcare Products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA), admitted that the deaths were likely to be an
underestimate of the true figure because most doctors do not inform them of
suspected cases.

Dr Sami Timimi, an expert in child behaviour, said taxpayers' money is being
wasted on Ritalin, which he warned may cause serious long-term damage.

"This is shocking and not a wise way to spend money," he said. "By using
Ritalin, doctors avoid addressing the real issues that are causing a child's
behavioural problems. It is like putting a sticking plaster on a huge wound.
"We could be storing up big problems for this generation of youngsters."

New figures obtained by this paper also show that doctors have linked other
serious side-effects with drugs such as Ritalin. These include 73 blood
disorder reactions, 39 heart disorders and 80 stomach disorders.

Ritalin or similar pills are given to children diagnosed with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a condition that affects mainly boys and
includes problems focusing, controlling their actions and remaining still or
quiet. Doctors wrote 97,224 prescriptions for the controversial drugs in the
last three months of last year, at a total cost of £3.12million.

There is no medical test for ADHD. Diagnosis is based on monitoring problem
behaviour which is severely and persistently inattentive and disorganised,
not just naughty or defiant.

Andrea Bilbow, from hyperactivity support group ADDISS, said: "Untreated
ADHD can lead to psychiatric problems in later life, at enormous cost to the
health service. We also know that many of the more severe cases end up in
the justice system, again at enormous cost to the state."

Many are sceptical about the success of ADHD drugs and question whether the
condition actually exists.

Blair Gibbs, spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "If parents were
allowed to discipline their children, ordinary taxpayers wouldn't have to
fork out so much for expensive drugs that turn kids into drones."

Professor Steve Baldwin, who died in the 2001 Selby rail crash, had
concluded from his research that Ritalin was being used as a "quick fix" for
children being used as "guinea-pigs".

He believed ADHD as a biological brain disorder did not exist and that
symptoms were caused by a number of social and psychological problems that
could not be treated with pills.

He considered the massive rise in Ritalin prescriptions a "public health
scandal".

Next Tuesday in Edinburgh there will be a demonstration against the
increasing use of psychiatric drugs for children.

Campaigners who will be marching include the Citizen's Commission on Human
Rights.

Jan Drew wrote:
http://www2.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/10244/NHS+spends+millions+on+drug+that+turns+children+in to+'drones'


NHS SPENDS MILLIONS ON DRUG THAT TURNS CHILDREN INTO 'DRONES'

That is a total misrepresentation of methylphenidate (Ritalin or MPH).
MPH allows children to concentrate better so that they can control their
own behavior better. To suggest that MPH in any way turns kids into
drones or drugs kids totally misrepresents how the drugs help kids.

Jeff

"Jeff" wrote in message
news:GXxBi.250$Xg.164@trnddc06...
Jan Drew wrote:
http://www2.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/10244/NHS+spends+millions+on+drug+that+turns+children+in to+'drones'
NHS SPENDS MILLIONS ON DRUG THAT TURNS CHILDREN INTO 'DRONES'

That is a total misrepresentation of methylphenidate (Ritalin or MPH). MPH
allows children to concentrate better so that they can control their own
behavior better. To suggest that MPH in any way turns kids into drones or
drugs kids totally misrepresents how the drugs help kids.

Jeff


http://www.laleva.org/eng/2006/04/ki...diction.htm l

Kids On ADHD Drugs - Dangerous Path To Addiction

Monday, 10 April 2006
By Evelyn Pringle

Experts say the stimulant drugs prescribed for the treatment of ADHD are not
only dangerous, they are highly addictive. And although no drug has been
approved for the treatment of autism, drugs are routinely prescribed
off-label to treat autistic children.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over the period of 5
years between 1997 and 2002, the number of children between the age of 3 to
17, diagnosed with ADHD went from 3.3 million to 4.4 million.

In direct correlation, the number of children prescribed ADHD drugs also
rose steadily. In fact, spending on these types of medications for children
is now higher than spending on antibiotics and asthma drugs. In February
2006, the FDA revealed that between 1999 and 2003, seventy-eight million
prescriptions for ADHD drugs were written for children between the ages of 1
to 18. Terry Davis, a member of an FDA advisory committee, has said
prescriptions for ADHD drugs filled annually have a value of $3.1 billion.

According to Dr Peter Breggin, author of "Talking Back To Ritalin, "parents
and teachers and even doctors have been badly misled by drug company
marketing practices," he warns. "Drug companies have targeted children as a
big market likely to boost profits and children are suffering as a result."

