Imagine for a moment that you are nine years old again. You are sitting in your third grade classroom trying as hard as you can to listen to your teacher, but you just can't. The heater is making this clicking sound that won't stop and the class hamster is running all over his cage. Further more, there is a light in the corner that keeps blinking like it is going to go out at anytime. It seems like your teacher has been talking forever and you just can't stand still. All of this because you have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Then you are prescribed a common drug called Ritalin.
Ritalin is a drug that many households deal with on a daily basis. It is also a drug that is very powerful, and one that the United States Drug enforcement Administration has classified as a Schedule II controlled substance, in the same category as cocaine, methadone and methamphetamine. Both cocaine and Ritalin use the same receptor site in the brain, giving the same "high" and in medical research are used interchangeably. The only difference between cocaine and Ritalin is that cocaine leaves the receptor site quicker than Ritalin, possibly making it more addictive. Ritalin is not a drug that is typically sold on the street like cocaine or marijuana. It is a drug that doctors prescribe to help children and adults with hyperactivity and attention problems. But are these trained professionals over prescribing it? (Greenhill, Osman, 9-13)
The road a child has to take to get on Ritalin is very long and often very hard. A child has to be observed by a teacher or parent, get a medical exam, and be observed by many specialists. What are all these doctors looking for? Well, first the medical doctor rules out attention problems due to a hearing loss or mental retardation.
