Ritalin and Other Methylphenidates - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

Both legal and illegal uses of prescription medications have increased significantly since the 1990s, especially in the United States. A 2005 report by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America states that 10 percent of American teenagers (2.3 million young people) admit to using the prescription drug Ritalin or Adderall without a doctor's order. (Adderall is an amphetamine-type drug used to treat ADHD. An entry on Adderall is included in this encyclopedia.)

The illegal use of Ritalin and other methylphenidates among high school and college students began to rise in the late 1990s. Students used the drug at parties, often snorting it to get a quick high. By the early 2000s, reports were surfacing of high school and college students using Ritalin for academic purposes. Users claim the drug helps them stay awake and focus during late-night study sessions or while writing essays. In a 2005 article for USA Today, Donna Leinwand wrote that students who take stimulants such as Ritalin are doing so "not necessarily to get high, but also to ease stress or to try to improve academic performance." The article further noted that universities with high academic standards tend to have higher rates of illegal prescription drug use.

Some students abuse prescription drugs like Adderall or Ritalin because they want to perform better on tests, such as college entrance exams. Students feel a lot of pressure to succeed, and some believe using these prescription drugs, even illegally, will help them focus and get better scores. They defend their drug abuse by claiming that a low test score can mean many missed opportunities and lesser job opportunities. Other students believe that using performance-enhancing drugs is unfair and is a form of cheating.

What the Surveys Say

Data collected on methylphenidate use for the "2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health" show that nonprescription use of the drug has held steady since 2000. The highest percentage of use is in the eighteen- to twenty-five-year-old age group (5.7 percent).

Monitoring the Future (MTF), an annual survey that tracks drug use among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, revealed a similar trend. MTF is conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The survey began including questions about Ritalin in 2001. The 2004 survey noted that 2.5 percent of eighth graders, 3.4 percent of tenth graders, and 5.1 percent of twelfth graders had taken Ritalin without a prescription.

How Users Get Ritalin

Some drugs of abuse can be manufactured illegally. This is not true for methylphenidate. The four ways users can obtain Ritalin and other methylphenidates are: 1) from a doctor; 2) from a pharmacy; 3) from someone else who has a prescription for it; or 4) from a drug dealer who has obtained it through illegal means. Methods of getting methylphenidate illegally include stealing, drug trafficking, and faking prescriptions.