Push of Amphetamine Medications Spark Abuse
Over two million young people have abused prescription stimulants.
(PRWEB) August 13, 2005 -- A new report from the National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University shows that prescription drug
abuse among teens tripled from 1992 to 2003. The survey indicated that one in 10
teenagers (10 percent), or 2.3 million young people, has tried prescription
stimulants Ritalin and/or Adderall without a doctor's
order.
Additionally, each year the Monitoring the Future study measures
the extent of drug use among adolescents and young adults nationwide. The 2004
results on annual use indicate that 2.5 percent of 8th-graders abused
methylphenidate (Ritalin), as did 3.4 percent of 10th-graders and 5.1 percent of
12th-graders.
In 1987, members of the American Psychiatric Association
voted ADHD to be a mental disorder for inclusion in its Diagnostic Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Because stimulant medicines such as
methylphenidate do have potential for abuse, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) has placed stringent, Schedule II controls on their
manufacture, distribution, and prescription.
In 1995, in response to a
petition by Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) and the
American Academy of Neurology to lower the regulatory controls on
methylphenidate, the DEA conducted an extensive review of the use, abuse
liability, actual abuse, diversion, and trafficking of methylphenidate. The
CHADD petition attempted to characterize methylphenidate as a mild stimulant
with little abuse potential, however this is not what the review found and the
petitioners subsequently withdrew their request.
A number of questionable
practices have contributed to the diversion and abuse of stimulant medication
including improper diagnosis, lack of adequate information to youth, parents,
and schools regarding the abuse potential of these drugs and lax handling of
medication (Consensus statement, 1996 DEA Conference).
The DEA findings
concluded that long-term studies looking at the effects of using these drugs are
very limited; the medical use of stimulants in the treatment of active children
continues to escalate; the expansive use of these drugs for childhood behavioral
characteristics in the United States differs significantly from medical
practices in the rest of the world (United Nations data) and that poison control
data, emergency room data and high school surveys all indicate that the abuse of
methylphenidate has increased significantly since 1990.
The consequences
of stimulant abuse can be extremely dangerous. Taking high doses of a stimulant
can result in an irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperatures, and/or
the potential for cardiovascular failure or seizures. Taking high doses of some
stimulants repeatedly over a short period of time can lead to hostility or
feelings of paranoia in some individuals.
One of the nation's largest and
most successful drug rehabilitation and education programs, Narconon Arrowhead,
reports an observable increase in those seeking treatment for substance abuse
after having been prescribed amphetamines or abusing others' prescriptions and
then winding up on other drugs. Luke Catton, a supervisor for Narconon Arrowhead
said, "Those of us working in the rehabilitation and prevention field have
enough people to help already. We don't need new addicts being created because
of a subjective diagnosis that calls for giving kids addictive
drugs."
Catton also points out that many of the symptoms of a child who's
prescribed these harmful drugs align closely with signs of kids who are
considered gifted and that the line between the two is too
ambiguous.
Narconon Arrowhead is a non-traditional rehabilitation and
education program that is highly effective in helping people become drug-free.
Based on the research and developments by L. Ron Hubbard, the Narconon program
continues to grow because of its effectiveness and education and rehabilitation
centers now operate in nearly 40 countries.
For more information on
drugs and addiction call Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or log on to
www.stopaddiction.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb272002.htm