There are some new studies out about ritalin, a popular drug for attention-deficit disorder.

Insight mag says:

A study by scientists at the University at Buffalo has shown that Ritalin (methylphenidate) may cause long-term changes in the brain. Joan Baizer, professor of physiology and biophysics, and senior author of the study, reports, "When the active dose has worked its way through the system, they consider it all gone. Our research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure and function." The changes, according to Baizer, are similar to those seen with cocaine and other psychoactive drugs.

Another paper says:

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, some nine million American children take Ritalin each year, a stimulant used to help kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
But a growing number of studies suggest the medication may be doing something far more insidious.

A University of California at Berkeley researcher, Dr. Nadine Lambert, found that people who took Ritalin as a child were nearly twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as adults, and of that sample, were 18 times more likely to become cocaine abusers.

"There are two possible explanations," Lambert told The Her other thought was that kids who take Ritalin condition their brains to be "susceptible to other stimulants."

Either way, Lambert painted a grim picture for Ritalin users.