[jmchowat]

Has anyone heard of people taking Concerta as a drug of abuse/recreational use? For 2 years in a row, my in-laws have been in town at Christmas and we have lost several Concerta pills (16 last year, 8 this year). Last year we had no idea who took them as by the time we noticed they were gone, we'd had loads of people through the house. This year, we are pretty sure that it's my in-laws. To me, it seems too weird to be true, but the numbers suggest otherwise. I have no idea why anyone would want to take them if they did not need them. Any ideas?

[skirbo]

According to my daughter, who has done just about everything with drugs, from illegal to medicines when they had them at the group home, you can get a high from these types of pills when they are crushed and snorted.

Who the heck thinks of things like this, I don't know, but I wish they would quit.

Sarah

[AmyAnne]

Here's a link I found:

Concerta Abuse

[Star_Gazer]

Yeah, I’ve heard of that with Ritalin.
There was something on Dateline, Prime Time or one of those shows in the past about how people can abuse Ritalin so I would guess the same would be true of Concerta.

[zebramom]

Concerta is in a line of drugs used for ADHD that is basically legal speed. It is not speed to people who actually have ADHD, but if you don't, it gives you a real high. There are tons of stories about parents who take their kids ADHD meds to get wired and be able to get a lot of things done.

There is a new drug either out right now, or due out soon that is basically the same, but doesn't work until it hits the digestive tract so that it is not effective when crushed or snorted. I blogged about it a while back. Foster Adoption Blog - New ADHD meds in the works It won't stop anyone from swallowing the pills to get high, but it will stop the other uses.

[lucyjoy]

My son use to sell his Adderal to the neighbor lady that kept hotlining me. He made good money until I had the pdoc remove the med. He wasn't getting the benefit of it anyway.

Your inlaws? That would make for a hard conversation. Lock them up next time you see them(the pills, not the inlaws)

[aMarylandfamily]

Concerta and Adderall are the two hottest sales on the street for teens ... some are even buying them to be cool (if that is the word used today) but don't take them ... sad!

[greenrobin]

It makes sense--Concerta is a controlled substance.

Our pediatrician told us once that if you have relatives with substance abuse problems, the safest place to keep your drugs is in your freezer. He claimed they don't look there. Just put it in a plastic bag and then wrap it in foil.

We do. So far, no one has taken it.

So sorry you're in this tough spot.

[AmyAnne]

Originally Posted by lucyjoy

Your inlaws? That would make for a hard conversation. Lock them up next time you see them(the pills, not the inlaws)

My inlaws do not have a substance problem. May I have your permission, Lucy, to keep the pills out and lock my inlaws up on their next visit?

[mrsred]

Concerta not only gets a non-adhd person high, it is a great weight loss drug...

If in-laws don't seem like the type that would want to get high, is mil battling with her weight?

[aspenhall]

also, they don't have to be using to take them...they could just be selling them.....

[po]

We went to a class on over the counter medications. It was very informative on what drugs are being abused. Kids are having skittles parties. Everyone brings a handful of drugs and they are mixed in a bowl. Different colors are called different things. I remember the orange is called orange crush. Very dangerous combinations of drugs and more young people are on the list for liver transplants than any age group. If kids are doing it, older people could also be doing it.