Ritalin is not cocaine. | ADHD Information

me too.

fallen, your inbox is full.

I just have issues with people who promote bad science :) [QUOTE=GlenW]

[QUOTE=pastmember/Bren]The stims are all from the Meth group even our Dr. said it to my wife. This is why it must be monitored more. How can speed slow a person down?[/QUOTE]

Ok - let me clear this one up. Meth is in the SAME group as the other amphetamines. That ALSO include pseudo-ephedrine - you know the stuff you take for a stuffy nose? Lots of medications are molecularly similar - but you can't lump them together. Methamphetamines are targeted specifically at areas of the brain to make a person high. That's its only purpose. They make Crystal methamphetamines usually by taking cold medications with pseudo-ephedrine and changing a couple of chemical bonds in it. But cold meds don't get you high - meth does.

Cocaine is chemically similar to novocaine, procaine, and other surgical anasthetics. Change a couple bonds and you go from getting high to being able to have your teeth drilled.

Wood alcohol is a couple of hydrocarbon bonds away from grain alcohol. Which would you drink and which would you use to clean a cut?

Lots of organic chemicals are similar. But when we start yelling one is the other - we are lying either to this group - or ourselves which is infinitely unforgivable.

[/QUOTE]

you know Glen - i'm not convinced by this yes, we are one dna short of being a gorilla and all that.

but i don't think there such a lot of difference between ritalin and speed (or people wouldn't abuse it on the street, for example). like i don't much care either.

i am more "and so what if it is the same?". it is obviously very similar or a. people wouldn't abuse in the street and b. in the past people wouldn't have used to cocaine as a self-medicating solution to their ADD then.

all this jumping through hoops to say "oh no, it's not the same, it's totally different" i don't get it. the bit that works is obviously similar --- as ADDers we wouldn't get addicted to cocaine either. fine.

rather than compare it as you did above --- i would think a more realistic comparison would be whiskey to gin. different molecularly, different source plant an' all but essentially the same effect on the brain.

if it didn't work like that - what the f would be the point of it? yes, maybbe non-ADDers can possibly get addicted, those that don't take it as prescribed can get addicted as they can to cocaine or whatever. and what???? you can get addicted to oxycodene or percocet too - i have no idea but possibly you can get addicted to novocaine (or whatever it is called that you mentioned).

they are drugs! that's what they are - even if people want to get angsty and only call them meds.

i don't care either way --- but what i don't like is people being coy or euphemistic - it's like some 19th century puritan talking about sex, like get over it - there is nothing wrong with it. it's not that i know what any of these drugs are made of but surely who cares if they work the same way as cocaine but are just better, better formulated, less addictive, better controlled --- great.

it annoys me somewhere, it seems like a socialised pretence, like the mad aunt no-one is allowed to mention. just WHAT? what is the big deal here. someone explain it to me!!!! adderall = cocaine. and. and. and.

ritalin = speed. and. and. and. WHAT?

they are drugs, they have been tested, they work. i don't give a sh*t whether it is chemically identical, part-way identical, or totally frickin different. what bugs me more is this attitude that "we can't possibly ever admit that they are even vaguely similar".... it doesn't matter. if they are, fine - if they are not, fine.

of course each are slightly different --- for example i just KNOW somewhere that i will suit ADderall and not Ritalin. i just know that - how, i have no clue and what the differences are between the two who knows - but i kinda know that. i also know that cocaine would help me too. (if i could be sure of the source and quality)

so for me, cocaine and adderall are similar. and as i always say - and what????????

I love it, You Talkin to Me,

You tell 'em.

retalin is speed,,,that is what my doctor told me,,,,it is a stimulate,,,if you r not adha,,,you could not sit still,,,but for people and kids that have adhd and take it it calms them,,,like as if they were taking a valium,,,,,, It's not You Talk Into Me?

[QUOTE=pastmember/Bren]The stims are all from the Meth group even our Dr. said it to my wife. This is why it must be monitored more. How can speed slow a person down?[/QUOTE]

Cocaine is chemically similar to novocaine, procaine, and other surgical anasthetics. Change a couple bonds and you go from getting high to being able to have your teeth drilled.

Wood alcohol is a couple of hydrocarbon bonds away from grain alcohol. Which would you drink and which would you use to clean a cut?

Lots of organic chemicals are similar. But when we start yelling one is the other - we are lying either to this group - or ourselves which is infinitely unforgivable.

Slows down ADHDers. Gives them more to think about on one subject before they go to the next. "davidornado,,,tell me is it fun to try and make fun of peopel on site,,,i have seen different posts from you,,,makes me think you forgot to take your mds,,,,why the reason of it any way.........................."

