US parents sue psychiatrists for promoting Ritalin

Two lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in the US states of California and New Jersey asserting that the Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation and the American Psychiatric Association conspired to create a market for methylphenidate (Ritalin), the drug used to treat hyperactive children, and expand its use.

One of the leading lawyers in the class action suits is Richard Scruggs, who won a landmark settlement between state attorneys general and the tobacco industry in 1998. The American Psychiatric Association would not …