Pubdate: 22 Jan. 1999
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Section: Metro DuPage
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/
Copyright: 1999 Chicago Tribune Company
Author:  Amanda Vogt

TEENS FIND HIGH IN RITALIN, EXPERTS SAY

Ritalin, a commonly prescribed drug for treating hyperactive children,
has found a new audience among teenagers who are illegally using the
drug to get a high similar to cocaine, experts say.

An illegal trade has developed in the drug among teens, and
authorities say a number of suburban schools have reported break-ins
in which thieves took the pills that were stored in school nurses'
offices.

Some school districts, including Lake Zurich 95 in Lake County, have
begun locking the drug in safes. Others have installed alarm systems
following break-ins.

"There's an ongoing problem," said Gurnee Police Chief Bob Jones, who,
in his role as president of the Lake County Chiefs of Police
Association, issued a warning this month about recurring Ritalin
thefts at local schools. "It's dangerous for the kids and, obviously,
they're committing crimes."

While Ritalin abuse is less widespread than abuse of other drugs such
as cocaine and marijuana, a recent National Institute on Drug Abuse
survey of more than 2,000 high school seniors nationwide found a
marked increase in Ritalin abuse from 1994 to 1997, though the numbers
are still small. In 1997, 2.8 percent of seniors surveyed said they
had abused the drug compared with two-tenths of 1 percent in 1994.

In the study, abusers said they got the drug by stealing it from
school clinics or by "diversion"--buying or getting it from young
people who take the drug on doctor's orders.

Ritalin is one of the most common drugs in American schools.
Researchers estimate that 4 million school-age children take the drug
to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and related behavior
problems. Prescriptions for the drug have doubled in the last five
years.

Because a single dose lasts just 3 to 4 hours, children usually must
take a dose during the school day. That means the drug is kept on
school grounds.

When used as prescribed, the drug has a calming effect, said Dr. Keith
McBurnett, assistant professor of psychology at the University of
Chicago. But, he said, "Large doses inhaled or smoked in powder form
deliver a euphoric jolt similar to that of crack."

Dr. Elizabeth Roberts, a psychiatrist at Hazelden Chicago, a
Lombard-based satellite of the renowned drug-recovery center in
Minnesota, said many in the medical community are beginning to be
concerned about the potential for Ritalin abuse by children.

"There's so much of it available through legal means, and although
some people like to dress it up by calling it a stimulant, it's an
amphetamine," said Roberts. "As my young patients who abuse drugs tell
me, Ritalin provides the same high as snorting cocaine (does). "

Kids aren't intimidated by Ritalin as they are by, for example,
cocaine or heroin, said McBurnett, because although it poses a similar
addiction threat, its side-effects--both short- and long-term, are
minimal.

"It's difficult to overdose on the drug," said McBurnett. "Taking
large amounts will cause a rapid heart beat and strong feelings of
anxiety, but it's not likely to kill you."

Abuse of the drug appears to be largely a suburban phenomenon. Dr.
A.J. Allen, a child psychologist at the University of
Illinois-Chicago's Institute for Juvenile Research, said studies
indicate that attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is rarely
diagnosed in city populations and, therefore, Ritalin is not as common
in city schools.

This diagnosis gap can partly be attributed to differing cultural

perceptions of what defines a "problem child" and the influence of
poverty on decisions to seek medical care, Allen said.

Tom Crow of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago
verified that "(Ritalin abuse) is mostly a problem among white
suburban kids."

Although there are no federal reporting requirements for Ritalin
abuse, the drug--because of its potential for psychological and
physical addiction--is tightly regulated by the DEA, Crow said.

"Access is limited to doctors with special licenses to distribute the
drug," he said, adding that refills aren't allowed, and doctors must
issue a new prescription if more of the drug is needed.

Among school districts hard hit by Ritalin thefts is Lake Zurich,
which has seen more than a half-dozen break-ins in the last year.

In November, thieves broke into a nurse's office at Seth Paine
Elementary School in the village and stole eight bottles of Ritalin
from a locked medicine cabinet, police said.

Weeks later, a 15-year-old Lake Zurich boy was charged with attempted
burglary of a cabinet in the nurse's office. Police said the boy was
thwarted in his attempt because the school nurse had relocated the
Ritalin to a locked safe.

In April, police charged a 16-year-old boy with five thefts of Ritalin
from Lake Zurich High School and Lake Zurich Middle Schools North and
South, according to police.

"It's now locked in a secure place in all of our schools," said Dr.
Donald Gossett, interim superintendent of Lake Zurich School District
95. Gossett added that the district also is considering installing
video cameras as an added deterrent.

In Barrington, police are still trying to solve a year-old burglary at
Barrington Middle School-Station Campus, from which someone stole up
to 45 bottles of the drug from the nurse's cabinet.

Late last year, Wauconda School District 118 was the scene of two
Ritalin thefts, at Wauconda Middle School and Wauconda Grade School,
according to police.

School officials installed alarms in the schools after the thefts,
said Supt. John Barbini.

At York Community High School in west suburban Elmhurst, the illegal
trading and selling of Ritalin among students is an ongoing problem,
according to Elmhurst Police Detective Steve Wright, a liaison officer
at the school.

"It's bought and sold on a daily basis," said Wright, adding that a
single pill sells for $5 to $15. Students who take the drug under
doctors' orders give or sell it to others, he said. In one year-old
case, police arrested a 16-year-old boy for stealing Ritalin from a
female student's purse, he said.

"It's not considered a dirty drug like cocaine, so kids think it's
OK," said Wright.

Controversy has followed Ritalin since it was first used as a
treatment for hyperactivity in children in the late 1960s and early
'70s, McBurnett said.

Critics argue that the drug is overprescribed to treat children with
minor hyperactivity. These problems, they say, can partly be
attributed to the difficulty in diagnosing ADHD; doctors still know
relatively little about the physiology of the disorder and there are
no definitive diagnostic tests for it.

McBurnett said that he expects a 10-hour time-release version of
Ritalin will soon become available, which may help slow abuse of the
drug.

"The pill may have a longer duration, which would eliminate the need
for a dose at school," he said.

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