DOES giving hyperactive children the drug Ritalin make them more likely to
abuse cocaine, as some claim? No, suggests the latest study—it may
actually do the opposite. But the strength of the deterrent effect may vary with
the age at which it is taken.
The findings, based on experiments done with rats, add yet another twist to
the debate over Ritalin’s effects
(New Scientist, 18 April 1998, p 18). “It
raises interesting questions,” says Alan Zametkin, a psychiatrist at the
National Institute of Mental Health near Washington DC. But he says it’s not
clear whether the findings apply…
