40
THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  RESOLUTION
  STRONGLY URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND
    THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH TO ENGAGE IN A
    NATIONAL EXAMINATION OF THE APPROPRIATE USE OF PSYCHIATRIC
    DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CHILDREN.



 1        WHEREAS, psychiatric drugs are prescribed to between
 2   5,000,000 and 6,000,000 children each year, or about ten per
 3   cent of the school-age population in America; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, Ritalin, perhaps the most common of these drugs,
 6   is currently administered to more than 2,500,000 Americans; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, the International Narcotics Control Board of the
 9   World Health Organization has warned about our nation's trend
10   of overusing stimulants for children.  According to this
11   organization, the United States uses ninety per cent of the
12   world's Ritalin; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, Ritalin and other stimulants are being prescribed
15   for children on the grounds that they have attention deficit-
16   hyperactivity disorder and suffer from inattention,
17   hyperactivity, or impulsiveness; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, Ritalin frequently causes the very same problems
20   it is supposed to treat -- inattention, hyperactivity, and
21   impulsiveness and a large percentage of children taking Ritalin
22   become robotic, lethargic, depressed, or withdrawn; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, it has been claimed that Ritalin can:
25   
26        (1)  Cause permanent neurological tics including
27             Tourette's syndrome;
28   
29        (2)  Retard growth in children by disrupting the cycles of
30             growth hormone released by the pituitary gland;
31   
32        (3)  Cause cancer in some animals;
33   

 
Page 2                                                     40
                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        (4)  Routinely causes gross malfunctions in the brain of
 2             children.  There is research evidence from a few
 3             controlled scientific studies that Ritalin can cause
 4             shrinkage, or atrophy, or other permanent physical
 5             abnormalities in the brain;
 6   
 7        (5)  Upon withdrawal from the drug, cause emotional
 8             suffering, including depression, exhaustion, and
 9             suicide.  This can make children seem psychiatrically
10             disturbed and lead mistakenly to increased doses of
11             medication; and
12   
13        (6)  Being addictive, become a gateway drug to other
14             addictions and is a common drug of abuse among
15             children and adults;
16   
17   and
18   
19        WHEREAS, Ritalin, or methylphenidate, is a schedule II
20   drug and is in the same category as opium and cocaine; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, it has been suggested that recent incidents of
23   school violence and other occasions of violence are the result
24   of children being unnecessarily medicated by such drugs; now,
25   therefore,
26   
27        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
28   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
29   United States Department of Education and the National
30   Institute of Mental Health are strongly urged to engage in a
31   national examination of the appropriate use of psychiatric
32   drugs including Ritalin and their effects on children; and
33   
34        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department
35   of Education and the National Institute of Mental Health are
36   strongly urged to resist efforts to downgrade the
37   classification of Ritalin and other psychiatric drugs to a
38   lesser category; and
39   
40        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
41   Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of
42   Education, the Director of the National Institute of Mental

 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                                     40
                                  S.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   Health, the Governor, the Director of Health, the
 2   Superintendent of Education, and members of Hawaii's
 3   congressional delegation.
 4   
 5 
 6 
 7 
 8                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________