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February 2001

Warning: Students should not be fiddlin' with Ritalin

On Friday, Jan. 26, 18-year-old David LaSalle stole 13 bottles of Ritalin and Adderall from William Tennent High School’s nurse’s office in Warminster, Pa.

The bottles reportedly contained 300 to 400 pills, with a street value of $8,000.

Police found empty bottles of the prescription medications at LaSalle's house. LaSalle was charged with burglary, trespassing, theft, and receiving stolen property. After failing to post ten percent of $75,000 bail, LaSalle was put in jail.

Again in the Centennial school district on Friday, Feb. 2, another prescription drug went missing. A 12-year-old Log College Middle School student was charged with the theft of 80 Adderall pills.

The pills found in the student’s locker, were allegedly stolen from a crowded nurse’s office during school hours.

Due to the guarantee of a quick reaction, Ritalin abuse is becoming another means for students to get high.

People of all ages are crushing and snorting the drug commonly used in the treatment of hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder (ADD).

Avid abusers of the drug resort to stealing medications from family members or buying it off the streets. Some Ritalin abusers go as far as to harbor their own prescriptions.

A few warning signs of Ritalin overuse are nervousness, loss of appetite, dilated pupils, and sleeplessness.

Ritalin risks include high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, liver damage, and overaggressive behavior according to www.OnHealth.com.

“It’s wrong that kids are hurting themselves for a cheap thrill. The nature it’s used in is sickening,” said Maurice Charles, officer of S.A.D.D./S.A.V.E.

To prevent drug thefts at Neshaminy High School, all medications are kept locked in the Nurse’s offices. “Nurses are the only faculty with keys to the cabinets,” said school nurse Christine Champine.

“Students come to take their medications at scheduled times or when needed.”
“So far there have been no drug thefts at Neshaminy," Principal Mark Collins said.

"The only arrests we’ve made have been for drug possessions," he said. "It’s against school policies to be on or have any type of drug in school."

By Melissa Dettore and Melanie Shellhammer
Staff Writers