First, a disclaimer: I think adults should be allowed to ingest whatever substances they desire, and parents should be allowed to raise their kids without undue interference from the government. Having said that, I think that the major issue with Ritalin is that parents are giving it to their children in significant percentages of the population. Since Ritalin is "medicine" and is prescribed by doctors, it is assumed to be safe. However, I would bet that many parents whose children are on daily doses of Ritalin would not think of drinking coffee or alcohol while pregnant or nursing. It is important to consider that any drug used over a period of time may have lasting (possibly negative) effects, and that these effects are multiplied when the drugs are taken by still-developing children. While it is crucial for an adult to be able to function and maintain a job, is it really as important for a kid to be able to sit still in school? Clay *************************************************************************** Clay Olbon II * Clay.Olbon@dynetics.com Systems Engineer * PGP262 public key on web page Dynetics, Inc. * http://www.msen.com/~olbon/olbon.html ***************************************************************** TANSTAAFL