Puzzled asks: RJK and VD: where did you study medicine?
I can’t speak for RJK, naturally, but I have my MD from the same place many of the public school counselors, psychiatrists, and child psychologists who prescribe Ritalin, often after a five-minute consult, received theirs.
“…one urban school district in Minnesota reported administering 1,294 medications in 1985; by 2000, that number had increased to 35,111, according to a 2002 report to the Minnesota Legislature…. In Maine, for example, the Legislature found in 2000 that 63 percent of school personnel who were distributing drugs had two hours or less of training.”
Shoot, I’ve got more, ahem, training, than that….
Even the DEA is concerned: “The DEA doesn’t have oversight in schools, where large quantities of methylphenidate are often stored in unlocked drawers and dispensed by nonmedical personnel. Many schools have more methylphenidate on hand than some pharmacies.”
House Passes Bill to Bar Schools from Requiring Medication of Students
The United States House of Representatives voted May 21 to prohibit school personnel from requiring a child to obtain a prescription for a controlled substance as a condition of attending school. State education agencies would be required to develop policies and procedures to prevent schools from making such requirements…. The House Committee on Education noted that it was concerned especially about the appropriate role of prescription medication in treating children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD). “The Committee has been made aware of situations where parents have voiced concern that local educational agency officials have required them to place children on psychotropic medication in order to attend school or receive services.”