Bid to stop schoolyard dealing in Ritalin

By GREGG WYCHERLEY and NZPA

A Waikato high school has banned students from carrying the prescription drug Ritalin - a relative of speed - following concerns it is being sold in the playground for $5 a tablet.

Students at Hamilton's Fraser High School who use Ritalin will now have to hand their supply to the school's medical centre rather than carry it in their bags.

Principal Martin Elliott said there had been too many occasions when students had brought their newly filled prescriptions to school then sold the tablets to their friends.

To stop the problems, students' Ritalin - which helps control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - will be stored at the medical centre and administered to the students when they need it.

Mr Elliott said if parents were unhappy with that option they were welcome to visit the school and give their children the medicine when required.

Ritalin is chemically related to the illegal drug methamphetamine (speed).

"It's not as potent as speed. It's usually a poor man's substitute for the real stuff," said child psychiatrist Emeritus Professor John Werry.

Central North Island Ministry of Education spokesman John Tait said other schools around the country had similar problems, but they were sporadic.

Two years ago police had been concerned that parents were pressuring doctors to prescribe Ritalin for their children so they could sell it themselves on a growing black market.

Other Waikato schools had experienced problems, but restrictions preventing students from carrying the drug had solved most cases.

Mr Elliott said it was hard to judge how often the drug was sold at Fraser High but it was frequent enough for the school to take preventive action.

More than 50 students at Fraser High were on the prescription drug and many already handed their supply to medical staff.

The new ruling would formalised an old practice.

Mr Elliott said cleaners had found foil containers used to dispense the drug lying about the school grounds.

Detective Senior Sergeant Russell Le Prou, who is in charge of the Hamilton City CIB, said he was not aware of any serious incidents of students selling prescription drugs in schools.

Mr Le Prou said Ritalin calmed down hyperactive students, but had the opposite affect on a non-hyperactive adult.

"It acts like speed and gets them all hyped up."

Mr Le Prou said police would be happy to visit any schools where there was a concern about drug abuse.

He praised Fraser High's preventive measures.

Professor Werry said the introduction of a long-acting version of Ritalin had meant that about 85 per cent of children taking the drug could go without a lunchtime dose.

A newer long-acting version of the drug now available overseas might mean the rest could do likewise, but it was not available in New Zealand.

Further reading
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