What critics say is most alarming, is the fact that very young children are
being placed on drugs. A study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association in 2000 provides some insight into this trend. The study
found that fifty-seven percent of 223 Michigan Medicaid patients younger
than 4, diagnosed with ADHD, received at least one psychotropic drug during
a 15-month period in 1995 to 1996.

Additionally, the study found that in the Medicaid population in Midwestern
states, there was a 3-fold increase in the prescribing of stimulant drugs
between 1991 and 1995 for children between the age of 2 and four.

More recent statistics show a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for
children under five. From 2000 to 2003, the rise in the use of attention
deficit drugs by children under 5 contributed to an overall 23% increase for
all children, according to an analysis by the nation's largest prescription
benefit manager, Medco Health Solutions.

The debate over the drugging of children in this country has been raging on
for years. Schools have been accused of promoting the use of drugs to
control normal but active children. At a September 26, 2002, Reform
Committee hearing on the "Overmedication of Hyperactive Children," Chairman,
Rep Dan Burton (R-IN), asked pediatrician, Dr Mary Ann Block, "what have you
found that the schools do specifically to encourage the use of medications
for attention and behavior?"

Dr Block said, "parents that come to me report consistently that the
teachers and the principals and even the school nurses pressure them to go
to a physician and get their child labeled and drugged."

"Some schools," she said, "are giving lectures to parents, inviting parents
to come hear talks about diagnosing and drugging their children for ADHD."

Congressman Burton pointed out what he considered to be inadequate and
unscientific methods of diagnosing ADHD:

"When you take your child to a doctor, instead of blood tests and a thorough
medical evaluation, you have a conversation with a doctor about the school's
checklist. And you leave a few minutes later with a prescription for your
young child for a psychotropic drug."

"Did the doctor test your child for a thyroid disorder? Did your doctor test
your child for a heavy metal toxicity? Did you doctor talk to you about your
child's allergies?

"Did your doctor even mention nutrition or possible food sensitivity? Did
your doctor ask if your child's IQ had been tested and if he was gifted?
Probably not," he said.

Sandra Lucas testifies at FDA advisory committee hearings on behalf of the
Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a psychiatric watchdog group. She
produced a copy of a January 20, 2005, pamphlet used at a training seminar
for teachers composed by Susan Barton, who billed herself as the "Founder of
Bright Solutions for Dyslexia," located in San Jose California.

Under Medication for ADD, Ms Barton states: "Medication is the most often an
essential component to effective treatment for the ADD child."

"As I've said many times now," she told the teaches, "ADD is a
neurobiological disorder and needs to be treated as such."

Ms Barton also says that without medication, other interventions are
ineffective, and claims: "This medication does not cause illegal drug use or
addiction."

Dr Fred Baughman, author of "The ADHD Fraud - How Psychiatry Makes Patients
of Normal Children," and one of the nation's leading experts on the issue,
vehemently disagrees. He calls the medical practice of ADHD a fraud - "one
in which the FDA was fully complicit," he says.

"ADHD doesn't exist--it is not a physical abnormality," he explains, "and as
such bears no risk of causing physical injury or death as does every drug
used in its treatment," he says.

In testimony on behalf of the International Center for the Study of
Psychiatry and Psychology, at the March 22 and 23, 2006, FDA advisory
committee hearings on the dangers of ADHD drugs, Dr Baughman asked the panel
of experts to "give us the reference, cite to the article, giving proof that
ADHD is a disease."

He also asked the committee to give the reference, or cite the literature,
that describes the test that provides objective evidence that children
diagnosed with ADHD have a disease.

The silence in the hearing room was deafening. According to Dr Baughman, no
one answered the questions because there is no study, test, or scientific
literature to back up the assertion that ADHD is a disease.
"ADHD is not a disease," Dr Baughman says. "This being the case," he
maintains, "giving such drugs for ADHD is not "help" or "treatment"."

He makes the point "that all practice of medicine begins with diagnosis."

"Informed consent," Dr Baughman explained, "demands not just a description
of the drugs or surgery to be used but of the condition they are to be used
on--its prognosis and how that natural course/prognosis is likely to be
altered by the treatments to be applied."

At the March 2006, FDA advisory committee hearings, it was noted that no
other countries are drugging children with stimulants. In fact,
psychiatrist, Dr Grace Jackson, who also testified at the hearing, explains
in her book, "Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs," how in 1996 and 1997, the World
Health Organization issued press releases about the rise in the use of the
stimulant, Ritalin, in this country, "noting that the United States was
responsible for 90% of the drug's production and consumption."

