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culture society entertainment health
Monday, January 24, 2000
10A
medicated
By Kara Ammon
A student hunches over his desk to study for an exam. His textbooks and notes are to one side and on the other is a bottle of Ritalin.
He takes one of the pills crushes it under the bottle and sweeps the powder into a neat line with his driver's license. Then he rolls a dollar bill into a slender tube, sticks it in his nose and inhales the long, thin line of white powder.
He doesn't have a prescription but he thinks snorting Ritalin will improve his concentration his study skills and his grades. There is no doubt it will give him a buzz. And he is not the only one.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a substantial number of students are abusing Ritalin and other medications intended to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. KU students who have prescriptions are giving of selling their Ritalin to other students who crush and snort it like cocaine.
Ritalin abuse is really widespread said Meghan Bainum Tepeka sophomore.
Bainum, who has been taking Ritalin for almost three years to treat her ADD said several people had asked her to give them some of her pills. While sitting in class one day Bainum took out her bottle of Ritalin so she would remember to take it. A student sitting next to her offered her $300 for her pills.
"At first part of me thought, $300. That's a lot of money," she said. "But then I realized I'd be a drug dealer. I didn't want to do that."
Bainum's physician warned her about not leaving her bottle out where people
could steal it. If that happened she would have had to wait a month to get more because Ritalin is a controlled substance and its prescriptions cannot be refilled. A patient must see a doctor to receive a new prescription which is limited to a supply for five weeks.
Medically Ritalin is used to treat people who suffer from ADD ADHD a disorder that can cause a person to be inattentive impulsive and hyperactive. In people not suffering from ADD, Ritalin acts as a powerful stimulant. But it helps those who have the disorder to focus or even calm down. People with ADD do experience mild stimulating effects from a dose of Ritalin, but abusers get a kick from the drug similar to the effect of the drug speed.
John Bickel, Leawood junior, knows the effects of abusing Ritalin. He said he had abused his prescription in the past. When Bickel entered the seventh grade, he took 20 milligrams per day and 10 milligrams at night to help him concentrate on his homework. In high school, when his parents grounded him, his Ritalin use spun out of control.
All I did was homework and Ritalin. Bickel said. "I learned to take it right before I did my homework and how much to take."
Bickel said he also discovered the trick of crushing Ritalin and snorting it to speed up its effects.
I knew it would work, because I knew Ritalin was a form of speed," he said. "I started snorting it for the fun of it, instead of just to help me with my homework."
Ritalin's stimulant effects are what lead most students to abuse it. Ritalin produces short-term mood elevation and longer-term alertness. Students without prescriptions take it to stay awake all night to study, party or increase their alcohol tolerances. When purchased in pharmacies,
usually costs 25 to 50
cents a pill. On the street, tablets sell for S3 to S15 each, depending on the city. In Lawrence, Bainum said she had received offers for S3 to S5 per pill.
Although giving away pills may seem like only a minor offense, dealing or distributing Ritalin is a felony according to federal law. Dealing Ritalin could result in a prison term of up to 45 years and a fine of up to $10,000, depending upon the quantity whereabouts of the transfer and age of the recipient.
There are several medical issues surrounding the recent rise of Ritalin prescriptions in the United States. Since 1981, Ritalin has become the treatment of choice for ADD/ADHD. According to the DEA, Ritalin prescriptions have increased 600 percent during the last five years and production has risen 700 percent since 1990.
Although some doctors think Ritalin is over-prescribed, others claim the rise in Ritalin use is a reflection of treatment catching up with the identification of ADD/ADHD. Experts agree that the fact that there is so much Ritalin in circulation leads to its abuse.
Lawrence psychiatrist William Hale said he thought ADD/ADHD was both over-diagnosed, particularly in children, and under-diagnosed, mainly in adults. He said 5 percent of people, or one in 20, had ADD/ADHD.
Hale said Ritalin's effects would work faster via snorting, but using it that way could be harmful.
Ritalin tablets produce hydrochloric acid when they come into contact with moisture. That is a problem in the stomach because it is accustomed to digestive acids; however, in the nose, the hydrochloric acid can burn nasal tissues, resulting in open sores, nose bleeds and even deterioration of nasal cartilage.
Ritalin tablets also contain several inert ingredients designed to make the
"We as doctors need to educate the people we prescribe to." Hale said. "Unfortunately, we can't eliminate the fact that some people are going to abuse it no matter what."
Attention Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder
Characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. A complex neurological impairment that derails concentration.
Ritalin was prescribed to four million children and adolescents in America in 1998.
Ritalin production has risen 700 percent since 1990.
Ritalin ranks in the top 10 most frequently reported controlled pharmaceuticals stolen from licensed handlers.
Source: Drug Enforcement Administration
these ingredients are harmless when Ritalin is taken orally, they can be particularly damaging when it is inhaled.
Lawrence pharmacist Mark Smith said the inert ingredients that helped hold the tablet together would damage nasal membranes.
Bickel said he wasn't aware of the dangers of snorting Ritalin. He said that although he abused Ritalin occasionally during high school, he had not since his freshman year at the University of Kansas. That year, Bickel was taken to the emergency room at Lawrence Memorial Hospital after mixing alcohol and Ritalin.
Half an hour later, Bickel was convalsing on the floor of his bedroom. His friends called the hospital and told a doctor what Bickel had done. The doctor wondered if Bickel had tried to commit suicide. Five minutes later, Bickel's friends took him to the emergency room, where he was put on an IV and stayed in the hospital for about six hours.
"At the time, I loved drinking with Ritalin," Bickel said. "I could drink 30 shots, and it was no big deal. It seemed like Ritalin raised my tolerance, and I could drink more."
Since then, Bickel said, he only took Ritalin to help him study. He said he had never had a problem getting Ritalin because he had a prescription. But he said he had heard of people without prescriptions who had bought it or had known other students who would give it to them.