Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Military Says, "Just Say No" to Ritalin

Did you know the United States Military once used Ritalin to keep the troops more attentive and calm? Nowadays if a young man or woman takes Ritalin or other ADD/ADHD medications, they will most likely not be able to join the military. The information process that a person has to go through to prove to the recruiters that they are off the medication is so involved that a lot of people find it to be too much bother. A person on ADHD medications that wants to join the military will need to wean off the medication and be off the medication at least six months before they will be considered for the military. They will also need a letter from their doctor stating that they can function properly without the medicine, which can be a feat all in itself. Here is where it gets interesting. If was a draft tomorrow, the things I told you would go straight out the window and they would accept everyone in the interest of national security. But for now, the military is taking an anti-drug stance as it pertains to Attention Deficit Disorder. It's not surprising that we ship many orders to APO addresses. If you are in the military and finding it hard to function without ADHD medications, or are considering a career in the US miliary, you will want to find a solid alternative like Attend.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeannine:
- Where did you find this info?
- Does the military have something specifically written/posted for the public re: this?
- and lastly, what is Attend?

Thank you!
- Patricia G

mike said...

I'm saying that ritalin is probably one of the most commonly perscribed medicines among recruitees and to not allow it seems counter-intuiteive

Do you want people to join the military, ie,sign up willingly, then it makes sense to me that it should not disqualify you from entry for the reason of attention deficit