Methylphenidate
Pronunciation:meth-ill-FEN-i-dait
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:113-45-1. (Hydrochloride form
298-59-9)
Formal Names:Concerta, Metadate CD, Metadate ER, Methylin, Ritalin
Informal Names:Pellets, Rities, West Coast. Combination withpentazocine:
Crackers, 1s & 1s, Poor Man’s Heroin, Ritz & Ts, Sets, Ts & Rits, Ts & Rs.
Combination withheroin: Speedball
Type:Stimulant (amphetamine class).Seepage 12
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule II (DEA no. 1724)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:C
Uses.Methylphenidate became available in the 1940s. The drug is fast acting
and long lasting. Although not a true amphetamine, methylphenidate has
properties similar todextroamphetamine(including appetite suppression and
sleep disruption) but is less potent.
Methylphenidate’s prime medical use is for managing attention deficit hy-
peractivity disorder (ADHD), a condition in which people are so excitable that
they have severe problems with social interactions. The affliction is more com-
mon in children than adults, and methylphenidate seems more effective
against ADHD in children, though one study finds the drug to have little
influence on long-term outcome. Limited success is seen in experimental usage
of the drug to help autistic children. A case report says a regimen of that drug
and the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) cured a young kleptomaniac. Among
adults methylphenidate is typically prescribed for narcolepsy and has also
been used successfully against apathy and depression. Despite the drug’s oc-
casional tendency to increase blood pressure, studies find the substance prom-
ising for rehabilitation of persons recovering from stroke and other brain
injuries, not only improving mood but also helping ability to move.
In volume of use, methylphenidate has been called the predominant med-
ically prescribed psychoactive drug among American juveniles. A survey of
approximately 200,000 prescription records of preschool children found about
1% of them to be receiving stimulants in the 1990s, and almost all those pre-
scriptions were for methylphenidate. By the decade’s end, two medical au-
thorities put the school-age population’s stimulant prescription figure as high