Please note that diversion of Ritalin or prescribing without a medical
indication would be illegal and risky.
Here is a quote from one paper:
"There are concerns that methylphenidate is being diverted from
legitimate use and that abuse is on the rise among preteens, teens,
and college students. Many published reports of methylphenidate
toxicity involve methylphenidate abuse. Although methylphenidate has
abuse potential, there is disagreement about the extent to which it is
being abused. Data from the US Drug Enforcement Agency and media
suggest that methylphenidate abuse is becoming a significant problem.
Production of methylphenidate, a schedule II controlled substance with
strict government quotas on the quantity manufactured, increased
eightfold between 1990 and 1999 [15?]. In 1995, the Drug Enforcement
Agency reported a 600% increase in methylphenidate prescriptions since
1990 [16]. There was a sixfold increase in methylphenidate mentions to
the Drug Abuse Warning Network between 1990 and 1995. A study of 161
students on methylphenidate found that 16% of the 73 survey
respondents had been asked by other students to trade, sell, or give
them their stimulant medication [17]. In 48 of 60 animal and human
studies analyzed to assess methylphenidate's abuse potential,
methylphenidate was found to cause reinforcing,
discriminative-stimulus, or subjective effects comparable with those
caused by d-amphetamine or cocaine [15?]. In nondrug-abusing
volunteers, methylphenidate has been shown to function as a
reinforcer, a strong predictor of abuse potential [18]."
The paper goes on to discuss addiction potential:
"Street names for methylphenidate include vitamin R, R-ball, and
Skippy. Tablets sell for approximately $5.00 on the street, compared
with a wholesale price for legitimately obtained drug of $0.28 to
$1.03 [16]. Methylphenidate is difficult to synthesize, so drug
diversion rather than manufacture is believed to be the primary source
of drug for abuse. In addition to oral use, methylphenidate can be
abused intranasally by crushing the tablets and snorting the powder or
parenterally by dissolving the powder in water and injecting it.
Intranasal and intravenous use are preferred by people taking the drug
to induce euphoria, whereas oral abuse is preferred for the purpose of
trying to stay awake [19]. Delivery to the brain and onset of action
is rapid with intranasal and intravenous administration. Intravenous
administration of methylphenidate causes a euphoric sensation similar
to that of as intravenous cocaine [20]. This effect is consistent with
the finding that regional distribution and receptor binding sites in
the human brain are almost identical for methylphenidate and cocaine.
Both drugs bind to the dopamine transporter, and peak uptake in the
brain is similar. However, differences in the duration of peak
concentrations in the brain may account for the lower incidence of
methylphenidate abuse compared with cocaine abuse. Slower egress of
methylphenidate from the brain may decrease drug craving compared with
cocaine."
Klein-Schwartz W. Abuse and toxicity of methylphenidate. Current
Opinion in Pediatrics. 14(2):219-23, 2002 Apr.
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