Elite high school students paying $5 for a black market Ritalin tablet to help them study

STUDENTS from some of Sydney’s most elite schools have been buying Ritalin attention deficit disorder drugs on a booming black market because they believe it will help them focus for exams.

STUDENTS from some of Sydney’s most elite schools have been buying attention deficit disorder medication on a booming black market because they believe it will help them focus for exams.

High-school students are paying $5 for a single Ritalin tablet to keep them going through late-night cramming sessions.

But experts warn the pills have dangerous side-effects, including heart palpitations, sleeplessness and stomach problems, and simply do not work.

Many schools remain oblivious to the problems of using Ritalin as a study and exam aid.

New Australian research has revealed 7 per cent of university students have used the drug to help them study and that at least 2 per cent of students became regular users.

But many schools remain oblivious to the problem. “A lot of my mates have taken it, particularly in year 12 as they get put under pressure for the HSC,” one student from an expensive north shore private school told The Saturday Telegraph this week.

“It is not uncommon for them to pay $5 for a single tablet. They don’t think it is a problem because they don’t see it as an illegal drug like MDMA (ecstasy),” he said.

Barker College school psychologist John Hensley said: “It does happen in schools but it is not so widespread as in the tertiary sector.”

He said the 7 per cent figure was high for schools and low for universities.

“We get kids who come and tell us what they have done.

The websites tell teenagers that taking the pills is a form of “biohacking” — finetuning the brain for optimum performance.

“Generally it tends to be self-medication to see if they have a problem with concentration,” he said.

The prescription drugs, including variant Modafinil, can be bought in bulk online with 40 pills selling for $113.

One website boasts: “Officially Modafinil is used to treat chronic daytime sleepiness. Meanwhile, an entire generation of students and entrepreneuers (sic) are certifying its off-label use as the most efficient artificial cognitive enhancement method known to mankind.”

The websites tell teenagers that taking the pills is a form of “biohacking” — finetuning the brain for optimum performance.

However, Professor Wayne Hall, director of the University of Queensland Centre For Youth Substance Abuse Research, said students taking the stimulants for study or concentration purposes failed to realise that they did not work.

Ritalin tablets don’t work as students expect, an expert says.

“These drugs are designed to release small, steady doses throughout the day so you don’t get the big instant hit that comes with other illicit drugs like methamphetamine.

“You are not going to get more out of it. You would be better off organising your life so that you don’t need to stay up all night to try and finish an assignment.”

Studies in the United States show that between 5 and 10 per cent of high school students and up to 35 per cent of college students have used Ritalin and other methylphenidate drugs to help study.

The Australian research, due to be published in full later this year, is being undertaken by several universities on behalf of The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Cardiologist Dr Ross Walker said: “One in three people who take these drugs suffer from a lack of sleep, loss of appetite and suffer further because they are not getting the right nutrients.”

He said 7 per cent of Australian children were now diagnosed with some form of attention deficit disorder and that meant the drugs were readily available.

“It is certainly not something that would be condoned by schools which have policies about this.”

“People just having the diagnosis of ADHD have double the chance of nicotine, alcohol and drug abuse addiction in later life.

“The problem with these off-label users is that we have no idea what the long-term impacts are,” he said.

There were reports this week that students were selling the prescription drugs at railway stations in Sydney.

Dr Walker was unequivocal: “Selling these drugs is illegal — it is drug dealing.”

Ten years ago, then head of senior college at prestigious Scots College Andrew Watt flagged the “disturbing” problem to parents.

“An example would be the unauthorised use of Ritalin to improve concentration before an assessment task,” he wrote.

But despite his warning, the problem has remained largely underground.

Beth Blackwood, chief executive of the Association for Heads of Private Schools, said: “Anecdotally I have heard that among university and year 11 and 12 students there is the myth that it may help performance.

“But there is no empirical evidence.

“It is certainly not something that would be condoned by schools which have policies about this.”

Dr Tim Wright, head of Sydney Church of England Grammar, said: “I have read about the use of magic concentration drugs, particularly in the United States where the over-prescription of drugs for behavioural issues is a problem. I have never had an issue within our school.”

Brother Anthony Boyd, the deputy headmaster of St ­Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill, said: “I am unaware of it. All of our boarders are closely supervised.”