7. What are the safety concerns while using Ritalin?
Ritalin users face many safety concerns. Abuse or long-term use can cause heart problems and possible heart attacks in people with preexisting heart conditions. One prime example of this is the death of a 14 year old boy attributed to long-term Ritalin use.
- "The Certificate of Death under, due to, (or because of) reads: "Death caused from Long Term Use of Methylphenidate, (Ritalin)." "
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Larger doses of Ritalin may result in many uncomfortable side effects which include:
* ONSET:
* High blood pressure
* Severe dry mouth
* Nausea
* Dizziness
* Nervousness
* Ability to "not sit still"
* Loss of apetite
* Twitching
* COMEDOWN:
* Mild depression
* Hard time sleeping
* "Spaced Out" feeling
* LONG-TERM:
* Anorexia
* Weight loss
* Depression
* Withdrawl
* Suicide
* Amphetamine Psychosis
* Increased risk of HIV (if injected)
* Nasal cavity deterioration (if insufflated)
Because of some of these symptoms, a 60-fold increase in emergency room visits due to Ritalin occured between 1990-1998, from 271 ER visits to 1727. Because 56% of those people were between 10-17, this suggest that an irresponsible use of the drug may be to blame.
Addiction is also a common problem of Ritalin use. In 1996 the DEA concluded that 20-30% of teenagers in drug treatment centers had abused Ritalin. Since Ritalin is also used as a study aid for high school and college students, a person may come to psychologically depend on Ritalin for studying or concentrating. Regular use can lead to brain abnormalities similar to regular cocaine use, along with the brain developing specific neuron receptors for the drug. An interesting article to check out is "US: Pay Attention - Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine" published by the Journal of the American Medical Association."
- "Instead of being a less potent transport inhibitor than cocaine, methylphenidate was more potent. The data clearly show that the notion that Ritalin is a weak stimulant is completely incorrect."
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Ritalin addiction is very prominent in the Vancouver area, where there are "between 6,000-10,000 Ritalin addicts "shooting" Ritalin into their veins from three to 20 times per day". Injected use of Ritalin, obviously being the most addicting administration, has also influenced crime in that area.
- According to police reports from Vancouver, the city's Ritalin addicts are committing 60 to 70 percent of all the urban crime in the area. Vancouver police blame Ritalin addicts for the 105 percent increase in burglaries in a downtown portion of the city in the first six months of 1987, and a 43 percent increase in burglaries city-wide over the same period."
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