Ritalin debate really centers on parents' rights

08/13/03

One of my twins is what you might call "the active type." He'd rather run than walk. He'd rather talk or sing than be quiet. The only time he sits still is when he's sleeping, and even then, he's restless.

One of my greatest fears has been that Alex's high-wired personality would be misinterpreted. And that someday, the word "Ritalin" would emerge during a parent-teacher conference.

"It is widely overprescribed," said Jim Whittenburg, a self-described troublemaker who retired as a Portland pharmacist in 2000. "I wanted to tell patients the drug was unwise and dangerous. I couldn't counsel them the way I thought they should be counseled."

But now, a growing lobby of parents is waking up to the alarming studies. It's estimated that as many as 8 million of our children are on psychotropic drugs. Yet, Ritalin, Adderall and Dexedrine -- all treatments for hyperactivity -- produce effects that are nearly identical to cocaine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Plus, there is little research on the stimulants' long-term effects.

"This is a massive decision by our society to handle children by drugging them," said Texas author and psychologist John Breeding, a national expert on handling "difficult" children. "We're the only society in the world who's doing this."

The drugmakers, which make money with every pill we pop, have good reason to prefer the status quo. Between 1991 and 1999, there was a 500 percent increase in Ritalin sales, the DEA reports. During those years, sales of Adderall and Dexedrine went up 2,000 percent.

So two years ago, Whittenburg convinced Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, a former teacher, to protest coerced child drugging by public school officials. The first version of their bill never made it to a vote. But this year's version -- Senate Bill 456 -- passed despite strong opposition from the teachers union and school districts. Our state school superintendent, Susan Castillo, took a neutral stance.

When the governor signed it into law in late June, it took immediate effect. Now, no public school administrator, teacher, counselor or nurse in Oregon can advise you to drug your overly active children.

They can complain that Alex talks too much in class or fidgets in his seat. They still must identify and evaluate students with disabilities. But any suggestion that parents seek a prescription that alters a child's thought process, mood or behavior is forever banned.

Oregon is one of about a dozen states that have passed or are considering this same type of historic legislation. Congress may make those new laws even tougher. The Child Medication Safety Act, known as HR 1170, passed the U.S. House but still lingers in the Senate.

"I think enough parents are so outraged at it that they really are making a valid effort at getting this corrected," said New York activist Patricia Weathers, co-founder of Parents for Label and Drug Free Education. Her Web site, www.ablechild.org, lists horror stories from parents who say they've been threatened with medical neglect for refusing to give their child Ritalin.

"A lot of these parents have no financial means to get second or third opinions or jump from doctor to doctor to doctor," she said. "So they're not really getting any choice in the matter."

As parents, we should not tolerate being pressured into giving our children any kind of mind-altering drugs. Not every child's free spirit should be cured with a pill. S. Renee Mitchell, 503-221-8142; rmitch@news.oregonian.com

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