Ritalin is not speed.

Adderall is speed.

However, they're both medications that work.

You zealots make me laugh.

Feel free to PM me any time.
Some of you are so funny but the information is great. Thanks.Ritalin is not cocaine,, how can it be cocaine,,,, it is tylenol with hydrocodone

lol,,,cute bugzappers

Thats like saying that ritalin is crystal meth using your argument.

Which is very wrong.
Concerta and Ritalin from same thing. Both are Meth drugs. I found it on the ingrediant cite. Now - so I don't get you wrong p/Bren.. you aren't saying that both Concerta and Ritalin are meth-amphetamine? You ARE indeed saying they are methylphenidate - a totally different and molecularly and symptomatically non-similar pair of medications? Please tell me that this is what you meant? retalin is speed,,,infact it would be called corss-roads for a street name

I TEND TO BELIEVE

YOU TALKIN TO ME.

Speed is amphetamine, or methamphetamine.

Adderall is simply a brand name for a particular mix of different "stereoisomers" (same atoms connecting at the same places, just pointing in different directions in space at one point in the molecule) and salts of amphetamine.

Ritalin (methylphenidate) does contain an amphetamine-like backbone, however it is more complex. The additional structures on this molecule also alter its interaction with the body and the neurons in our brains. Methylphenidate is reported to have less euphoric effects (some people describe it as 'more dull') than methamphetamine, but every individual is unique in their reaction to psychoactives, so no statement is universally true. While similar in backbone structure, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and ritalin are all quite unique drugs, with somewhat similar, but distinct, effects.

So no, Ritalin is not speed. Unless you classify speed as something which it is not (example: you're a zeaolot, ignorant of the facts or simply bloody minded). Snorted Ritalin may have a stimulant effect similar to amphetamines (speed) it will never be speed.

I ALSO TEND TO BE

BELIEVE

FALLEN

Cool man, does that make me a crystal meth junkie??

WOO HOO!!! Rock on with my BAD self!

retalin is not cocaine,,,it is speed,,,period The stims are all from the Meth group even our Dr. said it to my wife. This is why it must be monitored more. How can speed slow a person down?

That's ok chuckles - I'm sure Davidornado is readying a full color diarama of the whole thing as we speak LOL!!! He's good for that kind of thing - many days I have to scroll for what seems forever through what seems to be one of my old biology textbooks!

Sounds like you've taken your share of advanced bio, or like the rest of us ADHDers you soak the stuff up involuntary like stale beer in a bar sponge.

The whole thing confuses people because the concepts are alien to anything outside the neurons, ganglions and axions of the brain. It's scary to people - and like most scared public the naysayers get all jittery and begin their anti-med dance to appease the gods of no reason "fire BAD AAARRRRR!! fire BAD!!!"

It's like and unlike a computer I like to confuse the cats with that one. Like a computer in that the brain cells store information in bio-electrical energy between the cells like a binary bit in a RAM chip. Unlike computers in that it's far from binary - you can have a little, a lot and many flavors that would make baskin robins blush in shame. The chemicals like norepinephrine (adrenaline folks), dopamine (think "awakenings" and "michael J. fox") amongst a cavalcade of stars do things like sustain a cells workings, make communications faster/slower, change the rate of transfer, etc. We're all still learning about it so it's new stuff even to the eggheads in charge of the labs.

What we do know is that these amphetamines work differently in the range of disordered and ordered brains that take it. Meth is so different from the rest in that it permanently changes the chemistry to make the user dependent on it within as short as 2 dosages taken in short order. That's a spicy meat a ball!!! Methylphenidate and Dexedrine (sulphate and salts) don't do that no matter what balanced and curus might tell you from their info.

Ritalin and dex (I'm shorthanding as the pro/con sides know the names) are given in such small doses and in chemically stable bases that they are intended to make sure they don't change the chemistry in such a way. To become even psychologically dependent (there's a difference - the naysayers just say dependent but that's outright deception no matter what they make my quotes show next) there needs to be a larger than prescribed amount for a longer than normal duration. Short story short - you don't get hooked on these meds unless that's what you wanted to do in the first place. I don't remember the pamphlet for either showing how to crush the meds and snort them - any more than I remember them saying blame them if the user sells them to some unprescribed junkie that inevitably will die from them (and the naysayers will add that to the tally they keep).

