By Tony DiGirolamo

The news media ... Big Media are not going to cover a horror story about a prescription drug like Ritalin.

However, at CultureShockTV.com, this will not go away and we will continue to bring it to your attention.

Which brings us to a recent story by NBC4.TV, Los Angeles, High School Students Possibly Overdose On Ritalin: Pills Found In One Student's Possession. 'Several Antelope Valley High School students displaying hyperactive behavior were taken to hospitals Wednesday for treatment of possible overdoses of the prescription drug Ritalin, authorities said. '

For Big Media it is a slippery slope to the ZoloftProzacPaxillRX advertising dollars being raked in from Pharmaceutical companies. Big Drugs!

So this story which should have received wider coverage barley made it beyond a local broadcast in Los Angeles.

The door was opened for broadcasters allowing prescription drug ads in recent years.

You know those spots that tell you how wonderful their product is ... and turn up the music when the killer side effects are mumbled in the announcers sweet voice. Come on! Do they think where stupid here, or what?

America ... you're buying it in record numbers.

Here's the medicine your giving your kids ...

Barbara Norden, in her Op-ed here at Culture Shock, Backlash from Ritalin? What Do You Really Know About ADHD Drugs?!
... says this, "By far the most popular drug used for the treatment of ADD/ADHD is Ritalin. Manufactured by Ciba-Geigy, it holds about 93% of the behavior-control market. Ritalin is the brand name for the generic drug Methyphenidate, which has almost the identical chemical compounds as Cocaine."

Cocaine?!

Norden continues, "In other words, Ritalin has the same effect as Cocaine on the brain, only it doesn't wear off as fast. According to the DEA, Ritalin is the number 2 drug illegally sold in our schools today, but still they continue to portray it as non-addictive."

Weren't the schools Drug free zones? Hardly.

"The average age of those abusing Ritalin today? 10 to 14, ladies and gentleman. In that age group, Ritalin is more popular than Cocaine, no doubt due to it's availability. Our schools tell them "Just Say No" to drugs, and then hand Ritalin out like it's candy. They may treat it like aspirin, but it most definitely is not," Norden said.


The NBC.tv story tells us, 'A 14-year-old girl had given "a large quantity of pills" to her classmates and at least 11 teens became ill enough to be transported to hospitals, Perez said.'

The report said, 'Authorities suspect at least two teens brought the pills to school, giving some away and selling some.'

Back to Nordens Op-ed, wait a minute, this from Big Media, 'ABC's 20/20 show (October 1995) revealed that children are snorting Ritalin, teachers are stealing it, parents are selling it... Tim Benedick of the Ohio State Pharmacy Board made this statement on the same show, "It [Ritalin] is highly addictive. It is speed."'

That was in 1995! Would they do this story today ... Nahhh.

This by Carry McLaren, ADVERTISING CAN RUIN YOUR HEALTH, 'It is, in other words, eerily fitting for drugs to be sold as consumer products, because products—whether cookies, diet drinks, or cigarettes—have long been sold as drugs, as magical cures. ... Just like knowledge, art, music, and love, health is packaged to be consumed. Hyperactive kids once needed strict parents (and perhaps a severe beating). Now they get a dose of Ritalin. Seeing the doctor doesn’t really count unless you come away with medicine.'

We don't have to look too far to find the contradictions in our culture in order to continue selling a prescription drug similar in its effect as cocaine.

And, then we give it to our babies to mellow them down so they won't be any inconvenience in our lives.

Mainly given to boys for merely acting as boys ... Remember "boys will be boys" these days that is offensive behavior.

This is what the Big Drug companies won't tell you ... And Big Media won't report "fair and balanced".

The following should shock you ... if it doesn't your reading this under the influence of some psych med.

Once again Barbara Norden, 'Ritalin can cause what is called "toxic psychosis", a syndrome that usually occurs in overdoses, but has been reported in individuals taking standard doses. Symptoms of toxic psychosis include hallucinations, delirium, and sometimes violent behavior. A recent report also notes that Ritalin can interact with anesthesia in unexpected ways, possibly endangering children requiring surgery.

To really put the icing on the Ritalin cake, come to find out that some of the most influential research that has been conducted on the drug turned out later to be a complete fraud. According to Dr. Sydney Walker : "The initial Ritalin boom in the 1980's was fueled in part by positive data reported by Stephen Breuning, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. Breuning later became quite famous for this research, but not for the reasons you'd expect. Investigaators at the National Institute of Mental Health discovered, in the mid-1980's, that Breuning had not actually conducted most of the research he was reporting. Billy Goodman notes in The Scientest (March 18, 1996) that "in 1988, Breuning became the first independent researcher in the United States to be indicted on research fraud, and ultimately pled guilty to two charges of filing false reports." Breuning also was involved in research on Dexedrine, another drug used to treat hyperactivity."'

Back to the NBC4.tv story, Ritalin Overdose, '"We did confiscated a large number of Ritalin tablets. I would say in excess of 150," said school principal Mark Bryant.

Where's the outrage?!

Bill O'Reilly, on this one what have you done for us lately.

Contact Tony DiGirolamo the executive producer of Culture Shock: tdigirolamo@cultureshocktv.com