<p>"The pill never gives you the right answer. Nothing unethical about that."</p>
<p>And steroids dont help you make contact with the pitch... they just help you hit it farther...</p>
<p>valentina sounds like the kind of person who says to a cripple, "you could walk if only you weren't so *<strong><em>ing lazy". Everything you just said is narrow minded and ignorant. As far as this being a matter of ethics, this is not in the same league as steroids. Steroids actually make you stronger with less effort. Clearly cheating the system. These "smart drugs" don't make you smarter and perform better on tests, they just make you able to study for those tests without getting distracted so easily. Yea, its part of a growing american trend where we feel the need to medicate everything, but the same can be said for so many pills that we take daily without even thinking about it. I take a daily multivitamin because I know I don't eat a perfectly balanced diet. Certain nutrients are missing from my diet, so I take a supplement. Does that mean I'm a lazy piece of *</em></strong> who tries to take the easy way out insted of eating healthy? Maybe some would see it that way, but I think most people do something similar. I've never taken these pills personally, so I can't speak about side effects besides what has already been mentioned here, but if someone has trouble focusing (I'm not a stupid person by any means, but I often find my homework time degenerating into microsoft solitaire time) and it doesn't cause them any harm, why the hell not?</p>
<p>If you believe taking Adderall without a prescription is unethical then it's your choice not to take it. I, and many others, do not feel that there is anything morally wrong with getting an advantage using amphetamines, and we will continue to reap the benefits of recalling information more quickly, staying focused, and performing well with little sleep.</p>
<p>Personally, I think it's ridiculous, but I know I'm going to be in the minority opinion on this. I know people that've taken them, not to study or write papers or whatever all night, but to stay up working on projects all night, which happens fairly frequently with art majors. I also know lots of people (myself included) who've stayed up all night working on projects perfectly fine without using any artificial means.</p>
<p>To me, it just seems like saying, ok I don't think I can actually stay awake all night to do this or I don't think that I can actually sit for a few hours and concentrate on this test of my own free will, so I need some drugs to temporarily alter my brain's functioning and do it for me. It's the cheap way out and it also does hurt other people who prefer to rely on their own natural abilities but are now going to be held to more unnatural standards.</p>
<p>Improvement is morally wrong, embrace mediocrity.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't understand how this is a moral issue. How are you cheating yourself? It does not make you smarter it just gives you the tools to study and be more efficient.
[/quote]
Well, I personally haven't formed an opinion on this yet, but the way I see it is as follows: First, you're cheating yourself because you rely on these drugs to "study and be more efficient". By resorting to these drugs, you're artificially inducing concentration instead of learning how to better concentrate on your own. As a result, as you climb up the rungs of the academic ladder, you will find more and more instances in whcih it becomes harder and harder to concentrate, thereby leading to a snowball effect.</p>
<p>As for the ethicality of the drugs, I think what most people have a problem with is that, for the people who do use these drugs, studying for a test is easier than it is for peoplw ho do not use these drugs. Yes, it's their own choice, but should they be penalized simply because they don't believe in taking a drug to enhance their memory? The reason why people think this is unethical is because this kind of a pill gives certain students an advantage over others. In addition to that, you're abusing the intended purpose of the drug. That's never a good thing to do.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if so many people are using it now, it could quickly become assumed that these drugs are necessary to perform well, and gain equal leverage in the world of academics. As a result, use of such drugs would become more and more frequent, and sooner or later, it will become the norm. :\ Then, of course, the struggle to find "more, better, stronger, longer" will start.</p>
<p>
[quote]
valentina sounds like the kind of person who says to a cripple, "you could walk if only you weren't so ****ing lazy".