If you take a large dose of Tylenol you kill the liver. A medically allowable dose - you remove fevers, alleve pain and suffering. Don't kill the manufacturer because some parent gives the kid a tylenol (yes I know Ryes syndrome so don't come at me people), then forgets, then gives another 20 minutes later. Most meds that cause damage to people are because of 2 things: the user abuses the meds by either overdosing on them, or taking them in a fashion not prescribed (i.e. with other meds, injecting/snorting pills, etc.) OR the user is not being monitored by a qualified medical professional when instructed to do so.

A child has a heart attack while taking Ritalin. For weeks the child complained of chest pain - did the parent go back to the MD with this complaint right away - or did they wait and ask around to see if this is normal? Is the med at fault if the parent either ignores symptoms of a possible side-effect or never looked into the documentation and took measures to check child for any possible problems?

The terrible potential (though still rare) side effects of these meds are now documented. It's not like at when they discovered them where the children showed signs of problems and the MDs went to the documents and found nothing - so waited to see what happened. They know what to expect in 99 percent of the population's variations of affects. A child gets hives - the MD takes the meds away ASAP and applies antihistamines. A child gets chest pains - MD again removes meds and checks child on EKG and supplies heart aiding care and delves deeper into the situation. If every child was watched the way they are supposed to - the meds would have a 99.9999 percent survival rate. It's good now - but can always be better.

Get mad at neglegent docs. Get mad when parents aren't either informed or interested in their child beyond getting them quiet again. don't punish the meds - they do what they are told to.

GlenW38646.4708449074 Oops. Mailbox empty now.

No wonder the anti-drug zealots didnt PM me like I requested :)

davidornado,,,tell me is it fun to try and make fun of peopel on site,,,i have seen different posts from you,,,makes me think you forgot to take your meds,,,,why the reason of it any way Thank-you GlenW, your info is correct...finally a few people that know something about drugs/drug effects and classifications.

MD's say amphetamines (prescribed) are "like" speed, but they are not speed as that is a slang term...not a pharmacology term at all. This is a way to get people to understand the effects in "normal" people. These are NOT the effects in people with ADHD. Methamphetamine is considered to be speed in slang terms, not other amphetamines.

Amphetamines fall under a different classification and one that I have yet to see mentioned on this site. They are part of the class of Norepinephrine and Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors or NDRI's and act much like our much talked about ssRI's (physiologically speaking, not effect speaking). They inhibit the reuptake of Dopamine from the synaptic space which allows for more Dopamine to circulate in the brain and trigger the reactions that this wonderful chemical triggers. In people with ADHD, their brain does not have enough circulating Dopamine to trigger the right synapses or enough synapses, so what little Dopamine they do have has to be continuously available. That is what a reuptake inhibitor will do....stop the uptake of Dopamine. In people without a dopamine deficit ("normal" people) a reuptake inhibitor will increase the amount of dopamine because they already have enough and if it doesn't get re-uptaked so to speak, then they have much to much and get the wonderful "high" effect of having too much dopamine in their brains...they are dope-heads....

These same chemicals used to treat ADHD are used to treat other disorders including, but not limited to: narcolepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome which have both been linked to dopamine issues.

I would draw a picture of the synaptic cleft and the vesicles and the neurotransmitters and how they each work, but I am not much of an artist so you get the above instead.

Ritalin forces the brain to release more dopamine while amphetamines prevent dopamines from being re-used but the effect is virtually the same.

[QUOTE=foggyguy]

Ritalin forces the brain to release more dopamine while amphetamines prevent dopamines from being re-used but the effect is virtually the same.

[/QUOTE]

Big difference though: Ritalin when used as DIRECTED has no or little euphoric effect - it works subtly on the mind with the least side effects. Cocaine however - when used as directed is specifically designed to cause euphoria and a feeling of false well-being. BIG difference. It's only when Ritalin is abused by snorting or used in higher than recommended dosages that the affects become similar.

Same with comparing it to meth (damn big stretch). You have to take ADHD meds with amphetamines at much higher than normal dosages to get anywhere near the same affect.

[QUOTE=chjones]just wanted to put that out there. seeing as everyone apparently has it in for cocaine in such a big way.[/QUOTE]

I don't. If it weren't so prohibitevely expensive nor proscriptively illegal, I'd have it in for cocaine in such a big way!

These last few posts indicate the fractile nature of dialectible English.

e.g. Smartass in Canadian is meant to indicate one thing, whilst in the lingua franca of California it is perceived to engender quite a colloquial, or colonial, as the case may be, origin.

I suppose they drive different, there, also...

I have it on the highest (no pun intended, but certainly appreciated hehe) authority that snorting Ritalin is less effective than oral ingestion, as nasal membranes are less permeable to the a.i. than the gastrointestinal tract.

Therefore, could snorting Ritalin be held as abusive use?

