Every day some 6 million children – some as young as 2 or 3 – are now given Ritalin and other stimulants at the urging of school officials and psychiatrists. The reason: They are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a recently discovered mental “disease” whose symptoms include short attention span, impulsive behavior, and difficulty sitting still.
Many more boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD. In some schools – including two school districts near Virginia Beach, Virginia – as many as 20 percent of the boys are now given Ritalin daily.
The strongest advocates of drugging children are the Department of Education, educational bureaucrats and psychiatrists. The U.S. consumes over 90 percent of Ritalin produced in the world. What bureaucrats don’t tell parents, however, is that Ritalin has effects similar to amphetamines and is listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency as a Schedule II controlled substance. Continue reading