Posted on 04/09/2008 2:16:17 PM PDT by Aristotelian
Twenty percent of scientists admit to using performance-enhancing prescription drugs for non-medical reasons, according to a survey released Wednesday by Nature, Britain's top science journal. The overwhelming majority of these med-taking brainiacs said they indulged in order to "improve concentration," and 60 percent said they did so on a daily or weekly basis.
The 1,427 respondents -- most of them in the United States -- completed an informal, online survey posted on the "Nature Network" Web forum, a discussion site for scientists operated by the Nature Publishing Group.
More than a third said that they would feel pressure to give their children such drugs if they knew other kids at school were also taking them.
"These are academics working in scientific institutions," Ruth Francis, who handles press relations for the group, told AFP.
The survey focused on three drugs widely available by prescription or via the Internet.
Ritalin, a trade name for methylphenidate, is a stimulant normally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, especially in children. Modafinil -- marketed at Provigil -- is prescribed to treat sleep disorders, but is also effective against general fatigue and jet lag.
Both medications are common currency on college campuses, used as "study aids" to sharpen performance and wakefulness.
(snip)
More than 57 percent of the respondents were 35 years old or younger.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
When I was in college, I remember hearing about other students taking performance enhancing drugs, and using hypnosis, to give them an advantage when taking tests.
For some odd reason, these kids never seemed to do as well as the smart kids, who didn’t try to cheat.
I always used to think the 60’s and 70’s were the times of pill popping mania but I think it’s worse now. It has just moved from illicit drugs to prescription ones
That must be why they defend the drugs. If they were not idiots, they would realize that as more and more took Smart Pills, the Global Warming Fraud woud collapse.
Extra credit for consistency!
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The late astronomer and author, Carl Sagan was a secret but avid marijuana smoker, crediting it with inspiring essays and scientific insight, according to Sagan’s biographer.
Huh? Okay, could someone explain to me why a HYPERactivity disorder is treated with a stimulant!?
The brains of children react differently from adults to drugs like amphetamines.
The brains of children react differently from adults to drugs like amphetamines.
Not quite. Most kids, if you give them speed, will react in the same manner as adults. The brains of people with some anomalies that fall under terms such as ADD etc react differently to amphetamine in which there is almost a calming effect. Its called a paradoxical reaction.
With ADHD, the brain is more or less chronically under-aroused, as it doesn’t get enough natural stimulation from normal day to day activities. And it’s thought that the hyperactivity is something of a homeostatic response, which kicks in to try and increase stimulation until an optimal arousal level is achieved. That is, in the absence of enough stimulation, the person essentially tries to seek it out for themselves - hence the presence of hyperactivity, or inclinations towards daydreaming, risk-taking, etc. Once the person is stimulated enough, they become calmer. Taking stimulant drugs is just an easier, more reliable means of accomplishing the same thing, without the negative consequences and externalities of the other means.
I have ADHD myself and take Adderall XR on a regular basis.
I stand corrected.
My brain drugs of choice are Ghirardelli’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips.
The fact that it's a "collective mind" to begin with is the biggest part of the problem.
Since Benezedrine inhalors were made illegal and probably for good reason because of a tendency to trigger clotting, alternatives, even more dangerous have been sought. Coffee and cigarettes are still legal in some places.
Ritalin and Provigil use are pretty common at academically competitive universities. I’ve seen it. Since they’re approved prescription drugs, cooperative MDs will write the script.
That makes sense. Thanks for helping me understand!
No problem! :)
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