A study by researchers at the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne suggests that children and young people who are prescribed psychostimulant drugs such as Ritalin, the drug commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may face a greater risk of amphetamine addiction later in life.

A study by researchers at the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne suggests that children and young people who are prescribed psychostimulant drugs such as Ritalin, the drug commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may face a greater risk of amphetamine addiction later in life. The study found that adolescent rats that were given amphetamines were more susceptible to amphetamine addiction in adulthood, after a period of abstinence from the drug (22/10/06: Sunday Mail, p.14; Sunday Herald Sun, p.30).