Ritalin- Statistics, Facts and Side Effects

Ritalin is a drug that is typically prescribed to those who suffer from ADHD. It's used to calm them down which makes this a stimulant drug. Ritalin is given out much more easily now than it ever was in the past. This makes the drug very easy to access on the black market. It's tough to say how many people are actually addicted to his drug as statistics can't quite keep up with the drug and how fast it moves around the streets.

This was one of the first drugs created to treat children with ADHD and it has been around for about 50 years or so. So, as you can see the drug hasn't been around that long which is why it's just now becoming more and more easy to get. Ritalin is used to as a central nervous system stimulant. It is typically only used to treat children. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is a disorder as to where the person who has it has a very hard time calming down. They won't be able to sit still, stop talking, or moving around.

Side Effects of Ritalin-

After someone takes the drug Ritalin, some side effects that a person may feel are:

• Drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Anorexia
• Headaches
• Blood pressure changes
• Angina (chest pains)
• Abdominal pain
• Weight loss
• Nervousness
• Insomnia

People Who Should Not Take Ritalin-

There are many people that the drug Ritalin is not right for. It's important that if you are any of the following of have any of the following conditions you don't take this drug!

• Anyone under the age of 6 years
• Anyone who has anxiety, agitation or tension
• Anyone who has glaucoma
• Anyone taking MAO inhibitors
• Anyone with Tourette's Syndrome
• Anyone who is hypersensitive to the drug Ritalin

What You Need to Know About Ritalin-

• Short acting Ritalin will often be abused by teenagers who are prescribed the drug. They will either take more than their recommended dosage or they will crush it and snort it.

• The prescription and dosage of Ritalin really depends on the severity of the ADHD that the patient has. Many believe that the dosage depends on the weight of the person taking it. However, it really depends on their disorder and the side effects of the drug on the person taking them.

Statistics About Ritalin & ADHD-

Today in the U.S. 5 to 7 million children were diagnosed with ADHD compared to the 500,000 that were diagnosed with 1985. This disorder to continuously growing in the U.S. today which makes it a growing problem. the majority of the children that are diagnosed with this disorder are prescribed with Ritalin.

In the year 2008, the use of Ritalin in 8th graders accounted for 1.6% of that group, 2.9% of 10th graders, and 3.4% of 12th graders. The drug Ritalin carries very dangerous side effects as these this drug is given out so easily to children these days by their doctors. This is causing children to abuse drugs at a very young age.

Like it was mentioned before, the abuse of this drug will vary greatly. This is because it's so easy for students to take this drug in secret. It is estimated roughly that between 3% and 7% of students today use Ritalin illegally. There have been reports of students raiding medicine cabinets at school in search of the drug and have actually found them. It's said that 37% of schools today have kept Ritalin in cabinets that had no lock on them. These schools don't even really have a policy for storing medications. This means that students can easily get into the the cabinets, take the drugs and walk away if there is no supervisor around. That makes it very easy for the students to start abusing the drug.

There have also been many reports and stories in the news of children who had to transfer schools. This was due to many students harassing them into buying Ritalin from them. These students sold them for about $20 a pill. Students became so fed up with being offered these drugs that they left the schools. This is good for the students that left as they didn't give into the peer pressure but that means that there is a growing rate of these pills being sold in schools.

Ritalin is a common drug that is spread around by children and teens of all ages. Not many adults use this drug as it's usually not strong enough for them. This is why it's such a problem as our children and teens of America have such easy access to this drug. We need to find ways to keep the Ritalin out of the control of children, so if there is prescription Ritalin in your home, it's best to keep it locked up and hidden away so there is no way that it can leave your home.