At the time, the International Narcotics Control Board identified a number
of concerns about America's use of the drug, including the dangers of:
"inappropriate diagnosis of ADHD; widely divergent prescribing patterns;
off-label prescribing to children under six; and excessive duration of
treatment," Dr Jackson reports.

A report by the FDA released in February 2006, said that between 1999 and
2003, there were 25 deaths in persons using ADHD drugs, including the deaths
of 19 children. The FDA also reported receiving more than 50 cases of
cardiovascular problems, including stoke, heart attack, hypertension,
palpitations and arrhythmia.

Because only between 1 and 10% of adverse events are ever reported to the
FDA, the numbers above represent an extreme understatement of actual cases
of harm, critics point out.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were only 271
Ritalin-related emergency room visits in 1990, but there were 1,478
Ritalin-related emergency visits recorded in 2001.

In 1999, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, found some 165
Ritalin-related poison calls in Detroit and 419 cases in Texas. Of the
nearly 600 calls, only 114 cases involved intentional misuse or abuse.

Dr Breggin maintains that ADHD drugs actually bring on the symptoms they are
supposed to treat such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention, which
can lead to a vicious cycle of incorrect and dangerous dosage increases, he
warns.
In addition, Dr Breggin says, stimulants can cause "agitation and
irritability, anger, hostility, disinhibition, hypomania and mania."
A recent review of data by the FDA seems to verify Dr Breggins assertions.
The FDA found that children on ADHD drugs had an increased the risk of
psychosis, a mental disorder characterized by the inability to distinguish
between real and imaginary events. The most important finding, the FDA said,
was that signs of psychosis or mania, particularly hallucinations, occurred
in patients with no risk factors, at the usual doses of any of the drugs
used to treat ADHD.

The FDA found a "substantial portion of the psychosis-related cases were
reported to occur in children 10 years or less," an age group which does not
typically suffer from psychosis, the FDA said.

From January 2000, through June 30, 2005, FDA identified nearly 1,000
reports of psychosis or mania possibly linked to the drugs, including
Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and Strattera.

Most of people who have investigated the matter seem to agree that heavy
metal poisoning is by far the most likely cause of the epidemic in autism
spectrum disorders that erupted in the 1990s. Studies show that the
mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, that was used in all childhood
vaccines until recently, is the likely culprit.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the CDC began adding more and more vaccines to
the immunization schedule but failed to keep track of the toxic levels of
mercury that children would receive as each new shot was added to the list
or the amount of mercury that infants would receive when 3-in-one shots were
injected.

Nancy and Tim Hokkanen are the parents of Andy, a 6 year-old boy who was
diagnosed with autism but who is now recovering from mercury poisoning. In
June 2002 a neurologist prescribed Adderal for Andy.

"My son became psychotic," Nancy said, "for four days by mid-afternoon he
had to be held down in a dark quiet room while he screamed himself limp."

Next the neurologist prescribed Ritalin, saying, "Usually if one drug
doesn't work, the other one does," Nancy continued.
"My instincts told me that this was another disaster in the making," she
said, "so I quit seeing that neurologist and began reading studies."

Nancy discovered the theory of mercury poisoning published by chemistry
experts, Boyd Haley, PhD and Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD, in the study, "Autism:
a novel form of mercury poisoning," which documents about 100 matching
symptoms.
In November 2002, when Andy was 4 and-a-half, tests were done on Andy's
hair, blood, urine and stool samples, and the test results showed mercury
toxicity as well as high levels of copper and other metals, and various
nutritional insufficiencies.
Within 2 weeks of giving Andy supplement including Vitamin B-6, zinc,
manganese and magnesium, he showed drastic improvements in mood, behavior
and abilities, Nancy says.

"We had an almost-normal Christmas," she reported, "without tantrums and
bizarre behavior."

The Hokkenans estimate that their insurance company was billed about
$100,000 for therapy to treat autism. "However, we never noticed any drastic
improvement until we began biomedical treatment, which has cost about
$2,000," Nancy says.

"Strangely," she notes, "our insurance company wouldn't cover the costs of
those medical tests."

Nancy says that since public health officials realized their error of
failing to keep track of the toxic mercury levels in vaccines in 1999, she
views the failure to restrict the use of mercury in vaccines as a form of
fatal entrenchment -- "when an unhealthy practice or norm is allowed to
continue, she explained, "simply because it has been done that way for so
long."

