|
Children, Drugs, the "Ice" Problem -and ways out- Michael T. Hyson, Ph.D -July 21, 2003
<br /> Children, Drugs, the "Ice" Problem -and ways out
<br /> B~ Michael T. Hvson, Ph.D., Research Director, Sirius Institute. Puna. Ha~~ai~i
<br /> (ulanetpuna(nwahoo.com, www.ulanetpuna.com, www.planetpuna.com/si.htm)
<br /> This island, state, and nation have a serious "ice" and cocaine problem. It is reported that
<br /> some 90% of local Child Protective Services cases involve "ice" or methamphetamines and
<br /> related drugs. At the same time, the number of children being classed as AD, HD, ADHD
<br /> and prescribed stimulants and other drugs is increasing. Some districts have put up to 25%
<br /> of the children on drugs. These situations are linked.
<br /> Ritalin (methylphenidate) binds to the same receptor in the brain as cocaine, and is, in fact,
<br /> more effective than cocaine, and while chemically different, the effects of Ritalin and
<br /> Cocaine aze the same. Another drug commonly used in these cases is Adderol which
<br /> contains methamphetamine - "ice") This is considered accepted medical treatment and
<br /> enforced on children and parents by the Child Protective Services and related agencies.
<br /> Parents that wish to apply alternate treatments, as part of seeking the best for their children,
<br /> may have their children taken by force.
<br /> Now we see that part of the "ice", cocaine and crack use comes from adults, treated for years
<br /> with Ritalin and Adderol ("ice" & "cocaine" equivalents), even starting at ages of 2-4. These
<br /> drugs have yet to be tested or approved for children. Similar situations obtain in the use of
<br /> Prozac, Paxil, and other drugs that are known to have severe side-effects in adults, and the
<br /> cffccts in children are beyond our knowledge. Drugging of children predisposes them to
<br /> drug abuse, hence the current and growing use of"ice", cocaine and other stimulant drugs.
<br /> All this is happening with little data showing that these drugs "prescribed" for our children
<br /> are even effective as treatments for ADHD and similar conditions.
<br /> Further, many diagnoses are wrong because the diagnostic criteria for hyperactivity aze
<br /> crude, arbitrary, and poorly quantified, requiring a large measare of judgement on the part of
<br />
<br /> the diagnostician. It was once thought that valid rates of hyperactivity might be, at most, 2%,
<br />
<br /> much lower than the rates now being claimed.
<br /> A medical model proposed by Dr. Ivan Mefford and supported by the work of
<br /> neurophysiologist Dr. John Pettigrew and others offers understanding - and a way out.
<br /> According to Dr. Pettigrew, a group of nerve cells, the Locus Coeruleus, in the brain stem,
<br />
<br /> can become hyperactive and flood the brain with norepinephrine, leading to ahyper-attentive
<br /> state, just like that seen in hyperactive children and which is similaz to the normal state of
<br /> rabbits. Locus Coeruleus hyperactivity occurs when adrenaline levels are too low. This can
<br /> occur as a result of trauma and lead to traumatic stress disorders.
<br /> A person overwhelmed by chronic stress will over-stress the adrenal glands and they will
<br /> eventually shut down, leading to low adrenaline levels. Mefford proposes that this is
<br /> occurring in children, so that many of the children presenting with hyperactivity syndromes
<br />
<br /> may, in fact, be already suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), even at the
<br /> 1
<br />
<br />
|