Ritalin

Ritalin comes in small pills the size and shape of aspirin tablets with the word "Ciba" engraved on it. They come in colors of pale yellow, pale green and white. It is classified by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the same category as cocaine and morphine. It’s addictive and can lead to consuming stronger drugs to achieve the same high.

Street names:

Diet Coke, Rids, Kiddie coke, Kiddie cocaine, Skittles, R-Ball, Smarties, Vitamin R, Poor man's cocaine

Short-term effects:

• Hallucinations
• Psychotic, aggressive or violent behavior
• Nervousness, irritability
• Disturbed sleep patterns
• Increased heart rate and body temperature
• Bizarre, erratic, or violent behavior
• Long-term effects:
• Addiction
• Disorientation, apathy, confused exhaustion
• Destruction of tissues in nose if sniffed
• Respiratory problems if smoked
• Infectious diseases and abscesses if injected
• Possible epilepsy
• Depression
• Malnutrition, weight loss
• Irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain and heart, leading to strokes, heart attacks and death
• Liver, kidney and lung damage
• Convulsions, seizures and death