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No, but you in fact seem like someone who can't quite read. I said that if you don't have a legitimate problem-- if you don't actually have ADHD, bascially-- then you don't have any excuse for taking Adderall. If you don't have a physiological problem in which a doctor has prescribed this drug for you, then you should not be taking it. </p>
<p>Therefore, if someone is a cripple-- if they are physiologically incapable of walking, then of course I wouldn't call them lazy.</p>
<p>You, on the other hand, seem the kind of type I would call "dim."</p>
<p>
[quote]
Everything you just said is narrow minded and ignorant.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Let's look at what YOU said. </p>
<p>
[quote]
These "smart drugs" don't make you smarter and perform better on tests, they just make you able to study for those tests without getting distracted so easily.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>These drugs make you able to study more appropriately and effectively for tests... therefore, so you can perform better on tests. One word: DUH.</p>
<p>
[quote]
if someone has trouble focusing... it doesn't cause them any harm, why the hell not?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh, that's right. If it doesn't personally cause YOU harm, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. The people who actually disciplined themselves to be able to concentrate and study and achieve high grades by well-earned, legitimate means... well, it's too bad for these hard-working, genuinely smart people that they spent all that time working and still got a lower grade than you, because you resorted to popping a non-prescribed pill. </p>
<p>
[quote]
I often find my homework time degenerating into microsoft solitaire time)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wow. Guess what? Almost everyone does that, or wants to do that. And guess what again? Some people can get over it and buckle down and study despite. Just because someone has less self-control and discipline than others doesn't give him or her license to break down like a baby and buy a couple of pills her or she is not legally allowed to take.</p>
<p><a href="I'm%20not%20a%20stupid%20person%20by%20any%20means...">quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well....</p>
<p>"This is just like Barry Bonds and steroids."</p>
<p>I read this entire article thinking of this, and then I saw it, lol.</p>
<p>I would like to add:</p>
<p>Adderall is actually quite similar to cocaine, it can be called cocaine Lite.</p>
<p>I've used it. (not to study tho)</p>
<p>Since posters kee comparing "smart pills" to steroids I thought I'd just compare the two.</p>
<p>Steroids allows the body heal faster from workouts although in the long run it actually causes the body to break down. They can improve eye sight, speed, and reflexes. It is a misconception that steroids make you stronger. It is the quick healing that allows the user to work out for 6 months and see the results that he'd normally get in a year or more. This means that the user still has to put all the hard work in but it does make it easier for them to get more results out of their work than the athlete who doesn't use steroids.</p>
<p>"Smart pills" allow the user to focus and concentrate for hours. This is no different than coffee that keeps you up. After a couple of hours they wear out. They do not make you smarter but allow you to study for longer periods of time.</p>
<p>In fact if we want to take it a step further we can even bring in cigarettes. Cigarettes relieve stress. Imagine people could take stress relievers and the results of improvement at work and socially. This is not considered cheating even though it relieves stress. Of course there are consequences to smoking cigarettes but for our purposes we're not looking at the side effects since we've essentially decided to overlook them in this thread.</p>
<p>I don't find any of these substances to be unethical. The reason is because things similar to this have been around before and have not be questioned.</p>
<p>I know of athletes that play college sports and have to watch what they take. All they do is just get the list of substances banned from the NCAA and proceed to take anything else that can have similar effects to help them work out and perform on the field. And no I'm not talking about developing new steroids or something of that nature. I'm talking about things you can get at your local GNC store.</p>
<p>People just like to nitpick when it comes to what substances are unethical or not. We're taught from early on that we have to succeed anyway possible and yet when we find ways to do so it's looked down upon.</p>
<p>"People just like to nitpick when it comes to what substances are unethical or not. We're taught from early on that we have to succeed anyway possible and yet when we find ways to do so it's looked down upon."</p>
<p>Bravo. Oh and my point, its not hurting me, so I don't care, heck I might even try it in my time.</p>
<p>My point which you didn't really grasp was it's not directly cheating as so you are saying. You take the pill and you don't instantly do better on tests. You still have to work, it just enables you to do that. Why wallow in mediocracy becuase you have trouble focusing. I agree if you can solve the problem on your own without drugs, all the better, but a lot of people can't. Why would you struggle through something that's holding you back? I guess you can say that it indirectly helps you on tests, but its still your own natural ability you have to work with when you sit down. You'r no smarter, you just utilize your own ability better. The idea is to gain knowledge for the sake of self betterment, its not purely about competition. If you don't have concentration problems, consider yourself lucky. Maybe these drugs just level the playing fields. And you took a little bit of a joke way too seriously dude...relax. Maybe there's some drug you ought to be taking for that.</p>
<p>How can you get adderall? </p>
<p>My friend actually recommended that I get some, because I tend to procrastinate and pull all-nighters during midterms and finals, and then feel like crap for a couple days after.</p>
<p>Are you guys sure it's safe? Is it possible to ask my doctor for some or no? (EVen though I doubt he'd prescribe...he's known me my entire my life...)</p>
<p>It is NOT a good idea to take these pills without a prescription.</p>
