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ADHD Drug Abuse In Teens On The Rise
By Rory Stern | August 24, 2009
Welcome back!
A new report released today suggests that more and more teens are abusing stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall. Depending upon which news outlet you are listening to, the angle and agenda is going to be slightly different.
I’ve seen reports from Reuters (article here) that focus on the substantial increase in calls to Poison Control centers across the country.
The Associated Press (article here) seems to be focusing on drug abuse, and a report from CBS News (article here) begins with a comparison of the abuse of marijuana to ADHD stimulant medications.
Caution: Here’s What The Media And Scientific Reports Leave Out
I’ll be honest with you. I glanced over these articles quickly. I saw what I needed to, and immediately had to weigh on this issue for my readers. Out of the three reports, I am very pleased that an expert for CBS talked about the increase abuse being related to an increased awareness of ADHD and ADHD stimulant medications.
I am NOT suggesting this is okay, or stops the issue dead in it’s tracks, BUT, a report like this can be quickly misinterpreted and take on a life of it’s own. I know as a parent I would be scared by rising numbers. And it doesn’t help that ADHD medications are already one of the most controversial, hot-button issues related to attention deficit hyperacitivity disorder.
For the record, I am NOT here to weigh in on the use of medications…or even the abuse of these medications. What I am here to do is make sure you know all the facts.
#1 – These reports concern me becuase people are likely to see the large number or percent of increase over time. What often gets down-played is that we really didn’t talk a lot about ADHD in 1988 like we do now (and is subsequently reported in the 2005 numbers of calls to poison control).
#2 – There also doesn’t seem to be much focus on the evidence that supports less drug abuse by those teens or children who are appropriately treated for ADHD.
I’ve held interviews on this very topic, and the consensus is that someone who is properly treated for ADHD, is less likely to abuse drugs.
#3 - I am also a little frightened about this topic because it is during the teen years when kids tend to start experimenting with drugs. With ADHD stimulant medications now being more popular than ever, I can understand why their abuse is on the rise.
Not too mention, I can fully understand the passing around of these stimulant medications as kids prepare for college exams.
I do NOT condone or support this type of behavior. But let’s recognize what is going on here. Whether we like or not, kids will look for any competitive edge to help them around exam time… I know this was a hot topic when I was at college studying for exams.
The Implications:
The implications from a report like this are likely to create widespread panic, and add more fuel to an already raging debate over the use of medication to treat ADHD. Heck, it’s likely to spark fires about whether or not ADHD even exists.
Let’s accept reality for what it is… Kids are going to try and experiment with drugs. We are placing more and more pressure on teens and students to perform – with expectations getting higher and higher in a very competitive and volatile workforce.
Substance abuse of any kind is concerning. It’s troubling. I’ve lived it… I’ve been affected by it… And I’ve supported families fighting substance abuse.
Let’s leave the hype of ADHD drug abuse out of the mix, and report the facts about WHO specifically is abusing these drugs.
Topics: Education, Medication | 10 Comments »
August 24th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Hi,
I have a teen that to my surprise has been on drugs far longer then I knew. I consented for adhd medications at grade 5/6 level, to help her through school. To my amazement, I found her pills being stored and not taken after many attempts of looking for the best fit. Her choice was to take street drugs for fun things and secretly stop taking her adhd meds. That’s why I was totally confused as to why her meds were not working. We went through a few years of hard times. My teen was not allowed to receive meds once found out about her choice in recreational drug abuse. She is now clean but wants to start up on her meds this fall again, for school. Now, she has done grade ten for the last three years and is still in grade 10. I would say, from our point of view. Adhd meds have nothing to do with drug abuse and choice of recreational drugs unless its the choice of flavour. Yes, its hype and sorry to see the abuse is all around no matter what one says. Its up to the individual to choose a good path of choices.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
ADHD is serious who has been diagnosed with it. People need to be educated on this issue.There are also those that have it that do not know it. It doesn’t need to be slandered or misunderstood. If medication is taken for other purposes and it helps the problem that’s good news, under a Dr.’s care of course.
ADHD is no different.
A certain amount of young people and adults are going to misuse drugs, others are not. Those who have to administer medicine for help and use it properly, should not be discriminated because of those who abuse it.
It is time we who understand this situation try to educate others who do not know about the side effects of ADHD and how it affects other individuals lives. We have to take a stand and the time is now!
August 24th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
I had a teen who refused to take ADHD meds, but has ended up medicating himself with alcohol and nicotine instead. The meds had such a stigma that he refused to take them. These hyped reports do a great harm to people whom the meds could truly help taken properly. My son dropped out of highschool. He is in his late 20’s now and has his own business. But I wonder how much better his life might be had he not been made afraid to face his condition — he was diagnosed with ADHD at 12.
