Source: The Australian Contact: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/ Pubdate: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 Author: Trudy Harris BEHAVIOR DRUG GOES FOR $20 A POP IN SCHOOLYARDS STUDENTS were being sold drugs in the schoolyard that were used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said yesterday. Centre spokesman Paul Dillon said students were buying methylphenindate and dexamphetamine, possibly in a bid to enhance their educational performances. The problem was nationwide with students selling the drugs after obtaining them from friends or younger siblings, diagnosed with the disorder. "If you go out into the western suburbs, kids are charging $20 a packet and I went to one school where enterprising kids were selling them for $20 each," Mr Dillon said. Mr Dillon said the buying and selling of the drugs was significant given the increasing number of children and adolescents diagnosed with the disorder. The Federal Government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme shows 83,700 scripts for methylphenindate (Ritalin) were filled in 1997, compared with 78,380 in 1996 and 64,460 in 1995. Mr Dillon said adolescents were using the drugs to get high although they could also be taking them to stay awake and increase alertness - in a bid to improve performances at school. Secondary Schools Association president Karen Hart, also chairwoman of the national advisory committee on school drug education, said she was unaware that a problem with the drug existed. She said all schools had strict procedures for students who needed medications at school. Paul Hutchins, chairman of the NSW Health Department's stimulants committee, said the problem, if it existed, was probably minor, especially compared with the abuse of and experimentation with other legal and illegal drugs. Dr Hutchins, from the New Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, said one in 50 children had a severely disruptive behaviour problem. - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson