Cognitive Enhancement Drugs - Essay Example

? Enhancement Drugs Introduction Cognitive enhancement drugs are medical corrections used to control neuropsychiatric disorders thataffect normal functioning levels of a normal human in terms of memory and attention. A common cognitive enhancement drug is Ritalin that improves Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, only people do not use them with cognitive deficiency as healthy people seeking to stimulate their brains and increase attention use them too. In addition, there is much research effort put into trying to develop memory boosters in a bid to improve the memory and performance of healthy people to prevent the memory loss that occurs during middle and old age. 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 the 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 dangers to the brain or life of an individual, but argues that policies allowing the prescription of cognitive enhancers to people without cognitive deficiencies are not bad. He tries to defend the dangers in three categories: the safety of their use, the fairness in their prescription, and willingness of people to use them. On safety, he recommends that regulation is the way to control it, arguing that if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is convinced that a certain product is safe for human use, then it is okay to allow physicians to prescribe it. This is argument is weak because after the pharmacists prescribe the drugs, then the people take them home, they can share them with people without cognitive deficiency, which is wrong(Greely, 2010). In addition, he says it is obvious that the enhancements will be costly and beyond the reach of many. Does this then mean that the society will have two different types of people? Greely tries to solve this by recommending that it is better and easier to make them available to all than try to keep them away from them. In addition, he says there can be two systems, one for the “enhanced” and another “not enhanced” where they can be assessed differently to avoid unfairness. This is very wrong because he is trying to say that these drugs should be made cheaper, and this dangerous because it means more people without cognitive deficiency will use them, and they have risks. On the final point that is how people are willing to use these drugs, he confidently states that just like free education, cognitive enhancement should be forcefully given to people because there might be some enhancements that are necessary for one to survive, just like arithmetic, writing, and reading. These recommendations are dangerous and put the lives and normal health of the people without cognitive deficiency using them at risk. By forcing people to have the drugs is socially unacceptable, as people must have the freedom to choose what they want. The effects of using ADHD drugs by people without cognitive disorders are in the paragraphs below, as put by Greely. Although these drugs actually improve the lives of many by helping them regain attention, self-control, concentration, and suppress impulsiveness, to mention but a few, it is important to take caution against the rising use of these drugs by people without cognitive deficiency poses great risks to the users. The use of ADHD has side effects such as altering their mood, has cocaine-like effect, and causes cognition corruption that leads to disorders like experiencing hallucinations. Greely is a medical practitioner and explains that the cognitive ability of an individual depends on their natural brain design which is made up of cells, genetics, chemicals and so on, which means altering them by using external means might affect their performance due to interference. His explanation of the effects of ADHD warns that the use of ADHD during early childhood might slow down growth as these drugs affect the hypothalamus and pituitary glands which are responsible for controlling growth in humans. In adults, they lead to acquiring of at least one psychiatric disorder such as drug addiction owing to the fact that Methylphenidate, a common ADHD contains chemical formations similar to those of cocaine, and can cause addiction. In addition, the use of Amphetamine leads to a reduction in the production of dopamine, which usually leads to getting Alzheimer’s disease, which is a form cognitive disorder. From the arguments, it is evident that there is no specific answer as to how pharmacists can determine who fits the condition for using ADHD’s and how they can control with whom the real patients can share the drugs with after taking them home. To add salt to injury, Greely suggests that the administration should not seek an individual’s consent, which is an open violation of the right to choose. This translates to exposing of the society to the dangers that arise from the use of cognitive enhancement drugs by people without cognitive deficiency. It is therefore for the good of the society that the policies pushing for prescribing these drugs to people without cognitive be restricted only to those with cognitive deficiency. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to consider the points that show the negative effects of allowing people without cognitive deficiency to use them. These drugs have side effects such as slowing down growth, causing drug problems like those of cocaine, causing cognition corruption, and altering the normal mood of those who use them without proper reasons. It is because of these reasons that I strongly oppose the prescription of cognitive enhancement drugs to people who do not have cognitive deficiencies. The allowing of the healthy people to use cognitive enhancement drugs is like allowing drug abuse, which is harmful to one’s health. I therefore recommend that the prescription of ADHD drugs to remain only for those with cognitive deficiencies, and there should be strict policies to control who has real deficiencies. References Greely, H.,T. (2010, July 14). Enhancing Brains: What Are We Afraid Of? Retrieved from http://dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=28786 Higgins, E.,S. (2009). Do ADHD Drugs Take a Toll on the Brain? Retrieved from http://www.suu.edu/faculty/barney/PSY%204320/Interesting%20Articles/ADHD%20Drugs%20Affect%20the%20Brain.pdf Read More