August 24th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
fierst of all excuse me for may friensh languege
iam agree with some off you and not with the others becose of some reasons.Some times somefizicans think that they have all trust all the time from all kind of petint and thats the problem some peteants didnt like thethe doktors sujeshtions and began to treat themself alone depends on there selfexpearians here they foll in abuse and such problem
August 25th, 2009 at 4:08 am
In our county of 200,000, we have lost two people to Ritalin abuse that I know of in a twenty year period.
One was an AD/HD adult who was an alcoholic. He had been under the care of a psychiatrist who specialized in AD/HD for three years. It’s unusual for a doctor to prescibe stimulant medication to a patient who is abusing drugs or alcohol. It’s possible the psychiatrist didn’t know. I can’t remember if I asked the family. Unfortunately, the AD/HD adult would periodically abuse his Ritalin by shooting it up. Not sure if that’s the right term. On the day of his death, he abused his Ritalin. I believe he had also been drinking. His mother found him, still breathing but unconsious in his bedroom. She immediately called 911. Her husband, a Paramedic, was one of the responders. They were unable to revive him. I believe he was 29 or 39 years old.
The other was a 16 year old boy. My husband and I knew the parents. Nice family, nice boy. The young man and a number of his friends were hanging out one night. Someone gave him some Ritalin. Sometime later that evening, he collapsed and died. I’ve often wondered how the person who gave him the Ritalin coped. Initially, it was reported that he died of a Ritalin overdose. In talking with the coroner, I learned that the coroner’s conclusion had been premature. In part because the young man was so dehydrated at the time of his death, it was difficult to extract enough fluid to determine how much Ritalin he had ingested. A month or so later, it was reported that his death was most likely due to a undiagnosed heart condition.
I stopped taking stimulants for my AD/HD ten years ago. It was a mistake.
During that period, I gained an additional 25 pounds, probably due to stress eating. Six years ago, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. And just recently, I have been diagnosed with diabetes II.
A month ago, I began taking stimulant medication again with the hope that it would bring my stress levels down. It did. I’m losing weight (though not due to the stimulant, the side effect, “loss of appetite”, only lasted a week or so).
I’m focused, more relaxed, less moody, and my energy level has gone from lethargic to normal. My hope is that the medication will help me to stay focused on eating properly and exercising so I can lose 50 pounds over the next year. In a months time, I’ve lost 5 pounds. I feel hopeful.
Stimulant medication can do great harm or great good. The problem is not the medication, it’s the people who chose to share it or abuse it, the families who do not report abuse to the patient’s doctor, and perhaps, in some cases, the doctors who sometimes do not properly diagnose, or ask the right questions, or monitor the patient’s other life circumstances in addition to his or her responses to treatment.
As an advocate on behalf of AD/HD adults for almost 20 years, I can say with confidence that while stimulant abuse does happen, it’s rarely by properly diagnosed and treated AD/HD adults. Rather, most struggle to remember to take their medication.
AD/HD adolescents, however, often do not fully grasp the legal consequences and dangers of sharing their medication, particularly if they haven’t bought into the benefits of taking it. I have not heard any stories of AD/HD adolescents abusing their stimulant medication in our community, though it’s possible that it could happen, I suppose. On the other hand, I do know of AD/HD adolescents using other, non-stimulant drugs recreationally. And these teens, as mentioned in an earlier post, typically are non-compliant in taking their stimulant medication.
AD/HD is real. AD/HD treatments change lives for the better more often than not. Sadly, there will always be people who abuse drugs. But again, in my experience, it is rare for an AD/HD adolescent or adult to abuse stimulants.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
As an addiction counselor with over 12 yrs experience (10yrs w/adolescents) I can assure you there is NO hype about drug abuse among our teens. Too often these kids do not want to take their meds b/c it slows them down and they don’t feel themselves. However, they love a thrill and rush, so they will do whatever they can to get that rush. They often sell or trade their meds for other drugs that will give them the excitment they are looking for. Pill abuse among our youth is epidemic but its not just stimulants, its all pills including benzoes and opiates.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
My 22 who is not ADHD or Add but has reading disabiltiy started using drugs when his father remarried into it. Meaning his new wife and kids all done drugs. My son was busted in school with 5.00 of pot he was selling but at the time was clean. went to councoling and spend a hugh amount of money to try and straightern him out and the high school kicked him out the day before he turned 18. 6 months later he was in jail for burgurly stealing to pay for his drugs. He spent 4 years in prison and was released last december
so far he been clean and he says he’ll never touch them again. But these we’re his choices no one else.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Dr. Stern, I appreciate your efforts to put this issue in perspective. Too often, the media fails to explain that it’s the non-AD/HD teens who are abusing the stimulants.
That said, those non-AD/HD teens are being supplied with stimulants, most likely by their AD/HD friends.
10, 15 years ago, this issue was shouted down by the AD/HD community every time this problem was raised by the media. Your response was honest and well stated, but ultimately had the same result. No one wants to talk about teen alcohol and drug abuse.
My question to you is “Are the national and community-based AD/HD organizations speaking to this issue now? And are they providing parents guidance on how to appropriately monitor their AD/HD teen’s stimulant medication to prevent redistribution of these medications to our non-AD/HD teens?
I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am with teen alcohol and drug abuse, and the parents who ignorantly contribute to the problem in one way or another. One example is not properly monitoring their AD/HD teen’s stimulant medication.
But there are other problems too. For almost a year now, a number of us have joined together to support a single mother who is trying to get her 16 year old son to stop smoking, and stop using alcohol, marijuana, and hallucigens. He was failing academically (though thanks to our school district’s alternative high school, he’s making some progress). He has been in juvenile detention off and on all summer for “dirty” UA’s and curfew violations. I believe the judge who keeps putting him in detention and who doubles his time in detention each time, may very well have saved this teen’s life. He has a lot of time to think while in there, and it also gives his mother adequate access to him once a day as they continue to dialogue about the choices her teenage son is making.
How else are parents contributing to the problem? By allowing this teen to stay in their home for one, two, three days at a time without talking with the teen’s mother – (as a result, the mother can’t find him). These parents wrongly believe that the teen is being mistreated by his mother who is simply trying to keep him in school and off alcohol and drugs. Some of these parents even go as far as telling this teen that drugs should be decriminalized and that he is a victim of the judicial system. They forget that the adolescent brain is still growing and developing and that we have a responsibility to protect the adolescents the potentially damaging effects of alcohol and recreational drug use. These teenagers are not adults, and should not be treated as if they’re adults.
But it’s not just the parents who are contributing to the problem.
Eventhough this teen has been in and out of the mental health system throughout his life, not one mental health care professional identified his AD/HD or anxiety disorder. After three years of academic struggle, he began using alcohol and drugs. I hate to say it, but this was a good thing in the sense that there is a lot of funding for recovery counseling and programs.
As a result of his alcohol and drug abuse, he has finally been diagnosed, but, guess what, now that he has a history of alcohol and drug use, it is going to be an uphill battle to get him appropriately treated with stimulant medication.
He needs the stimulant medication to “get” what he desperately needs to learn in his recovery counseling and outpatient groups and programs, but because he’s still using periodically as evidenced by the required UA’s, I don’t know if and when we are going to be able to get him appropriately treated for his AD/HD.
Despite more than 20 years of research-based treatments, educational accomodations, and skills programs for AD/HD children and teens, we are still failing them, particularly the undiagnosed and untreated AD/HD teens who understandably lose hope, disconnect from their schools and families, and, more often than not, fall victim to the down ward spiral of alcohol and drug abuse, which leads to stealing, which leads to incarceration, etc.
And I have to say, sadly, a lot of these teens have good hearts but they no longer believe they have choices and there days and nights are driven by the need to find the next high.
Talk about stuck.
Here’s my final point.
I am tired of the divide that exists between AD/HD treatment professionals and chemical dependency counselors. Members of your professions pay lip service to one another but you’re not joining into a meaningful dialog with one another about this critical, dual diagnosis issue. And as a result, we’re losing some good AD/HD teens to drug abuse, and ultimately expensive social service programs and/or incarcerations.
Stop beating up the media for attempting to bring attention to the issue of teen alcohol and drug abuse. Like it or not, the AD/HD community needs to acknowledge teen alcohol and drug abuse and begin taking steps to curtail the redistribution by teens of these theraputic, stimulant medications for recreational use.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I have 3 kids (various ages) all on medication. My oldest who is 15 years really has a hard time functioning without it. He has stated in discussion with me about this, that if he was not on medication, he would self medicate, just to be able to function. I agree that it is about teaching our kids, setting good boundries,prayer, helping them to make good choices, oh and did I say prayer…..
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 am
For any child under 18, It is the responsibility of the parent to carefully administer the drugs ONE at a time to the child. These are amphetamines after all! I hand my child the pill, with a drink, watch him swallow it, and I store the bottle where he cannot get to it. This way, not only do I know that he took it, but he is not able to dispense the medications to his friends. If you start off that way, and don’t make a big deal about it, it is never questioned. To allow the child to administer his own medication is somewhat irresponsible. It’s not a matter of trust, it’s a matter of safety. That’s all you need to tell them.