By Maia Szalavitz, Senior Fellow, STATS
Watch for widespread panic over a new press release from the National Institute on Drug Abuse finding that Ritalin has similar effects to cocaine in the brains of mice, excerpted here. The fear raised by this finding is that giving children Ritalin could increase their later risk of addiction by causing changes to the brain similar to those seen in cocaine addiction.
Commenting in the release, NIDA director Nora Volkow said,
Studies to date suggest that prescribed use of methylphenidate in patients with ADHD does not increase their risk for subsequent addiction…This study highlights the fact that we know very little about how methylphenidate affects the structure of and communication between brain cells.”
That’s all true; however, even if mice had exactly the same brain changes as humans, this study would not prove that Ritalin as used in treatment causes the same changes as recreational cocaine use. That’s because most children take Ritalin orally—and the mice were injected with it.
A great deal of research shows that route of administration is critically important in the development of addiction: drugs that reach the brain quickly like injectables are far more addictive than those taken orally.
It’s true that the cocaine in the study was also injected—but it’s also the case that injecting cocaine is far more likely to produce addiction than snorting or eating it is. Similarly, smoking crack is more addictive than snorting powder, because smoking gets the drug to the brain about as fast as injecting, some claim faster.
If your child is injecting his Ritalin, this study might give you reason for concern—but if your child is shooting anything, you don’t need a study to tell you to worry!
Posted by Trevor Butterworth 
