Just now walking from my locker up to library I passed an incomprehensible scene, a pair of book-carrying law students engaged in a heartfelt laugh during finals week. I wanted to stop and shake some sense into both of them. Then it hit me. They must have been on drugs.
Although, a cheerfully composed student during exam week may be the product of a semester of preparation (or even a semester of ignorant bliss), it's also possible that their studies have been supported by such academic steroids as Adderal or a number of AdHd drugs.
It appears CTF has beat me to the punch on this issue, but here are some additional matters to consider. Firstly, I believe the study that CTF's article is alluding to is a 2005 study by Addiction Journal. After surveying students at 119 American colleges, a 2005 study by Addiction Journal, found that up to 25% of students at competitive schools had misused an ADHD medication within the year.
http://www2.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=410902
I personally do not know any law students that partake in such practices, but I would not be surprised if such practices were common on campus.
The academic trend was tracked in “Brain Enhancement Is Wrong, Right?”, a New York Times piece from last March. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/weekinreview/09carey.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1
The article lightheartedly compares academic enhancement to our recent doping era of sports. The article also, however, brings up some serious questions as to the repercussions of such academic enhancement habits. “What happens if you’re in a fast-paced surgical situation and they’re not available?” asks one graduate student. “Will you be able to function at the same level?”
Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, envisions a world where such performance enhancement usage is not only a common professional practice, but one that is required. “You can imagine a scenario in the future” posits Dr. Chatterjee, “when you’re applying for a job, and the employer says, ‘Sure, you’ve got the talent for this, but we require you to take Adderall.’ Now, maybe you do start to care about the ethical implications.”
Indeed, there are signs that Adderall usage may be coming more widespread as noted by CTF's piece and as evidenced in other countries. For example in 2006, Canadian medical regulators decided to allow Adderall XR back on pharmacy shelves. http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/40/19/2
In spite of this trend, my number one qualm with both CTF's AP link and my NY Times' article, is that the negative repercussions are not emphasized. While CTF's piece claims a “drug to improve brain function is functionally no different than getting a good night’s sleep or eating healthy,” chronic well-restedness or a chronic healthy diet, will never lead to psychosis; the chronic use of Adderall might:
“Chronic abuse of amphetamines can result in the manifestation of amphetamine psychosis”
Pliszka, et al., A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Adderall and Methylphenidate in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 39(5):619-626, May 2000.
Interestingly, while academia remains relatively mute on the ethics of the matter, some sports are taking a hardline position against such brain enhancement. For example, the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently banned athletes in the state from using Adderall. Tim Credeur was removed from a UFC fight on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 7 because of a positive drug test due to his use of it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/mma/06/23/credeur.cancelled/index.html?eref=si_latest
If wrestlers are ready to go to the mat against Adderall's unfair advantage, perhaps academia should at least further consider the matter as well.
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