One in five high school students are taking prescription stimulants. Reports vary concerning college students, but it could be as many as one in three - depending on which school you’re talking about. Adderall, Ritalin, and Provigal are the most common drugs used – as study aids and attention enhancers. Unfortunately many students using them will become addicted and need drug rehab in the future.

Incredulously, Dr. Anajan Chatterjee, a psychiatrist from the

University of

Pennsylvania, has put a name to this activity – “cosmetic neurology”. He compares it to changing your body - add a little here, take away a little there, change the shape of your nose, cheeks or chin. But if you want to change your mind, you use ‘cognitive enhancers’ for cosmetic neurology. Big Pharma must love this, another outlet for their drugs.

Dr. Chatterjee says it’s inevitable; if your 9-year-old isn’t hitting a curve ball, get some cognitive enhancers. If you can’t hit a back hand, try a cognitive enhancer. You don’t even need an ADD diagnosis to get the drugs you need for this edge.

photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

However, it does fly in the face of President Bush’s recent campaign against prescription drug abuse. Of course you have to ask the question – if you get the drugs by prescription, is it really abuse? Many people in the

U.S. don’t think so – they think they’re safe if they got the drugs from a doctor, but they’ll still need drug rehab to get off them.

In 2006 the Harvard Crimson published Harvard on Speed, an article about stimulant abuse, one student featured in the article, Ryan, was both scornful and amused about being diagnosed with ADD. I wonder if he was a seller or a user. At Harvard it is suspected that up to 30% of the students use prescription stimulants to.

University of

California Santa Barbara has the same problem. In a recent news article, David Rabie, a UCSB student said the use of prescription stimulants is “out of control.” In 2005, the Daily Nexus, the newspaper of the same school discussed the growing trend then.

In Northern California at

Palo Alto High School and Los Altos High recent reports show students routinely use prescription stimulants. Pressure to get into a good school is cited by some of the students who use cognitive enhancers to achieve better grades. The trend doesn’t stop there, students at Stanford University have just as much pressure as the UCSB students so I am sure the numbers are similar there.

photo credit: danielle_blue

There is tremendous pressure to succeed in college: like an athlete using drugs to become a high draft pick or get a scholarship, the pressure to get the best grades and stay on top of the class are huge. According to Denise Pope of Stanford - Some students will cheat (75% of high school students do) and the ones who cheat the most are those with the most to lose, the straight A, advanced placement and honor roll students. These cheating students will have no trouble deciding to use these stimulants to get the upper hand if they become more available. With an endorsement from a doctor for cognitive enhancers and a few cheat sheets the top students can achieve success.My wife thinks I need more cognitive enhancement, but I think I’ll stick to my morning coffee. With any luck, I won’t eventually wind up in drug rehab for that. If you know someone who is addicted to prescription drugs get them some drug rehab it may be the most effective cognitive enhancement of all.
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cognative enhancers, cosmetic neurology, drug rehab, prescription drugs, study drugs

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