Enhancement drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Enhancement drug - Essay Example It is from this use of memory and performance boosters that sharp debates emerge as to how positive or negative they might have on the society if their prescription is accepted. This study will discuss the reasons as to why cognitive enhancement drugs should not be made available to those in society who do not have cognitive deficiencies. This tough debate attracts the opinions of many with no single agreement on which side of the motion to take up to today, and this is debate never complete without the mention of two people: Edmund Higgins and one Henry Greely. These two make strong arguments in the debate, with Henry supports for the prescription of cognitive enhancement drugs claiming that they will significantly benefit the user and society if they have rules controlling their use. On his part, Higgins says that long-term use of these drugs might have hidden risks that will harm, rather than do the society any good. So who between Higgins and Greely supports the real cause for th e good of the society? To support the reason why I am against making ADHD available to those who do not have cognitive deficiency, I will state the reasons. The first reason is that the use of these drugs for purposes other than medical has a risk of addiction. According to research, some ADHD drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall lead to severe addiction and withdrawal, meaning it has an abuse potential. This is because once the user relies on the drugs for doing particular tasks, then it gets to a point where they cannot function nor do the tasks without the use of ADHD drugs. In a research carried out by Nora Volkow, there was evidence that injecting oneself with methylphenidate caused an effect like that of cocaine. On another note, these drugs give an unfair advantage to people who do not have cognitive deficiencies when they use them in competitive areas. For example if an athlete takes performance boosters and runs the same race with others who do not use them gives the user an unfair advantage. That is socially unacceptable because it means that instead of attending training like the other athletes, then the one using drugs to enhance their performance is being unfair because he uses a cheating method to win the race. In relation to the issue of unfair competition, it is possible that once people realize that others use enhancers to have an advantage over them, then they will also start using them so that they match them, or make the competition. This is not acceptable because it means they use the drugs not because they want to, but because they have to make the competition equal, which is a bad effect to the society. Another popular consequence of using these enhancing drugs as put by Higgins (2009), is an alteration of mood. The normal people taking enhancers without prescription display negative changes in their moods and they display excess emotion such as anger, or become abnormally silent. Research has found that stimulants affect the brain’ s reward pathways that control moods under normal condition therefore altering their normal functioning. This conclusion was made after a study conducted by Leandro F. Vendruscolo on rats where he was injecting them with methylphenidate for 16 days showed that they were anxious than those not injected with the drug. Greely is aware those brain enhancement mechanisms pose