Concern that Michigan’s kids are overly medicated and conflicting reports of Ritalin as a positive or negative treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have caused lawmakers to take a closer look at patterns in Michigan schools.
“It was brought to our attention that there has been a dramatic increase in use among children in the past 15 years,” said Dale Hull, spokesman for Rep. Gary Woronchak.
Woronchak, R-Dearborn, introduced the bill as part of a package that would increase awareness about the use of drugs like Ritalin and outline the roles of teachers, parents, students, psychologists and physicians.
In a 1998 study by the Drug Enforcement Association, Michigan ranked third in the country in the use of Ritalin. The study found Michigan to prescribe one-third more psychotropic drugs than the national average.
The original outline of the bill would have called for the Department of Community Health to fund an advisory council that would conduct a statewide study, eventually leading to further legislation. The study would seek to determine where Ritalin is being prescribed, who is prescribing it, and why the increase has been so drastic.
“The Department of Health was concerned with the cost,” Hull said. “The bill now gives the department the authority to contract with a university. It looks like they’ll save around $100,000.”
Rep. John Hansen, D-Dexter, voted against the bill because of this change.
“It would have become a medical issue and that’s not what the bill is about,” Hansen said. “We spent a lot of time discussing who should be on the council - to have school counselors and psychologists on it - and now that’s totally changed.”
Dr. Joel Nigg, a clinical psychologist at MSU who studies attention disorders in children and adults, said conducting the study at a university was the best way to get accurate results.
“Kids’ problems could be getting worse, or perhaps the willingness to use this medication has changed,” Nigg said. “The study shouldn’t assume that there’s too much medication being given out.”
