Darlene Torosian starts out saying all the right things. She believes in just saying no to drugs. She's going to spend Saturday morning in front of the post office in North Andover (Massachusetts), enlisting troopers for the front lines of the War on Drugs. She wants to get kids off drugs, and help them stay off.

So you might expect hers to be the kind of message that is embraced by the community in general and local schools in particular.

Not necessarily. It's about the kind of drugs she is fighting. Ms. Torosian is taking aim at those that are more frequently called "medications." Her message is to say no (a qualified no, at least) to prescription drugs - specifically drugs like Ritalin and others that are prescribed to help children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and other learning disorders to be able to concentrate better and control their behavior.

Why challenge conventional wisdom? You might say it's personal. Ms. Torosian, who runs A Unique Miracle, a hair and massage salon on Main Street in North Andover (Massachusetts), says for about 10 years, starting when she was 18, she suffered from a range of ailments including diabetes and a thyroid condition, for which she took a range of prescription medications. Beyond that were antidepressants, like Xanax and Klonopin, to help her cope with the aftermath of an abusive relationship.

"It was very frustrating," she says. "I essentially lived on the couch." What finally lifted the fog, she says, was meeting a New Hampshire chiropractor, Dr. Tony Lebro, at an exposition.

"He tested me and put me on natural, whole food supplements," she says, "and within two days I was felling better. I had more energy and felt healthier than I had in years."

She tells somewhat the same story about her oldest son, now 16, who was diagnosed with ADHD and put on Ritalin from grade school until he was 14. "I didn't know any better," she says.

But now that she believes she does, Ms. Torosian says she intends to confront the local school system and others through The Giraffe Club (named for people who are "willing to stick their necks out," she says), founded by Dr. Tony Lebro last November, with the goal of giving "freedom of expression back to our children, which has been taken away from them by the overuse of prescribed drugs."

Before dismissing this as another group of medication-conspiracy wackos, note the keyword "overuse." Indeed, the club's web site makes a point of calling Ritalin a "godsend" for those who truly have ADHD.

And for those who are truly interested in the welfare of the children, as opposed to how easy or convenient it is for adults to teach and care for them, theirs is a point worth considering: It is well past time to look at the extent and the effects of having a greater and greater percentage of children on a medication that is classified as a Schedule II drug (similar to cocaine and other stimulants).

It is well past time to consider whether the definition of ADHD is too broad. If my mother looked at the list of "common symptoms," of ADHD, I suspect she would laugh. At age 8 or 9, I fit at least 13 of the 14 symptoms listed, from "easily distracted" to "difficulty remaining seated" to "often loses things." Back then, I was called a "typical boy."

Yes, things are different these days. Yes, there is a body of research that says conclusively that Ritalin, when used properly by those who need it, can bring success and happiness to children headed for failure and resentment.

But there is also a growing body of research showing that there can be too much of a good thing. It might be worth sticking more necks out to make sure we don't get too far down that road.