U.S. Consumes Most ADHD Medication

It's time for kids to get ready to go back to school. Among the ads for school supplies and clothing will be ads for something else: ADHD medication. Though the United Nations passed a treaty banning direct-to-consumer marketing of ADHD drugs, the ads still appear in American magazines, newspapers, and on television.

"Children in the United States are 10 times more likely to take a stimulant medication for ADHD than are kids in Europe. In fairness, children in Europe are also somewhat less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD because of a stricter set of criteria. But that doesn't nearly account for the difference in prescription rates. The United States, the only nation to violate the U.N. treaty, consumes about 85 percent of the stimulants manufactured for ADHD."

Doctors, in increasing numbers, are telling stories of parents who have 'diagnosed' their children and already have a specific ADHD drug in mind. Many in the medical community are calling for the FDA and Justice Department to force compliance with the U.N. treaty in the United States - stating that these medications are potentially harmful if misused. Read more at Courant.com.