<p>I tell people in the library to pipe down all the time. Just because people have the ability to focus and study longer doesn't mean people are taking drugs. </p>
<p>I also have a hard time believing that such a focus-enhancing thing even exists.</p>
<p>^Have you not heard of Adderall? Concerta? </p>
<p>And use is rampant in college, a lot more common than one would think.</p>
<p>I've tried Concerta. I've taken it 3 times - the first time at 75mg and that was like INTENSE and I felt like I was on some kind of high and the other two times i took 50mg and it wasn't like that at all. I do that it works, but the downfall is you can never sleep when you take it.</p>
<p>Many anti-drug organizations encourage parents to enroll their kids in as many activities as they can so the kids wouldn't have time to do drugs. I find it so ironic that these kids use drugs to help keep up with their activities.</p>
<p>I wonder if the anti-drug people will still encourage kids to overload themselves with school if they come across this article?</p>
<p>Back to the original post...
[quote]
Aside from the ones that don't cause liver malfunction...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If you need "smart pills" to be smart, then you really aren't. </p>
<p>Not to mention the whole college party + alcohol + pills equation. Couldn't see that one coming.</p>
<p>lol, I didn't even notice that liver malfunction thing. I guess the op does need smart pills. </p>
<p>Forget whatever i said about ethics, you'll have to takethose pills, otherwise be at a severe disadvantage.</p>
<p>if you took the time to read the article at all you would have read this:</p>
<p>"But there are side effects with every drug. Strattera the ADHD medicine that is not a stimulant and may be taken for weeks before it shows an effect comes with a warning that it can result in fatal liver failure. The FDA warns it also may increase thoughts of suicide in young people. For a while last year, Canada pulled a form of Adderall from its markets as a result of sudden unexplained deaths in children with cardiac abnormalities. Provigil can decrease the effectiveness of birth control. All of these drugs come with a raft of side-effect warnings."</p>
<p>No, I don't use smart pills.</p>
<p>You can get into Harvard, but I will keep my liver... and my life, thank you very much.</p>
<p>wow</p>
<p>wow</p>
<p>i can't believe people on here use and or support the use of this stuff. You guys have seriously skewed perspectives.</p>
<p>I'm all about getting an edge in everything I do, but using drugs may give you a short-term boost but you will have to pay the price somewhere down the line.</p>
<p>I was top 1% in my high school without any drugs -- I think only weak people are willing to give up their health for "grades"</p>
<p>You guys consider grades more important than health or what?</p>
<p>I'm just stunned right now. I didn't think people actually did this.</p>
<p>At my school, the first guy in four years to get into Harvard abused Ritalin and cheated in his classes (I'm sure most going to Harvard didn't do that, but some people like him are willing to resort to sketchy means just to go there). During the first morning of ISEF last year, he took too many pills and spent the entire day throwing up.</p>
<p>If I were him, I would have preferred to keep my integrity and health.</p>
<p>Here are some links on the dangerous effects of Ritalin and Adderall: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2493.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2493.html</a> - as a stimulant to help study
<a href="http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/3703.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/3703.html</a> - as a cheaper alternative to cocaine</p>
<p>CC is just as kooky as freerepublic.com .</p>
<p>I don't even care about the ethics/morals around this... this just seems like its stupid and unsafe for your body</p>
<p>One of the worst things about students taking these "smart" pills is that
they are fostering an attitude of dependence....</p>
<p>In the long run, having inner strength is a much important factor for personal & professional success (and in the long run, personal matters much more than professional...) than top grades which were not earned with the help of a little "mental sweat". </p>
<p>No pain, no gain!</p>
<p>don't worry about what other people are doing. everyone's view of "cheating" is different, but in the end, everyone "cheats" one way or another. it could be your family's wealth that gives you an advantage or an older sibling who has been through the same experience. it doesn't matter, life can never be fair. don't b1tch about it. just develop your own ethics and morals and try to follow them as closely as possible. there's no point in discussing whether using pills to help you concentrate is right or wrong; everyone has a different point of view. if you got beat by someone who used these pills, you have a choice - start taking the pills or don't. and i've heard it's pretty easy to get a prescription for these drugs anyway so there are people who "need" the drug but are abusing them just like someone without a prescription. personally, i think it's your choice, like any other choice in life, one that comes with benefits and risks. i don't take them now, but in college i don't know. i might be so frustrated with my lack of self-discipline and willpower that i'll resort to taking one of those pills to cram for an important exam. who knows? i just know that for me, right now, the risks outweigh the benefits.</p>