Is ritalin (methylphenidate) a narcotic?

No: It is a stimulant.

It's is stimulant: Norcotics generally causes cons suppression. Where as Ritalin (methylphenidate) or other ADHD r generally stimulants but they r still considered a controlled substance because people do abuse them

Not in the: strict sense, narcotics are generally classified as opiate derivatives

It's a stimulant: Ritalin is the trade name for methylphenidate Hcl, a mild central nervous stimulant medication. It's used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) or excessive sleepiness (narcolepsy). Narcotics are pain medications such as morphine, Demerol, (meperidine hydrochloride) Oxycontin, Vicodin, Dilaudid, Percocet, etc. There is no relation between Ritalin and meds in the narcotic group.

Yes and No: The DEA considers it a narcotic, but they use a different definition than physicians. Many physicians consider narcotics as opioid (morphine derivatives), but not other controlled medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate).