ADHD meds not a gateway to meth or coke – as long as you have a prescription

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-07-12 01:00

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Young adults prescribed stimulant-based drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are no more likely than their peers to abuse drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, according to US research. The study authors followed a group of more than 5,000 18-year-olds for six years, saying they took on the study because ADHD medications such as Ritalin are among the most commonly misused substances in adolescence. However, they did find that youths who misused stimulants without a prescription were more than twice as likely to transition into using harder drugs.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

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Organisation/s: University of Michigan, USA; see paper for full list of author affiliations

Funder: For details on obtaining the paper, contact the SMC. Australian newspapers have permission from the journal to run this story in print on the day the embargo lifts, with the strict proviso that nothing can appear online until after the embargo lifts.

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