Ritalin Almighty © Copyright 2016 Fixread.

All rights reserved

Ritalin Almighty
1. Wouldn't it be great to swallow a "smart pill" and feel that it miraculously
boosted your concentration and turned your brain into a machine which works long
hours without breaking down? In fact, thousands of college students are doing just
that and cannot resist using medications like Ritalin. Use of these stimulants is
supported by a group of neuroscientists who do not find using pills to enhance
concentration and mental energy immoral. Their argument is that new methods of
improving our brain function should be welcomed.
2. In the pre-Ritalin days, the way to get one’s blood racing and increase capacity
to learn was to fill up with coffee to keep alert while studying into the night. The
switch to Ritalin on university campuses around the world today is not to get
"high", but to get higher grades, to outperform fellow students or to considerably
increase their capacity for learning. This accounts for the growing tendency among
students to take Ritalin on an exam day. Use of Ritalin is as widespread as
caffeine tablets, says one student.
3. Moreover, projections are that usage of Ritalin and other similar types of pills is
likely to become more prevalent with time, and as more effective brain-boosting
pills are developed, they are likely to find additional markets. According to Martha
Farah, a psychologist and expert in the field, there is a growing number of middle-
aged people who want youthful memory ability and workers who need to balance
multiple demands simultaneously. “Almost everybody is going to want to use it,”
she said. Another expert, Michael Gazzaniga added that he “... would be the first
in line if safe and effective drugs were developed that did better than caffeine.”
4. However, many questions surround not only the impact of these drugs on
healthy people in the long run, but also the risk of addiction. "There have been no
studies that establish the long-term effects on brain function," said Martha Farah.
"It could be that such a drug alters the way the brain works, fundamentally
changing personality. It may even have unanticipated consequences, such as
speeding the brain’s decline with age." In his article, "Ritalin before an Exam Fails
the Test of Common Sense," William Leith explains, "When you take drugs, your
brain fights back. Take too many painkillers, and you eventually become more
sensitive to pain; take too many ...anti-depressants, and you will be more
susceptible to misery. Drink coffee all the time and you will be tired."

1
Ritalin Almighty © Copyright 2016 Fixread. All rights reserved

5. One area where Ritalin has been used, though not without controversy, is in the
treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - one of the most
common childhood disorders which can continue through adolescence and
adulthood. The diagnosis is given when a child is considered overactive, cannot
pay attention and cannot sit still, all very subjective symptoms. Although many
doctors prescribe the medication as a course of treatment so that a child can
concentrate in school and behave him/herself, others believe that the benefits are
short-term only, which explains why this "smart pill" works so well for college
students preparing for exams. These critics also claim that it impacts neither
behavior nor achievement long term.
6. It appears that doctors give a prescription for Ritalin to approximately 90%
of children who are first diagnosed with ADHD and the numbers have gone up by
500% since the 1990s. Because studies suggest a 70 to 80% positive
development in symptoms after short-term use of the drug, the impression is that
the problem is solved. However, these studies do not reveal the whole picture.
Very few long-term investigations which address this problem have been
conducted, but the findings of the few that do exist give no reason for optimism.
For years, it was believed that children outgrew symptoms of ADHD, yet this is not
the case - the symptoms do not disappear with age.
7. In their investigation, a group of researchers comprised of two psychiatrists and
two neurologists analyzed the records of hyperactive children over an 8-year
period into adolescence. More than 80% of the subjects were treated with
medications, 63% of the group received psychological treatment of some kind, and
35% had some form of special educational accommodations. At the end of the
eight years, 80% continued to have the ADHD symptoms, while 60% of them
advanced to conditions much worse than the ADHD diagnosis. Moreover, there
were no statistical differences between the long-term results of children treated
with medications and those who weren't.
8. Even if Ritalin is just a magic pill to keep a child focused in class, and
manageable at home for a while, there can be adverse reactions, such as
increased blood pressure, sleeplessness, nervousness, etc. And these symptoms
bring us back to the question of drug dependency.
9. Moreover, another review of studies found that while children settled down in
class due to the drugs, they actually increased activity in the playground. In

2
Ritalin Almighty © Copyright 2016 Fixread. All rights reserved

addition, stimulant drugs enhance the ability to concentrate, especially on tasks

that are not inherently interesting or when one is fatigued or bored, but they do not
improve broader learning capabilities.
10. Despite all the evidence which challenges the power of miraculous "smart pill",
in 2012, three million children in the U.S. took drugs for problems in focusing,
according to The New York Times. Many of the parents became extremely
alarmed when there was a shortage of Ritalin that they considered absolutely
essential to their children’s functioning. Yet, the National (American) Study warned
that "nearly one-third of parents believe stimulants can improve academic
performance, even for teens who do not have attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder.” Not surprisingly, the thousands of healthy college students who
swallow a "smart pill" have strong support.
11. With so much dependence on Ritalin, it is easy for parents and teachers to
believe that it is the solution to all their problems. However, it gives millions of
children the impression that there is something inherently defective in them. But
are these problems because of some aspect present at birth? Or are they caused
by experiences in early childhood? These questions can be answered only by
studying children and their surroundings from before birth through childhood and
adolescence.
12. There will never and can never be one magic pill for all children and all
learning and behavior problems. The illusion that children’s behavior problems can
be cured with drugs prevents us as a society from seeking more complex and
creative solutions. Right now, however, Ritalin belongs in the category of “One
size fits all”, and chances are that things are not going to change.
References:
Exams students 'fuel up on Ritalin'
http://www.scotsman.com/news/education/exams-students-fuel-up-on-ritalin-1-532356
William Leith, Ritalin before an exam fails the test of common sense
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/07/ritalin-exams-performance-enhancing-drug
L. Alan Sroufe, Ritalin Gone Wrong
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/opinion/sunday/childrens-add-drugs-dont-work-long-
term.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Lorraine Day, Attention Deficit Disorder http://www.drday.com/attentiondeficit.htm
National Study: Teen Misuse and Abuse of Prescription Drugs Up 33 Percent Since 2008
http://medicineabuseproject.org/news-events/news/national-study-teen-misuse-and-abuse-of-
prescription-drugs-up-33-percent-si