In addition to all the other side effects associated with ADHD drugs, Dr
David Stein, author of "Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco," says stimulant
drugs are "near the top of the heap of potentially addictive drugs."

He says, "we have no way of knowing which child has a potential risk for
becoming addicted to drugs."

Recent studies have shown that more and more students are using the drugs
illegally. In 2004, a nationwide University of Michigan study on non-medical
use of amphetamines, found 4.9% of 8th graders had used stimulants in the
previous year, 8.5% of 10th graders had used the drugs, and one in 10
seniors admitted to non-medical use of amphetamines.

The Partnership for a Drug Free America, released the results of a survey in
2005, that polled more than 7,300 teenagers, and found one in 10 teenagers,
or 2.3 million young people, had tried ADHD drugs without a doctor's
prescription, and that 29% of those surveyed said they had close friends who
had abused the drugs.

Experts agree that the wide-spread prescribing of stimulants will lead many
children down the path to addiction and they warn of the perils that will
follow.

"Psychology and psychiatry have extremely poor track records for treating
abuse and addiction problems," Dr Stein notes, "and therefore the very drugs
they are recommending can trigger a problem from which there may be no
return."

If medical professionals begin telling children at a very young age that
they can change the way they think, feel, and behave by simply taking a
pill, they will logically continue to take drugs in attempt to mood-alter
whenever they have problems in life.
*************
Evelyn Pringle
(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative
journalist focused on exposing corruption in government)



The Cocaine, Amphetamine/Methamphetamine, Ritalin Connection




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


First, you must understand how the FDA classifies controled drugs. Below are
the FDA's Controlled Drug Schedules.



FDA Controlled Drug Schedules

Schedule l

These medicines are those with a high abuse and dependence potential.
Typically, the only use for these substances are for research purposes.
Examples include LSD and heroin. A prescription cannot be legally written
for these drugs for medicinal use.

Schedule ll

These medicines have therapeutic uses and have the highest abuse and
dependence potential for drugs with medicinal purposes. Examples include
Morphine, Demerol, Speed, Opium, Cocaine and Ritalin. A written prescription
is required and refills are not allowed.

Schedule lll

Medicines in this schedule have an abuse and dependence potential that is
less than those in schedule ll, but greater than those in schedule lV. These
medicines have clear medicinal uses and include drugs such as hydrocodone,
prozac, codeine and paregoric in combination. Common names include Tylenol 3
(with codeine) and Tenuate. A telephone prescription is permitted for
medications in this class; however, it must be converted to written form by
a pharmacist. Prescriptions for these medicines may be refilled, but only
five times in six months.

Schedule lV

This schedule contains medicines with less abuse and dependence potential
than those in schedule lll. Examples of medicines in this schedule include
Darvon, Valium and Librium. Prescriptions for these medicines may be
refilled, but only five times in six months.

Schedule V

These medicines have the lowest abuse and dependence potential. Medicines in
this class include Lomotil and Imodium. Drugs in this class which require a
prescription are handled the same as any nonscheduled prescription medicine.
Some drugs in this class do not require a prescription, and may be sold only
with the approval of a pharmacist. The buyer is required to sign a logbook
when the drug is dispensed.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



So what does the DEA say?


The following are quotes from the information that used to appear on the
DEA's website from their "Uses and Effects" charts, and "What Parents Need
to Know" about drugs that were listed as three of the six most abused
Controlled Substances in the "Stimulants" category according to the U.S.
Department of Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration.

Note: There is no known research that has shown any of these facts have
changed. Yet this is information that has misteriously vanished from the DEA
website. We suspect the reason is that these facts would indict the FDA for
its approval of these dangerous drugs due to the strong lobby and monetary
powers of the pharmaceutical companies. Also note the descriptions of each,
and how nearly identical of they a


Cocaine Chart

Cocaine, the most potent stimulant of natural origin, is extracted from the
leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca), which is indigenous to the
Andean highlands of South America. Natives in this region chew or brew coca
leaves into a tea for refreshment and to relieve fatigue similar to the
customs of chewing tobacco and drinking tea or coffee.

Pure cocaine was first isolated in the 1880s and used as a local anesthetic
in eye surgery. It was particulary useful in surgery of the nose and throat
because of its ability to provide anesthesia as well as to constrict blood
vessels and limit bleeding. Many of its therapeutic applications are now
obsolete due to the development of safer drugs.