While carefully, but cautiously, considering the snuffling, sniffling, snortee is in possession of prescriptive permission allowing aforesaid's acquisition, custody, care, and consumption.

[QUOTE=GlenW]Cocaine however - when used as directed [/QUOTE]

Hey! I'd like to meet your prescriptor...

[QUOTE=Davidornado]

[QUOTE=GlenW]Cocaine however - when used as directed [/QUOTE]

Hey! I'd like to meet your prescriptor...

[/QUOTE]

Smartass

You know whut I meant - coke used as intended - snorted or smoked in crack form - or injected is intended for the sole purpose of euphoria and stimulation. No other purpose - unless you count the weirdos who use it to torture themselves by applying it to their sex organs in order to numb feeling - I heard it called a "nummer" - when applied by someone.. uh.. orally.

[QUOTE=Davidornado]

These last few posts indicate the fractile nature of dialectible English.

e.g. Smartass in Canadian is meant to indicate one thing, whilst in the lingua franca of California it is perceived to engender quite a colloquial, or colonial, as the case may be, origin.

I suppose they drive different, there, also...

[/QUOTE]

How very interesting - thanks! Learn somethin' new every day!

Yes - we drive different than in Caleeforniuh.. we don't have automatic weapons so when mad at other drivers - we are forced to wave at them and write a heated letter to our local member of parliament at how unhappy we are!

Woo-hoo! Great Idea, Glen!!!

I'm gonna try that next time!

The RED Wave!!!

Wait a sec, that might get ME shot...

Where's my body ardor?

[QUOTE=Davidornado]

Therefore, could snorting Ritalin be held as abusive use?

While carefully, but cautiously, considering the snuffling, sniffling, snortee is in possession of prescriptive permission allowing aforesaid's acquisition, custody, care, and consumption.

[/QUOTE]

Care to quote your source?
� yeah and i just want to say this in defence of cocaine - from some special US govt testing for drugs site - to people who jump up and down and say you will get addicted (because i know loads of people who use it and are NOT addicted):

However, animal studies show "reverse tolerance," with certain behavioral effects becoming stronger upon repeated administration. So the question of tolerance to cocaine remains an area for further research. Patients withdrawing from cocaine experience moderate lethargy and drowsiness, severe headaches, hyperphagia, vivid dreams, and some mental depression. These symptoms usually abate within a few days to a few weeks.
Cocaine usually is taken by one of three routes: intranasal "snorting" is the most common; its "freebase" or "crack" form of the drug is smoked, utilizing the pulmonary route; and intravenous injections.

2. Metabolism and Excretion

Cocaine is rapidly and extensively metabolized by liver and plasma enzymes. The major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, is more persistent; it usually is detected for 2 days after a single dose. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine are not significantly stored in the body; therefore, even after heavy, chronic use urine specimens will be negative when collected a few days after last use.

just wanted to put that out there. seeing as everyone apparently has it in for cocaine in such a big way.

To counter BALANCE other posts, I'm going on record here to state that those who consider Ritalin to be cocaine are sADDly mistaken.

Ritalin is this millenia's wonder drug, a miracle cure for ADHD & ADD.

ADD Exists.

ADHD is a REALITY.

atheiADHDism is BOGUS.

BALANCED society accepts truth.

Nonsense is often spouted by the unbalanced.

Ritalin, ADDerall, Strattera, and their a.i.'s are effective

frontline

medicinal

treatments ritalin isn't cocaine???

oh no!! and i was about to go and get some

WE KNOW, pound for pound, Ritalin costs more

hey not here!!
the pbs has really dropped the price of ritalin.. i became very excited..
cheap cocaine..

only to hear that its not the same

Hey, maybe it's something else, like an ADHD cure? i don't think they are THAT sadly mistaken. but who cares.

Hey, maybe cocaine is an ADHD cure too?

Ritalin is this millenia's wonder drug, a miracle cure for ADHD & ADD.

i am so with you on that one. cocaine is so 20th century guys. i mean get with the picture!!! freud was advocating it as a cure and he is so old hat!

it's like using a bar of soap to wash your clothes when now you have super Tide with extra oxy-technology to make whiter than white. why use the old rubbish.

new and improved - yay! that's what techonology is all about.

but i mean if ritalin hadn't been invented and you knew cocaine could cure your ADD then wouldn't you take it?

like the thousands of MS sufferers who continued to take marijuana despite the threat of imprisonment (!) because it helped their symptoms and pain so much. luckily some more enlightened states have now made it legal - finally!!!! (without thousand of teenagers automatically becoming drug-addicted statistics btw)

c'mon D'O you are always pulling up those nice diagrams of molecules etc. just pull up one of adderall and one of cocaine. if it is bothering you THAT much....

though why it should is a complete mystery to me!

a drug is a drug is a drug. no matter what it is called or who manufactures it -- the bit that works in cocaine is very likely exactly the same bit that makes adderall effective. just now we got rid of some of the more nasty side-effects that cocaine had previously. good! fine! hooray!

i should give a sh*t if on a molecular level it is exactly the same or completely different. why is it such a big deal?????????

