Scourge of the Ritalin pushers
It transforms the lives of many 'hyper' children, but as pupils peddle
it at school, a new drug nightmare is unfolding
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,949150,00.html
Mark Townsend
Sunday May 4, 2003
The Observer
Simon, 14, is a hit with the girls. At most afternoon breaks, he can
be found surrounded by a posse near the netball court at their
comprehensive school in northern England.
They want his drugs, but not to get high. They want Ritalin to
suppress their appetite and help preserve their wafer-thin frames.
Simon is popular with the boys, too. However, they want only to get
high, crushing the tablets and snorting a substance chemically similar
to cocaine for a cheap buzz.
Ritalin is prescribed by doctors to calm tens of thousands of children
diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But it
also serves as a potent amphetamine increasingly craved by children.
Simon steals Ritalin from his hyperactive brother's supply at home,
selling scores of pills to friends in the playground and to drug
dealers in the town centre for £1 each.
His parents have no idea the government-approved drug can be abused.
'Quite a few have tried it. Most of the lads "bomb" it by smoking it,
some mix it up with glucose and snort it. It makes them laugh,' said
Simon.
This is the alarming reality in an increasing number of British
schools, where children as young as six are becoming hooked on a
psychoactive stimulant sold illegally by child dealers. Parents,
teachers and pupils said last week that Britain was on the brink of an
explosion of amphetamine abuse among children and they warned of a
generation dependent on the 'prescription pad'.
An Observer investigation has uncovered glaring lapses in the way the
drug is dispensed to children and stored throughout schools. Ritalin
is being left in unlocked drawers in schools, while dinner ladies and
secretaries dispense it.
Already thousands of children may have used Ritalin as a recreational
drug, according to the Overload Network which investigates the
over-prescription of drugs.
Demand has become so intense in areas that children prescribed Ritalin
are routinely bullied for their drugs. One pupil in a Middlesbrough
secondary was recently found hanged from a clothing peg by his vest.
His daily dose of Ritalin had been stolen.
Mounting concern over the ease with which pupils not suffering from
ADHD are able to obtain Ritalin has prompted the Home Office to
approve a pilot scheme in Darlington, educating schools in the dangers
of failing to store the drug securely.
Yet the Government continues to resist calls for an inquiry. So far
Durham police have taken the lead in investigating the scale of
Ritalin abuse in schools. Officers investigated a comprehensive in
County Durham. Out of 300 pupils in one year, 30 were using the drug.
Some had paid as little as 50p. It followed the arrest of three girls
under 14 for dealing Ritalin in a secondary school in the area.
Evidence of Ritalin abuse has also been uncovered in schools in
London, Sussex. Kent, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Scotland.
One secondary teacher from Lowestoft, Suffolk, said Ritalin was being
sold illegally on its grounds. Of 210 pupils in her year, six have
been prescribed Ritalin. Yet the number of pupils who had tried it was
far higher. 'The fact is that kids are being given drugs and passing
them on illegally. Children are taking drugs out of the home and
selling them on the streets.'
Peter Bennett, a former policeman in West Yorkshire and now an expert
on child behaviour, said he had picked up considerable anecdotal
evidence suggesting Ritalin was being used as the 'new speed'. 'There
is a trade in this, it's gone far beyond supposition.'
Campaigners fear Britain will follow the US, where misuse has reached
epidemic proportions. One in 30 people there between five and 19 has a
prescription for Ritalin, which is among the top 10 most stolen
prescription drugs.
'We have had a wake-up call from the States; we must protect our
children,' said Janice Allen, chief executive of Overload Network.
'The latest users we have detected are girls who are taking it as an
appetite suppressant to stay thin.'
That the drug has powerful side-effects is beyond dispute, according
to some parents. Mandy Simpson's son Damien was prescribed Ritalin
when he was seven. His behaviour changed overnight from happy-go-lucky
to depression, which culminated in him trying to kill himself with a
screwdriver.
Simpson asked a hardened drug user of 15 years to roadtest Ritalin and
handed him two pills. His verdict shocked her. 'He said it was the
best thing since sliced bread. And then begged me for more.'
Her findings complement research from Professor Steve Baldwin, who was
investigating Ritalin before he was killed in the Selby train crash
two years ago. His study of 100 children found destructive behaviour,
self-mutilation, depression, insomnia, and disturbances in mood and
vision.
Yet Ritalin has never been investigated for long-term effects. Fears
of an abuse epidemic are supported by a huge rise in Ritalin
prescriptions over the past decade. The numbers have grown from 3,000
in 1993 to 220,000 last year. By 2007, experts predict more than one
child in seven will be taking it.
Bennett, who has been studying the growth of Ritalin use, now believes
there is a pupil in every classroom being fed the drug. Often several
months' supply are collected at once, meaning there could be up to
1,000 tablets in a house at any time, creating a tempting supply for
dealers.
Yet many parents and psychiatrists say the drug has transformed the
behaviour of children, allowing them to perform well at school and
preventing family break-up.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We study and monitor
any abuse of prescription drugs and, if this particular abuse appears
to be problem, we will look into it.'