As the second decade of the 21st century progresses, the population approaches seven billion. With so many people, how are people supposed to stand out in job applications, or catch the administrators’ eye as he or she reads applications to highly prestigious colleges and universities? More and more people are asking this question, and more and more people are finding help in a small pill. Originally diagnosed for Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD, these drugs are increasingly used off label in universities and workplaces. In society, people call this form of off label use of neuroenhancing drugs chiefly two different things: smart drugs informally, and nootropics formally. The word nootropic originated from a Romanian Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea, a combination of the Greek words nous, meaning mind, and trepein meaning to bend or turn. These drugs do not increase intelligence per se, but do increase concentration levels and clarity of thought. According to Ann Robinson from the Guardian, they do this by increasing levels of noradrenalin, acetylcholine, and dopamine at the junction between nerves to improve transmission or electrical activity.
Since relatively few studies have been taken, the companies selling these drugs claim that there are little to no side effects harmful to the drug consumer’s wellbeing. However, the absence of side effect information is because this alternative atypical use of these drugs is very new to society. As the popularity of drugs such as Modafinil (Provogil, Alertec) increase, the amount of professional medical studies done, does not. Most of the funding instead of going to the research of long-term effects goes to creating and enhancing new drugs. However as seen with the popular nootropic in ...
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... Feb. 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. .
Talbot, Margaret. "Brain Gain." The New Yorker [New York City, NY]. N.p., 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. .
Boggan, Steve, and Tim Stewart. "Brain-Enhancing Drugs: Legalize 'Em, Scientists Say." Mail Online. N.p., 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2010. .
Sahakian, Barbara. Guest Lecture. Smart Drugs. Royal Institution of Great Britain, London, Great Britain. 22 February 2010.
Bannerman, Lucy. "Bring 'Smart Drugs' Out of the Closet, Experts Urge Government." Times Online. UK]. The Times, 27 Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. .
presents a vast amount of information about many aspects of the drug such as the
More than often, American’s argue that if we have the technology to gain access to these “miracle meds”, then we should take advantage of it. To receive an opposing view, the National Institute of Drug Abuse asked teens around America why they think prescription drugs are overused, and the results were shocking; 62%: “Easy to get from parent's medicine cabinets”, 51%: “They are not illegal drugs”, 49%: “Can claim to have prescription if caught”, 43%: “They are cheap”, 35%: “Safer to use than illegal drugs”, 33%: “Less shame attached to using”, 32%: “Fewer side effects than street drugs”, 25%: “Can be used as study aids”, and 21%: “Parents don't care as much if caught”. I believe the major problem here isn’t the medication, but instead the fact that our nation is extremely uninformed on the “do’s and dont’s” of prescription medication. When “the United States is 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the the world's prescription drugs” (CDC), there is a problem present, no matter the reason. Clearly, many critics believe the breathtaking amount of pills we consume in America is simply for the better good, but tend to forget the effects that are soon to follow.
Edmonds, Molly. "Discovery Health "Are teenage brains really different from adult brains?"." HowStuffWorks "Learn how Everything Works!". N.p., 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. Print
Pennington, Bill. "A New Way to Care for Young Brains." SIRS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov.
Margaret Talbot's "Brain Gain" first appeared in The New Yorker. In this essay, Talbot aims to get the point across to her audience that neuroenhancers are used frequently by college students. Adderall and Ritalin are drugs that are designed to help adults and children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which are now being abused by individuals who are undiagnosed, who are taking these stimulants for, "non-medical" purposes (Talbot 701). Talbot’s essay targets people, who do not believe in using the neuroenhancing drugs without a prescription. Talbot achieves these goals by interviewing a former college graduate from
...s little information about the possible benefits of the study or the side effects. The side effects proved to be significant (gastrointestinal complains, headache, and an elevation of alanine aminotransferase), while the benefits were minimal. This situation emphasizes the need for a balanced approach when it comes to drug clinical trials.
Sharpe, Katherine. “Medication: The Smart-pill Oversell.” Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. Nature Publishing Group. 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 7 March 2014.
Depressants also called downers are a drug which slow down the central nervous system.Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Alcohol, Heroin, and Marijuna. Depressants cna be smoked, swallowed, and injected. Short term effects are slurred speech, drowsiness, low blood pressure, ect. Long term effects are addiction, sleep problems, death. Withdrawal symptoms are insomnia nausea and weekness. Tolerance can develop very quickly and then addiction.
Wolf, M. (2011, June 4). We should declare an end to our disastrous war on drugs. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/870200965?accountid=14473
...ibility with a wide range of experts and primary sources that the reader identifies as believable. As the reader Dyck compiled her knowledge and that of others that I was easily able to identify as key points to stress. She uses proper flow to organize a well balanced and exciting amount of sources that interest the reader and capture their attention to spread Dyck’s claims. She writes her historical novel based on solidifying themes and arguments with extensive sources that makes her claims hard to dismiss. Already I’ve researched other medical therapies using other sensitive illegal substances marijuana, MDMA, and cocaine that may be on breakthroughs of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cancer related diseases. Maybe more funding should be invested in this research to better gain understanding and awareness of the possible valuable advances that these drugs may offer.
I would like to talk about the short and long term effects of prescribed and recreational depressants. In order to understand the effects of depressants I think it is important to understand why someone may need depressants. Depressants also referred to as “downers,” are prescribed to treat mental illness. Prescriptions for depressants may treat various mental illnesses such as anxiety and insomnia. A depressant is classified as a psychoactive drug and slows normal brain and central nervous system performance. When used correctly with strict supervision, they are effective in helping with the mental illnesses they are prescribed for. When used incorrectly in improper doses, they can be harmful to the individual taking them. Some people take
Antidepressants Antidepressants should be taken off the market. Depression is simply a condition of the mind. Events that take place in ones life can bring upon a depressive episode. With the variety of people in the world, there are a variety of ways in which people cope with things. Some people can cope with depression, but in turn, people that are emotionally unstable, cannot.
The altered states of consciousness produced by drugs presents an all-to-common phenomenon in today’s society. Whether the desired sensation comes in the form of energy, a means of relaxation, or pain reduction, many people go to great lengths and present their bodies to threatening conditions in order to achieve this euphoric “high.” Unfortunately, the use of these drugs very often comes with dangerous side effects that users must learn to manage with for the rest of their life. According to neuroscientists, our entire conscious existence bases itself off of the lighting-fast reactions occurring in our nervous system (Nichols, 2012). Therefore, changing these neurological reactions can permanently effect our conscious being (Blatter, 2012). The physical and neurological effects from the use and abuse of stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, organic solvents, and athletic performance enhancing drugs will be discussed in order to better comprehend why certain individuals expose themselves to such dangerous materials with seemingly no regard to the permanent consequences associated with such actions.
Kayser, Bengt, Alexandre Mauron, and Andy Miah. "Viewpoint Legalisation of Performance-enhancing Drugs." The Lancet. The Lancet, Dec. 2005. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.