[QUOTE=chjones]i don't think they are THAT sadly mistaken. but who cares.

Hey, maybe cocaine is an ADHD cure too?

Ritalin is this millenia's wonder drug, a miracle cure for ADHD & ADD.

i am so with you on that one. cocaine is so 20th century guys. i mean get with the picture!!! [/QUOTE]

Hmmm, where'd I put that picture?

[quote=brookelea]
International Consensus Statement on ADHD
January 2002

We, the undersigned consortium of international scientists, are deeply concerned about the periodic inaccurate portrayal of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in media reports. This is a disorder with which we are all very familiar and toward which many of us have dedicated scientific studies if not entire careers. We fear that inaccurate stories rendering ADHD as myth, fraud, or benign condition may cause thousands of sufferers not to seek treatment for their disorder. It also leaves the public with a general sense that this disorder is not valid or real or consists of a rather trivial affliction.

We have created this consensus statement on ADHD as a reference on the status of the scientific findings concerning this disorder, its validity, and its adverse impact on the lives of those diagnosed with the disorder as of this writing (January 2002).

Occasional coverage of the disorder casts the story in the form of a sporting event with evenly matched competitors. The views of a handful of non-expert doctors that ADHD does not exist are contrasted against mainstream scientific views that it does, as if both views had equal merit. Such attempts at balance give the public the impression that there is substantial scientific disagreement over whether ADHD is a real medical condition. In fact, there is no such disagreement --at least no more so than there is over whether smoking causes cancer, for example, or whether a virus causes HIV/AIDS.

The U.S. Surgeon General, the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), among others, all recognize ADHD as a valid disorder. While some of these organizations have issued guidelines for evaluation and management of the disorder for their membership, this is the first consensus statement issued by an independent consortium of leading scientists concerning the status of the disorder. Among scientists who have devoted years, if not entire careers, to the study of this disorder there is no controversy regarding its existence.

ADHD and Science

We cannot over emphasize the point that, as a matter of science, the notion that ADHD does not exist is simply wrong. All of the major medical associations and government health agencies recognize ADHD as a genuine disorder because the scientific evidence indicating it is so is overwhelming.

Various approaches have been used to establish whether a condition rises to the level of a valid medical or psychiatric disorder. A very useful one stipulates that there must be scientifically established evidence that those suffering the condition have a serious deficiency in or failure of a physical or psychological mechanism that is universal to humans. That is, all humans normally would be expected, regardless of culture, to have developed that mental ability.

And there must be equally incontrovertible scientific evidence that this serious deficiency leads to harm to the individual. Harm is established through evidence of increased mortality, morbidity, or impairment in the major life activities required of one's developmental stage in life. Major life activities are those domains of functioning such as education, social relationships, family functioning, independence and self-sufficiency, and occupational functioning that all humans of that developmental level are expected to perform.

As attested to by the numerous scientists signing this document, there is no question among the world's leading clinical researchers that ADHD involves a serious deficiency in a set of psychological abilities and that these deficiencies pose serious harm to most individuals possessing the disorder. Current evidence indicates that deficits in behavioral inhibition and sustained attention are central to this disorder -- facts demonstrated through hundreds of scientific studies. And there is no doubt that ADHD leads to impairments in major life activities, including social relations, education, family functioning, occupational functioning, self-sufficiency, and adherence to social rules, norms, and laws. Evidence also indicates that those with ADHD are more prone to physical injury and accidental poisonings. This is why no professional medical, psychological, or scientific organization doubts the existence of ADHD as a legitimate disorder.

The central psychological deficits in those with ADHD have now been linked through numerous studies using various scientific methods to several specific brain regions (the frontal lobe, its connections to the basal ganglia, and their relationship to the central aspects of the cerebellum). Most neurological studies find that as a group those with ADHD have less brain electrical activity and show less reactivity to stimulation in one or more of these regions. And neuro-imaging studies of groups of those with ADHD also demonstrate relatively smaller areas of brain matter and less metabolic activity of this brain matter than is the case in control groups used in these studies.

