Death By Drugs

An 8-year-old suffered a stroke. Family history and risk factors other than Ritalin use were absent. "Stroke is a well-documented complication of amphetamine abuse," the authors of one study commented.⁴⁵

There have been over
750 adverse reactions
to an ADHD stimulant
between 1990 and 2000

• The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), MedWatch program, a voluntary system for reporting complications from drug usage, reported the following adverse reactions from methylphenidate (the main stimulant used for "ADHD") between 1990-1997: 160 deaths; 569 hospitalizations, 36 of which were life-threatening; 949 central or peripheral nervous system occurrences; 126 cardiovascular (heart) occurrences.⁴⁶ Consider that this reporting system may only represent between 1% and 10% of the actual adverse reactions from this drug.⁴⁷

• Between 1997 and 2000, there were an additional 26 deaths attributed to methylphenidate (all prescription forms of it) bringing the total reported to FDA, MedWatch for the decade, 1990-2000, to 186.⁴⁸

• In 2001, there was one report of a 14-year-old who experienced a fatal cardiac arrest while skateboarding, after 8 years of Ritalin treatment. According to a Doctors for Disaster Preparedness newsletter, "Autopsy showed scarring in small blood vessels (WorldNetDaily 5/7/00)."⁴⁹

• "Methylphenidate [is] chemically and pharmacologically similar to amphetamine... The possibility of vasculitis connected to methylphenidate should not be surprising."⁵⁰