<p>I found this article to be ironic because I have recently started taking Provigil due to my hypersomnia. Without it, I sleep for 10-12 hrs per day and am still tired. I am barely functionable. I don't know how I managed to get my homework done some nights. With it, I can live on a normal amount of sleep and be a normal person (not a super achiever).</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but taking Adderall to help you "study better" is just pure idiocy.</p>
<p>"This is no different than coffee that keeps you up. After a couple of hours they wear out. They do not make you smarter but allow you to study for longer periods of time...."</p>
<p>Comparing Adderall to coffee doesn't make any sense. Adderall is a Schedule II Controlled Substance--meaning that it has an accepted medical use but is considered highly addictive (other drugs in this class include Oxycontin, Percocet and Cocaine). Coffee is, by all means, harmless, nowhere near as addictive and not illegal to distribute without a prescription.</p>
<p>"Bravo. Oh and my point, its not hurting me, so I don't care, heck I might even try it in my time."</p>
<p>And how do you know it's not hurting you?</p>
<p>"Are you guys sure it's safe? Is it possible to ask my doctor for some or no? (EVen though I doubt he'd prescribe...he's known me my entire my life...)"</p>
<p>No, it's not safe to take it without a proper medical reason and no your doctor (assuming he has an ounce of sense and integrity) will not prescribe it for you. Adderall is safe when taken under strict medical supervision (which is required to take it--you cannot refill it like a regular prescription and instead have to see the doctor monthly to get a new prescription) and for a legitimate disorder. Stimulants like Adderall can have different effects on different people, depending on your age and brain structure. While the drug is relatively safe for those who have ADHD and helps improve focus in such patients, it WILL NOT have the same exact effects in someone with a normal healthy brain. Misuse can have VERY NEGATIVE effects on your brain chemistry.</p>
<p>I'm not one to jump on the anti-drug bandwagon--I understand that most people feel the need to experiment and are going to regardless of the consequences--however, taking amphetamines in order to "study better" has to be the absolute dumbest reason to abuse drugs. If you can't handle college without them, you don't deserve to be there.</p>
<p>side note: Provigil is not an amphetamine, although no one knows for sure how it works, which I find a little scary, frankly. Although, like I've said, it's the only thing that works for me.</p>
<p>I really don't think that Adderall is under 'strict medical supervision.' Did y'all read that forum about the rich kids who go to doctors to get it and get extended time on the SATs? I really think that doctors just give it out. I know someone who went to the dr with her mom and said, hey my grades are slipping, i can't concentrate, i think i have add. she took some test and did poorly on it (on purpose i think) and was prescribed some high dosage adderall. now she takes them when she has a big test or helps out other friends when they need them. i do not have a problem with this. if the friends get sick, they're sol because they decided to do it. i think this is another one of the giant over-regulation things similar to alcohol and pot. kids are going to do it regardless of the legality of it.</p>
<p>Personally, I was annoyed that I came in fourth in my class behind a girl who doesn't have the determination nor mental ability nor mental focus to do great work, and behind another girl who doens't even know who Tony Blair is (I am not kidding, do not ask me if I am). The Valedictorian had a point lower ACT score than me, got all these awards from our teachers, and barely ever speaks. I don't think he's as above-average brainy as my school thinks, and yet I was down the rankings in fourth. I do good work and I am determined to be a perfectionist in what I do. </p>
<p>But I have never taken any of these pills because one, I saw that episode of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES last season, two, it IS UNETHICAL, and three, who knows what could go wrong when you've never tried it before. I have a hard time staying focused, who knows if it is because I have a sleeping problem because I too get tired even on twelve hours sleep. I don't think it's boredom or anything either. I might get six hours sleep and I find it extremely hard to focus on anything these days. I get distracted, bored, reading puts me to sleep even at 9 pm. But I would never take anything like that because it would be wrong to give myself an edge when it could kill some other kid. It's wrong to be the better of many when not everyone has a shot at matching "your edge."</p>
<p>A couple of things I just wanted to say. First the problem with ranking is that it's a number system that's supposed to compare you to your peers. Anyone that's smart enough sees the flaw in the ranking system as it's only based on average. I'll be the first to tell you that i've gotten grades in some classes without really doing the work. Heck in my economics class my teacher gave me the highest grade, a 99, the first and second marking period. I can tell you this much I certainly didn't do the work that would get me a 99 but because he already knew me from the previous semester he knew what I was capable of and that I had taken an economic course at the college level. It's funny because I know this kid in that class who's a freaking nerd and does all his work and copies all notes and stresses out over every little thing in each of his classes and he continually gets a lower grade in that class although not neccesarily a bad grade. Point is that when it comes to academics and personality you just can't put a numerical value on it. Sorry to hear that you didn't rank number one but if you're as hardworking, intelligent, and motivated as you say then it'll show wherever you go.</p>
<p>Secondly and I'll make this one short, by YOU taking smart pills you are not killing anyone else. I just found this statement you made ridiculous: "But I would never take anything like that because it would be wrong to give myself an edge when it could kill some other kid."</p>
<p>I'll leave it at that.</p>
<p>It's kind of an every man for yourself world nowadays. I might b1tch about fairness but in the end I don't think I care too much if it works out well for me.</p>