Food safety ministry to inspect ADHD drug prescriptions ahead of annual college entrance exam

The food and drug safety ministry said Friday it will carry out an intensive inspection of medical institutions that prescribed large volumes of ADHD medication, as it seeks to curb misuse of stimulants that are mistakenly known as "study drugs" ahead of this year's college entrance exam.

The ministry will work with local governments on the checks from Oct. 19 to Nov. 18. It selected the clinics by analyzing big data from the Narcotics Integrated Management System to identify the institutions visited by adolescents and others who received the highest volumes of ADHD prescriptions.

Methylphenidate, the stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a psychotropic drug that can cause insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches and increased heart rate when used outside its approved purpose. The inspection will cover whether clinics prescribed excessively or otherwise misused the drug, whether they complied with reporting obligations, and whether their reported inventories match actual stocks.

Where a case raises suspicion of handling outside work purposes, the ministry plans to have outside experts review its medical validity and refer it for investigation if the use is not justified. Violations such as failing to report or reporting late will be referred to local governments for administrative penalties.

"There is no medicine that makes you study well," the ministry said, urging students and parents to be careful. Buying ADHD medication online without a doctor's prescription, or receiving medication that a family member or acquaintance obtained on someone else's behalf, constitutes a violation of the Narcotics Control Act.

Alongside the clinic checks, the ministry will monitor social media and online communities for posts that advertise or broker illegal sales of ADHD medication, including listings that market the drugs to students and parents as "study drugs" or "concentration pills." Posts it finds will be reported to the Korea Communications Standards Commission with a request for immediate blocking, and those behind the sales or brokerage will be referred for investigation.

Through September, the ministry had identified a total of 1,882 illegal posts through two rounds of intensive online monitoring, in May and August, and through routine monitoring. It added that it will strengthen checks on online sales and brokerage of ADHD medication at times of high public interest and will actively conduct targeted inspections of medical narcotics with a high risk of misuse.