Illicit cocaine is usually distributed as a white crystaline powder or as an
off-white chunky material. The powder, usually cocaine hydrochloride, is
often diluted with a variety of substances, the most common of which are
sugars such as lactose, inositol and mannitol, and local anesthetics such as
lidocaine. The adulteration increases the volume and thus multiplies
profits. Cocaine hydrochloride is generally snorted or dissolved in water
and injected. It is rarely smoked.

"Crack," the chunk or "rock" form of cocaine, is a ready-to-use freebase. On
the illicit market it is sold in small, inexpensive dosage units that are
smoked. With crack came a dramatic increase in drug abuse problems and
violence. Smoking delivers large quantities of cocaine to the lungs,
producing effects comparable to intravenous injection; these effects are
felt almost immediately after smoking, are very intense, and are quickly
over. Once introduced in the mid-1980s, crack abuse spread rapidly and made
the cocaine experience available to anyone with $10 and access to a dealer.
In addition to other toxicities associated with cocaine abuse, cocaine
smokers suffer from acute respiratory problems including cough, shortness of
breath, and severe chest pains with lung trauma and bleeding.

The intensity of the psychological effects of cocaine, as with most
psychoactive drugs, depends on the dose and rate of entry to the brain.
Cocaine reaches the brain through the snorting method in three to five
minutes. Intravenous injection of cocaine produces a rush in 15 to 30
seconds and smoking produces an almost immediate intense experience. The
euphoric effects of cocaine are almost indistinguishable from those of
amphetamine, although they do not last as long. These intense effects can be
followed by a dysphoric crash. To avoid the fatigue and the depression of
"coming down," frequent repeated doses are taken. Excessive doses of cocaine
may lead to seizures and death from respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral
hemorrhage or heart failure. There is no specific antidote for cocaine
overdose.

According to the 1993 Household Drug Survey, the number of Americans who
used cocaine within the preceding month of the survey numbered about 1.3
million; occasional users (those who used cocaine less often than monthly)
numbered at approximately 3 million, down from 8.1 million in 1985. The
number of weekly users has remained steady at around a half million since
1983.


Amphetamine/Methamphetamine Chart

Amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, and methamphetamine are collectively
referred to as amphetamines. Their chemical properties and actions are so
similar that even experienced users have difficulty knowing which drug they
have taken.

Amphetamine was first marketed in the 1930s as Benzedrine in an
over-the-counter inhaler to treat nasal congestion. By 1937, amphetamine was
available by prescription in tablet form and was used in the treatment of
the sleeping disorder narcolepsy and the behavioral syndrome called minimal
brain dysfunction (MBD), which today is called attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). During World War II, amphetamine was widely
used to keep the fighting men going; both dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and
methamphetamine (Methedrine) became readily available. (Note: The US
Military to this day continues to strongly encourage the use of amphetamines
for pilots which has recently come into question as to the possible cause
for the misfortunate attack on a Canadian training exercise that left
several Canadian soldiers dead.)

As use of amphetamines spread, so did their abuse. Amphetamines became a
cure-all for helping truckers to complete their long routes without falling
asleep, for weight control, for helping athletes to perform better and train
longer, and for treating mild depression. Intravenous amphetamine abuse
spread among a subculture known as "speed freaks." With experience, it
became evident that the dangers of abuse of these drugs outweighed most of
their therapeutic uses.

Increased control measures were initiated in 1965 with amendments to the
federal food and drug laws to curb the black market in amphetamines. Many
pharmaeutical amphetamine products were removed from the market and doctors
prescribed those that remained less freely. In order to meet the
ever-increasing black market demand for amphetamines, clandestine laboratory
production mushroomed, especially methamphetamine laboratories on the West
Coast. Today, most amphetamines distributed to the black market are produced
in clandestine laboratories.

Amphetamines are generally taken orally or injected. However, the addition
of "ice," the slang name for crystallized methamphetamine hydrochloride, has
promoted smoking as another mode of administration. Just as "crack" is
smokable cocaine, "ice" is smokable methamphetamine. Both drugs are highly
addictive and toxic.

The effects of amphetamines, especially methamphetamine, are similar to
cocaine, but their onset is slower and their duration is longer. In general,
chronic abuse produces a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia and is
characterized by paranoia, picking at the skin, preoccupation with one's own
thoughts, and auditory and visual hallucinations. Violent and erratic
behavior is frequently seen among chronic abusers of amphetamines.