These same psychological deficits in inhibition and attention have been found in numerous studies of identical and fraternal twins conducted across various countries (US, Great Britain, Norway, Australia, etc.) to be primarily inherited. The genetic contribution to these traits is routinely found to be among the highest for any psychiatric disorder (70-95% of trait variation in the population), nearly approaching the genetic contribution to human height. One gene has recently been reliably demonstrated to be associated with this disorder and the search for more is underway by more than 12 different scientific teams worldwide at this time.

Numerous studies of twins demonstrate that family environment makes no significant separate contribution to these traits. This is not to say that the home environment, parental management abilities, stressful life events, or deviant peer relationships are unimportant or have no influence on individuals having this disorder, as they certainly do. Genetic tendencies are expressed in interaction with the environment. Also, those having ADHD often have other associated disorders and problems, some of which are clearly related to their social environments. But it is to say that the underlying psychological deficits that comprise ADHD itself are not solely or primarily the result of these environmental factors.

This is why leading international scientists, such as the signers below, recognize the mounting evidence of neurological and genetic contributions to this disorder. This evidence, coupled with countless studies on the harm posed by the disorder and hundreds of studies on the effectiveness of medication, buttresses the need in many, though by no means all, cases for management of the disorder with multiple therapies. These include medication combined with educational, family, and other social accommodations. This is in striking contrast to the wholly unscientific views of some social critics in periodic media accounts that ADHD constitutes a fraud, that medicating those afflicted is questionable if not reprehensible, and that any behavior problems associated with ADHD are merely the result of problems in the home, excessive viewing of TV or playing of video games, diet, lack of love and attention, or teacher/school intolerance.

ADHD is not a benign disorder. For those it afflicts, ADHD can cause devastating problems. Follow-up studies of clinical samples suggest that sufferers are far more likely than normal people to drop out of school (32-40%), to rarely complete college (5-10%), to have few or no friends (50-70%), to under perform at work (70-80%), to engage in antisocial activities (40-50%), and to use tobacco or illicit drugs more than normal. Moreover, children growing up with ADHD are more likely to experience teen pregnancy (40%) and sexually transmitted diseases (16%), to speed excessively and have multiple car accidents, to experience depression (20-30%) and personality disorders (18-25%) as adults, and in hundreds of other ways mismanage and endanger their lives.

Yet despite these serious consequences, studies indicate that less than half of those with the disorder are receiving treatment. The media can help substantially to improve these circumstances. It can do so by portraying ADHD and the science about it as accurately and responsibly as possible while not purveying the propaganda of some social critics and fringe doctors whose political agenda would have you and the public believe there is no real disorder here. To publish stories that ADHD is a fictitious disorder or merely a conflict between today's Huckleberry Finns and their caregivers is tantamount to declaring the earth flat, the laws of gravity debatable, and the periodic table in chemistry a fraud. ADHD should be depicted in the media as realistically and accurately as it is depicted in science -- as a valid disorder having varied and substantial adverse impact on those who may suffer from it through no fault of their own or their parents and teachers.

Sincerely,
Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.
Professor
Depts. Of Psychiatry and Neurology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, MA 01655

Edwin H. Cook, Jr., M.D.
Professor
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
University of Chicago
5841 S. Maryland Ave.
Chicago, IL

Mina Dulcan, M.D.
Professor
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
2300 Children's Plaza #10
Children's Memorial Hospital
Chicago, IL 60614
Susan Campbell, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
4015 O'Hara Street
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Margot Prior, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
Royal Children's Hospital
Parkville, 3052 VIC
Australia

Marc Atkins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Institute for Juvenile Research
Department of Psychiatry
840 South Wood Street, Suite 130
Chicago, IL 60612-7347

Christopher Gillberg, M.D.
Professor
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
University of Gothenburg
Gothenburg, Sweden Mary Solanto-Gardner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Mt. Sinai Medical Center
One Gustave L. Levy Place
New York, NY 10029-6574

Jeffrey Halperin, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Psychology
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Ave.
Flushing, NY 11367

Jose J. Bauermeister, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Psychology
University of Puerto Rico
San Juan, PR 00927

Steven R. Pliszka, M.D.
Associate Professor and Chief
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
University of Texas Health Sciences Center
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, TX 78229-3900

Mark A. Stein, Ph.D.
Chair of Psychology
Children's National Medical Center and
Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics
George Washington Univ. Med. School
111 Michigan Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20010

John S. Werry, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Psychiatry
University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

Joseph Sergeant, Ph.D.
Chair of Clinical Neuropsychology
Free University
Van der Boecharst Straat 1
De Boelenlaan 1109
1018 BT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, College of Health Professions
Professor of Pediatrics
Medical University of South Carolina
19 Hagood Avenue
P. O. Box 250822
Charleston, SC 29425

