Yifrah Kaminer, M.D., one of the study’s authors, notes that the majority of people who abuse methylphenidate had first used other illicit drugs and do not meet the criteria for ADHD.
Methylphenidate does not appear to be a “gateway” drug.
According to Kaminer, most patients who abuse the medication typically already have a history of drug abuse. Such was the case in this report. Although the 45-year-old man had been diagnosed with ADHD as a child, he had discontinued methylphenidate use four years before he began using other drugs. He had developed a long and extensive history of drug abuse before he began inhaling methylphenidate.
It is impossible to predict whether this man would have developed a substance abuse disorder if he had continued treatment for his ADHD. However, two things are clear. 1) He did not have a problem with substance abuse when he was taking medication, and 2) discontinuing medication did not result in his immediately beginning to abuse other drugs. In fact, according to the patient, his pattern of drug use began when he was attempting to self-medicate his depression and anxiety.
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