As scientific as the name may sound ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ and ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’ (AD/HD) are alleged and somewhat mysterious ‘diseases’ of which, despite numerous studies dedicated to investigating their cause, no convincing evidence of any brain malfunction or other biological or genetic abnormality has been discovered.
Inquiries to poison control centers about teenage abuse of drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased by 76 percent over the last eight years, indicating a surge in rates of the abuse itself, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Memorial Center and published in the journal Pediatrics.
Ritalin remains one of the primary drugs prescribed for children with supposed behavioral problems. Rather than be encouraged to modify diet and increase exercise, children are being given drugs by their doctors instead. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health has revealed that popular Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) drugs like Ritalin are responsible for causing sudden death in many children.
Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, said marijuana is a “cognitive disorganizer” that produces roughly the same effect in users as those associated with ADHD. “The active ingredient in pot, THC, causes short-term memory problems and inattention,” Hinshaw said, “the very same things you want a medicine for ADHD to help alleviate.” However, Lester Grinspoon, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, states,
“I’d have no hesitation of giving a youngster with ADHD a trial of oral marijuana.”
Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton said doctors should be opting for non-drug treatments rather than reaching for the prescription pad. ‘This data shows that increasingly health professionals are prescribing drugs to treat child mental health problems, when evidence suggests that talking therapies can have an equal, if not better effect.