Alan Zametkin, M.D.
Child Psychiatrist
Kensington, MD

Arthur D. Anastopoulos, Ph.D.
Professor, Co-Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P. O. Box 26164
Greensboro, NC 27402-6164

James J. McGough, M.D.
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
UCLA School of Medicine
760 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024

George J. DuPaul, Ph.D.
Professor of School Psychology
Lehigh University
111 Research Drive, Hilltop Campus
Bethlehem, PA 18015 Stephen V. Faraone, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Harvard University
750 Washington St., Suite 255
South Easton, MA 02375

Florence Levy, M.D.
Associate Professor
School of Psychiatry
University of New South Wales
Avoca Clinic
Joynton Avenue
Zetland, NSW, 2017, Australia

Mariellen Fischer, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Neurology
Medical College of Wisconsin
9200 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53226

Joseph Biederman, M.D.
Professor and Chief
Joint Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology
Massachusetts General Hospital and
Harvard Medical School
15 Parkman St., WACC725
Boston, MA 02114

Cynthia Hartung, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Oklahoma State University
215 North Murray
Stillwater, OK 74078

Stephen Houghton, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Director,
Centre for Attention & Related Disorders
The University of Western Australia
Perth, Australia

Gabrielle Carlson, M.D.
Professor and Director,
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
State University of New York at Stony Brook, Putnam Hall
Stony Brook, NY 11794

Charlotte Johnston, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of British Columbia
2136 West Mall
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 Thomas Spencer, M.D.
Associate Professor and Assistant Director,
Pediatric Psychopharmacology
Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts General Hospital
15 Parkman St., WACC725
Boston, MA 02114

Thomas Joiner, Ph.D.
The Bright-Burton Professor of Psychology
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270

Rosemary Tannock, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry,
Brain and Behavior Research
Hospital for Sick Children
55 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X8

Adele Diamond, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Center for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Shriver Center
Trapelo Rd.
Waltham, MA

Carol Whalen, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology and Social Behavior
University of California at Irvine
3340 Social Ecology II
Irvine, CA 02215

Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Psychology #1650
University of California at Berkeley
3210 Tolman Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1650

Herbert Quay, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
University of Miami
2525 Gulf of Mexico Drive, #5C
Long Boat Key, FL 34228

John Piacentini, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute
760 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759

Philip Firestone, Ph.D.
Professor
Departments of Psychology & Psychiatry
University of Ottawa
120 University Priv.
Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5

Salvatore Mannuzza, M.D.
Research Professor of Psychiatry
New York University School of Medicine
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Keith McBurnett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of California at San Francisco
Children's Center at Langley Porter
401 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0984
San Francisco, CA 94143

Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of California at San Francisco
Children's Center at Langley Porter
401 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0984
San Francisco, CA 94143

Oscar Bukstein, M.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
3811 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Ken C. Winters, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Center for Adolescent
Substance Abuse Research
Department of Psychiatry
University of Minnesota
F282/2A West, 2450 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454

Michelle DeKlyen, Ph.D.
Office of Population Research
Princeton University
286 Wallace
Princeton, NJ 08544

Lily Hechtman M.D. F.R.C.P.
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics,
Director of Research,
Division of Child Psychiatry,
McGill University, and
Montreal Childrens Hospital.
4018 St. Catherine St. West.,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. H3Z-1P2

Caryn Carlson, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
Mezes 330
Austin, TX 78712

Donald R. Lynam, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky
Department of Psychology
125 Kastle Hall
Lexington, KY 40506-0044

Lisa L. Weyandt, Ph.D.
Professor, Dept. of Psychology
Central Washington University
400 East 8th Avenue
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7575

Michael Gordon, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Director,
Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Services, & Director,
ADHD Program
SUNY Upstate Medical University
750 East Adams Street
Syracuse, NY 13210

Patrick H. Tolan Ph.D.
Director, Institute for Juvenile Research
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Illinois at Chicago
840 S. Wood Street
Chicago, IL 60612

Jan Loney, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Lodge Associates (Box 9)
Mayslick, KY 41055

Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D.
Arnold and Debbie Simon
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
and Director of the NYU Child Study Center

Richard Milich, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0044

Laurence Greenhill, M.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Columbia University
Director, Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology
New York State Psychiatric Institute
1051 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10032

Eric J. Mash, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive N.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

Russell Schachar, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5G 1X8

Eric Taylor
Professor of Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry
London, England

Betsy Hoza, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology, #1364
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1364

Mark. D. Rapport, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
P.O. Box 161390
University of Central Florida
Orlando, Florida 32816-1390

Bruce Pennington, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Denver
2155 South Race Street
Denver, CO 80208

Anita Thapar MB BCh, MRCPsych, PhD
Professor,
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section
Dept of Psychological Medicine
University of Wales College of Medicine
Heath Park, Cardiff
CF14 4XN United Kingdom

Ann Teeter, Ed.D.
Director of Training, School Psychology
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Stephen Shapiro, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Auburn University
226 Thach
Auburn, AL 36849-5214

Avi Sadeh, D.Sc
Director, Clinical Child Psychology Graduate Program
Director, The Laboratory for Children's Sleep Disorders
Department of Psychology
Tel-Aviv University
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978
ISRAEL

Bennett L. Leventhal, M.D.
Irving B. Harris Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Director, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Vice Chairman, Dept. of Psychiatry
The University of Chicago
5841 S. Maryland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637

Hector R. Bird, M.D.
Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons
1051 Riverside Drive (Unit 78)
New York, NY 10032

Carl E. Paternite, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056

Mary A. Fristad, PhD, ABPP
Professor, Psychiatry & Psychology
Director, Research & Psychological Services
Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
The Ohio State University
1670 Upham Drive Suite 460G
Columbus, OH 43210-1250

Brooke Molina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
3811 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Sheila Eyberg, PhD, ABPP
Professor of Clinical &Health Psychology
Box 100165
1600 SW Archer Blvd.
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32610

Rob McGee,PhD
Associate Professor,
Department of Preventive & Social Medicine,
University of Otago Medical School,
Box 913 Dunedin,
New Zealand.

Terri L. Shelton, Ph.D.
Director
Center for the Study of Social Issues
University of North Carolina - Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27402

Steven W. Evans, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
MSC 1902
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Sandra K. Loo, Ph.D.
Research Psychologist
University of California, Los Angeles
Neuropsychiatric Institute
760 Westwood Plaza, Rm 47-406
Los Angeles, CA 90024

William Pelham, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Center Children and Families
State University of New York at Buffalo
318 Diefendorf Hall
3435 Main Street, Building 20
Buffalo, NY 14214

J. Bart Hodgens, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
of Psychology and Pediatrics
Civitan International Research Center
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL 35914

Terje Sagvolden, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Physiology
University of Oslo
N-0316 Oslo, Norway

Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Psychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, CT

Daniel F. Connor, M.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical School
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, MA 01655

Daniel A. Waschbusch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Director, Child Behaviour Program
Department of Psychology
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS B3H 4R1 CANADA

Kevin R. Murphy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical School
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, MA 01655

Michael Aman, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
The Nisonger Center
Ohio State University
1581 Dodd Drive
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.

Blythe Corbett, Ph.D.
M.I.N.D. Institute
University of California, Davis
4860 Y Street, Suite 3020
Sacramento, CA 95817

Deborah L. Anderson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department Pediatrics
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC 29425

Lawrence Lewandowski, Ph.D.
Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence
Department of Psychology
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Howard Abikoff, Ph.D. Pevaroff Cohn
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
NYU School of Medicine
Director of Research
NYU Child Study Center
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016

[/quote]

Sorry, no resemblence, in chemical structure, nor pharmacology, of methylphenidate, ecgonine methyl ester benzoate, or the latter's metabolite, benzoylecgonine.

Their only similarity may be an effect on serotonin reuptake through inhibition of the serotonin transport system. However, this is only postulated at this time. There are three other areas where cocaine is significantly different: it's influence on norepinephrine reuptake, serotonin reuptake, and sodium channelling. Any combination of the four different modes of action has a logarithmic increase in the complexity of activity in the cerebral environment.

That ecgonine methyl ester benzoate's metabolite, benzoylecgonine, would be similar in structure or activity to methylphenidate is also untenable.

Methylphenidate

methylaphenyl-2-piperidylacetate

MPH is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, which means that it increases the level of the dopamine neurotransmitter in the brain by partially blocking the transporters that remove it from the synapses.

Cocaine

ecgonine methyl ester benzoate

3-benzoyloxy-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo [3.2.1]octane-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester

Cocaine is a potent blocker of the dopamine transporter (DAT) and a less potent blocker of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and serotonin transporter (SERT). Cocaine also blocks sodium channels, thereby interfering with the propagation of action potentials; thus, like lidocaine and novocaine, it acts as a local anesthetic.

Benzoylecgonine

3-benzoyloxy-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-4-carboxylic acid

Benzoylecgonine is the major metabolite of cocaine. It is formed by hydrolysis of cocaine in the liver, catalysed by carboxylesterases.