DDD, they have been specifically told that THIS form can be taken that way.
I also take a long-acting medication which is also available (not to me) in short-acting form. My long-acting stuff is in a clear capsule in the form of tiny white beads. The instruction leaflet tells me that if I need to, I can open the capsule and swallow the tiny beads whole. If I chew the beads, they will release rapidly and not be long-acting, so I have to be careful to swallow them properly. Apple sauce would work well. This medication of mine is designed to be taken that way because most patients who take it are elderly with swallowing problems, and cannot take a capsule.
I have used this to my advantage - if I am out somewhere and have no water to help a capsule down, I have simply swallowed the beads dry.
Similarly - my kids take dexamphetamine which has been privately compounded. Their pills are compressed into 10 mg tablets which can be cut in half if they need a smaller dose. We specifically order these tablets rather than capsules, because the capsule form have to be taken in 10 mg increments, and some of out kids need the 5 mg increment at times. We could cut them into quarters if we needed 2.5 mg increments.
When difficult child 3 was on Concerta for a few months, I noticed the instruction to not cut those tablets. His friend is on Concerta and friend's mother felt the dose was too much for him, so she bought a pair of dog nail clippers to cut his Concerta in half. She did not read the leaflet that says to not do this. However, he did seem to do better with the half Concerta anyway, so I think there must be still a fair amount of sustained-release effect. I did persuade her to ask the doctor for a lower dose.
[Incidentally, friend's mother is also an idiot - she took her son's pills because she wanted to know what they felt like. I explained to her that she can't get into his brain, what the pills do for him is not going to be necessarily what they do for her.]
Marg