BLACK MARKET IN CHILD MEDICINE

Parents selling drugs prescribed for their behaviourally troubled
children are fuelling the black market trade in Ritalin.

New Zealand's use of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
drugs such as Ritalin is spiralling. Figures from government
drug-buying agency Pharmac show 17 per cent more methylphenidate --
commonly known at Ritalin and Rubifen -- was dispensed in the 12
months ended July than in the previous year.

Thirty-three times more methylphenidate is now dispensed to treat
children with ADHD than there was a decade ago when estimates
suggested only 242 patients were receiving the drug. Many patients are
now likely to be prescribed both short- and long-acting strengths and
hold two prescriptions.

Now Pharmac estimates 5550 patients are taking ADHD drugs -- up 15 per
cent on last year.

Health experts spoken to by The Press are unconcerned at the increased
prescribing of methylphenidate but do worry about its illicit use
through the black market.

Methylphenidate is similar to methamphetamine or speed, although not
as powerful, and is often used as a substitute for
methamphetamine.

It cannot be prescribed without special authority from a psychiatrist
or paediatrician yet, despite tight controls, is readily available on
the street.

Pharmac's own estimate of patient numbers, based on prescriptions,
indicates an almost 15 per cent rise in patient numbers from 4831 last
year to 5550 this year.

Community and alcohol drug service consultant psychiatrist Dr Roger
Morgan said the Christchurch service saw a lot of people with a
problem use of methylphenidate, particularly among those on the
methadone programme.

"There's quite a brisk illegal market for Ritalin. Methamphetamine and
Ritalin are the biggest trend in drug use, and would be second behind
cannabis."

A card of 10 tablets cost about $150 and was not difficult to
find.

Parents of children prescribed methylphenidate for ADHD were selling
it to supplement their benefit while there was anecdotal evidence that
children had been selling it at school, Dr Morgan said.

National Addiction Centre director and psychiatrist Associate
Professor Doug Sellman said the more methylphenidate was used for
ADHD, the more families would trade it.

"The temptation to sell Johnny's medication is stronger in poorer
families, and ADHD tends to be found more in lower socio-economic families."

In the last year, several South Islanders have been arrested for
trading or abusing methylphenidate, including:

A Timaru man addicted to his child's methylphenidate who was sentenced
to nine months in prison last August, after his partner obtained 510
tablets for him over a three-month period -- their child needed only
135 tablets.

A Christchurch mother who was jailed for a year after trying to sell
her son's Ritalin to raise money to send him to Australia.

A Timaru mother who was sentenced to six months prison for selling her
child's Ritalin to a drug syndicate for $1800.

National's health spokeswoman, Lynda Scott, said better
information-sharing, such as using a patient's national health index
number to check on the previous prescriptions, would prevent families
switching doctors to badger for methylphenidate or regularly exploit
excuses about lost prescriptions.

Ministry chief adviser child youth and health Pat Tuohy said an
increase in the dispensing of long-acting methylphenidate should curb
the trade. "It's so slow-acting, you can't really abuse it to the same
extent."

International evidence suggested the rate of ADHD in children was
about 2 to 5 per cent, yet Pharmac's figures represented about 1 per
cent of children aged five to 15. Dr Tuohy said there had been concern
some regions were over-prescribing -- particularly in the South Island
- -- but prescribing patterns had evened out in the last three years.