Saying No to Drugs?

Should cognition enhancing drugs, such as Ritalin, Provigil and Adderall, be made available without prescription or, at the very least, able to be prescribed for non-therapeutic purposes?    Some experts think that they should.

Why bother taking them?    Because they “significantly improve concentration”;   useful if you have to submit an assignment in a hurry, or revise for an exam.    Some students already use them;   even kids at high school in the States.

So if you are a provider, dig deep and you might find that some of your learners are on them.    You know, Trevor Thingy who always submits the mediocre at the last minute, suddenly pops up with a pearl of a piece.    Drug-induced?

Does it matter?    Nobody bothers if you drown in black coffee to stay awake, or Red Bull if you’re so inclined.

True.    But look at all the fuss over drugs in sport.    Examinations are, after all, a highly competitive activity.

It's not just that success can mean entry to the school, university of profession of your choice;   whereas failure can bring an end to those dreams.

Your achievement may mean exclusion for someone else.    Is it right to allow one entrant to gain an unfair advantage through the inappropriate use of stimulants?

12th January, 2009
Sources: Quodlibs 322

Links

Times Higher Education Story (retrieved 09-02-2009)
Later but similar BBC Story (retrieved 19-06-2009)

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