Sadly, studies on the ability of these drugs to truly increase learning, tell us that academic improvement is often short lived. Although students become more compliant and follow the rules better, many also suffer from serious side effects and the challenge of drug abuse issues. We believe that no human being, in the name of behavior and learning, should have to endure the kind of side effects parents, teachers and physicians have observed repeatedly in children taking these drugs. Many children become robotic, spacey, listless, anxious and emotionless. They often lose their appetite, lose too much weight, develop nausea, stomach aches, headaches, facial tics, insomnia and depressive states.
Some children even become suicidal.
A major authoritative listing on all drugs, The Physicians Desk Reference, lists more than 25 adverse reactions from the use of Ritalin. In addition to the side effects, another big danger is the abuse potential of these drugs. This now equals or exceeds reports for the same age group involving cocaine. Of further note, is the fact that the DEA lists Ritalin and Dexedrine as Schedule II drugs. Drugs are scheduled into five classes based on their abuse potential.