Ritalin and Education
Since 1990 the amount of Ritalin prescribed has grown two and a half times. About 1.3 million children take it regularly. Sales of the drug last year were estimated to be around 350 million dollars. Why the rapid growth in such a short period of time? The answer to this question is that it is being labeled the wonder drug for problem children. It is a much easier solution to give a child a drug than to have to create special classes or schools for them. Ritalin has created an easy way out for parents and children to deal with their disruptive children.
There are many controversial issues to the administration of Ritalin. These issues are the misdiagnosis of hyperactivity, side effects of Ritalin, and the abuse of it. Psychiatrists claim that almost half the students prescribed to Ritalin either do not need it or do not have any results from it. Some doctors even admit that they sometimes are too hasty in diagnosing children with ADD and in prescribing Ritalin.(Hancock, 1996, p.52) If a child is acting up in school, ADD is seriously considered as a possible factor and Ritalin is often suggested. Doctors may not even follow any of the standardized procedures when diagnosing ADD and often just give out the prescription. Some have gone as far as to say that diagnosing ADD and prescribing Ritalin has become just as much of an art as a science. Doctors may be prescribing drugs for a disorder that they did not correctly detect.
The second controversy involves the harmful side effects that can result from taking Ritalin. There are some short term effects that have been called the "Riatlin Rebound". These include one or a combination of loss of appetite, insomnia, headaches, stomaches, drowsiness, potential liver damage, facial tics, and a "sense of sadness". There are also cases where children have aquired the "Ritalin defense." This was a case in Massachusetts in 1988 where an attorney was claiming that Ritalin altered the brain chemistry of a child and caused him to become obsessed with the idea of killing another child. (O'Leary,1993,1250) Some children also go through withdrawal or detox when they stop the drug intake of Ritalin. These are only a few of the side effects. Some studies show that the long term effects could be extremely harmful but there is no proof. Maybe Ritalin will have the long term effects that smoking has. When smoking became a regular habit in the 1930's it was not for another thirty years until people developed lung cancer and that the connection was made between the two. Smoking kills people every day and we are unsure if Ritalin could have the same effects.
The third controversy related to prescribing Ritalin is its use as a recreational drug. It is one of the hottest drugs of the nineties. It can be acquired on the streets of New York from anywhere between three and five dollars and taken through snorting or injection. Students will crush up a pill and snort it with anything they can find, which could be a straw or even a pen cartridge. Ritalin is a very easy drug to get at colleges. There are so many students who have prescriptions and people do not mind giving away a pill or two. When snorted the pill gives a sudden burst of energy or "euphoria" that can last for hours. It can help someone stay up all night working or partying. The acid that enters the nasal passage when snorting Ritalin can cause burning of the nasal tissue, open sores, nose bleeds, and in some cases even destruction of nasal cartilage. According to a study by the Prevention Resource Center of Indiana University, a "significant portion" of the Ritalin prescription dispensed each year are diverted for illicit non-medical use. It is also common among the inner cities for teenagers to dissolve it in water and "cook" it for intravenous injection. (Bailey, 1995, 2) There are documented medical reports about irreversible lung tissue damage caused by injecting Ritalin. There are also studies done about the addictiveness of Ritalin and some studies show that Ritalin can be just as or even more addicting than cocaine. (Klatell,1996, p.1)
Should our schools have the right to suggest a parent to give their child a drug that they could so easily abused? Should there be a drug that is so commonly prescribed to children on the market when its abuses are so evident? Given the time, money, and effort put into fighting the drug war that is troubling how easily doctors can prescribe an addicting and harmful drug. There are no obvious answers to the problems associated with Ritalin but the controversy is growing every year. If the population of children prescribed to Ritalin continues to grow, there will be continuing new developments and controversies.
Government 375: Educational Reform and Ideology