Methylphenidate (Ritalin) Chart

The primary, legitmate medical use of methylphenidate (Ritalin) is to treat
attention deficit disorders in children. As with other Schedule II
stimulants, the abuse of methylphenidate may produce the same effects as the
abuse of cocaine or the amphetamines. It has been reported that the
psychosis of chronic methylphenidate intoxication is identical to the
paranoid psychosis of amphetamine intoxication.

Unlike other stimulants, however, methylphenidate has not been clandestinely
produced, although abuse of this substance has been well documented among
narcotic addicts who dissolve the tablets in water and inject the mixture.
Complications arising from this practice are common due to the insoluble
fillers used in the tablets. When injected, these materials block small
blood vessels, causing serious damage to the lungs and retina of the eye.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Next, are more of the potential side effects of these Schedule II drugs
according to the companies that make them.



Schedule ll classification

Possible Mild Adverse Effects

Skin rash, hives, drug fever, joint pains, headaches, dizziness, rapid and
forceful heart palpitation, reduced appetite, nausea, abdominal discomfort,
stuttering, hallucinations, nervousness and insomnia.

Possible Serious Adverse Effects

Severe skin reactions, extensive bruising due to allergic destruction of
blood platelets. Porphyria, liver toxicity, and muscular damage.
Idiosyncratic reaction: Abnormal patterns of behavior, abnormally low red
blood cell and white blood counts, and childhood growth suppression.

This Drug should not be taken if:

You have had an allergic reaction to it previously
You have glaucoma
You are experiencing a period of severe anxiety, nervous tension or
depression
Conditions Requiring Dosing Adjustments

LIVER FUNCTION: Used with caution and in decreased dose in patients with
liver compromise.

KIDNEY FUNCTION: The kidney does not appear to be involved in the
elimination of this drug.

Possible Effects on Laboratory Tests:

Blood platelet counts: occasionally decreased
Prothrombin time: increased
White and red blood cell counts: decreased
Inform your physician before taking this drug if:

You have high blood pressure, angina or epilepsy
You are taking, or have taken within the past 14 days, any monoamine oxidase
Type A inhibitor drug.
CAUTION:

Careful dosage adjustments on an individual basis are mandatory.
Paradoxical reactions can occur, causing aggravation of initial symptoms for
which this drug was prescribed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Office of National Drug Control Policy


Barry R. McCaffrey, Director of ONDCP, is a member of the President's
Cabinet and is the principal Administration and national spokesperson on
illicit drug use and related issues. The Director's role is to create a
national understanding of the nature of threat from illicit drug use and the
importance of resisting drugs at all levels of society. The Director also
serves as "drug issues advocate" within the Cabinet, developing
collaborative relationships with Cabinet members and keeping the President
informed on drug issues. Additionally, the Director coordinates and oversees
other national drug control program agencies, reviews and certifies
agencies' drug control budgets, and serves as chair of ONDCP's Research,
Data, and Evaluation Advisory Committee.

This link is to the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Section on:
Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade -- Drug Type: Ritalin


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREVENTION & EDUCATION

Prevention is the ultimate key to reversing the upward trend in the use of
drugs and empowering communities to address their drug problems. Central to
this effort is the development and implementation of initiatives to prevent
illicit drug use, including casual use by youth and other high-risk
populations. The most effective strategies for preventing drug use, keeping
drugs out of neighborhoods and schools, and providing a safe and secure
environment for all people are cooperative efforts that mobilize and involve
all elements of a community.
Source: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/prevent/index.htmll

Jan Drew wrote:

"Jeff" wrote in message
news:GXxBi.250$Xg.164@trnddc06...
Jan Drew wrote:
http://www2.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/10244/NHS+spends+millions+on+drug+that+turns+children+in to+'drones'
NHS SPENDS MILLIONS ON DRUG THAT TURNS CHILDREN INTO 'DRONES'

That is a total misrepresentation of methylphenidate (Ritalin or MPH).
MPH allows children to concentrate better so that they can control
their own behavior better. To suggest that MPH in any way turns kids
into drones or drugs kids totally misrepresents how the drugs help kids.

Jeff


http://www.laleva.org/eng/2006/04/ki...diction.htm l


Kids On ADHD Drugs - Dangerous Path To Addiction

Monday, 10 April 2006
By Evelyn Pringle

Experts say the stimulant drugs prescribed for the treatment of ADHD are
not only dangerous, they are highly addictive.

Experts? Which experts? Names and citations please.


useless copyrighted material deleted