Oliver North´s Ritalin Myth
(WorldNews Health)

The incoming NRA President, Oliver North, recently offered his theory for the spate of school shootings in this country, blaming `a culture of violence` and the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin). `If you look at what has happened to the young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten,` North said. 1 As a psychiatrist, I partly agree with North: there are cultural factors in the U.S. that may increase the risk for aggression or violence — including but not limited to bullying, gangs, and substances of abuse. But Col. North is way off base in blaming Ritalin for school shootings. This notion is part of a larger mythology that attributes mass...