Source: Toronto Sun (Canada) 
Pubdate: Tuesday, 2 June 1998
Contact:  
Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/ 
Author: Gretchen Drummie, Toronto Sun

DRUGGED SON, 4, WAS LIKE 'ZOMBIE'

Mom on trial for giving boy high doses of 'street' Ritalin

Accused crack mom Joyce Hayman allegedly put her four-year-old son 
into a "zombie" state, feeding him high doses of the prescription drug 
Ritalin which she bought off the street, a judge was told yesterday.

Although she admits to giving her boy Ritalin after getting the idea 
from TV, the then-drug addicted mom never fed him crack, said his dad 
David Winn.

Prosecutor Paul Normandeau contends that Hayman force-fed the drug and 
crack cocaine to her son, whom it's alleged had four times the 
prescribed amount of Ritalin in his system when the Children's Aid 
Society removed him on June 6, Hayman, 30, pleaded not guilty to two 
counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and 
administering a noxious substance.

Winn, who occasionally lived with Hayman, testified that their child 
was "hyper ... he was always running around." He said the boy fought 
other kids, was "abusive" with Hayman and "hit a lot." He said Hayman 
was addicted to crack, but would never "do her thing" until the child 
was put to bed. Winn added that he never saw stray pieces of the drug 
around.

Winn testified they saw doctors about the boy, but no physician would 
prescribe Ritalin. He said she started giving it to him herself, about 
four months before he was removed, with his blessing: "When he was on 
Ritalin, he was a normal child."

In May 1996, the boy had a mild overdose while with a babysitter, and 
though not hospitalized, he was referred to Sick Kids' hospital where 
further tests were done. Court heard the CAS stepped in when high 
levels of both crack and Ritalin were found.

In the time between the overdose and the child's removal, CAS worker 
Kerry Milligan testified she met Hayman and the boy. Milligan said 
Hayman "confirmed she had been buying (Ritalin) off the streets in 
20-mg tablets" before the overdose.

"She felt (the boy) was hyperactive and she had watched a TV show that 
addressed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and she decided 
that was his problem," Milligan said.

"She felt strongly he needed the medication to control his 
behavior."

After the overdose, a Sick Kids' doctor did prescribe Ritalin but only 
in 5-mg tablets. During their May 30 meeting, Hayman admitted she'd 
doubled up the dosage.

She said the child sat for 90 minutes without moving. The boy was 
"just flat ... He was like a zombie."

"She said this is how he should be," Milligan said.

Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.

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