[Houshalter]

Well a large number of people have ADHD or are close to having it. Certainly it benefits those people. The benefits for the average person may not outweigh the downsides, but that's up to them to determine. I've also heard lots of people use modafinil which I think is similar.

It's not stupid or ridiculous. If a drug benefits a person then what's the problem? Certainly improving focus or intelligence is a much nobler act than people who do drugs for fun. A pervasive and semi-legal part of our culture.

[johnwheeler]

That's a libratarian-type POV I can respect but don't agree with (as far as using prescription drugs illegally). It would be a separate issue to discuss.

But a culture that's accepting of drug use for enhanced cognition is stupid (reckless is a better word). It'd be no different than performance enhancing drugs in sports. You've got a situation there where people feel uncompetitive without drugs. You don't want that in the workplace.

[Houshalter]

Well imagine the economy was based on sports. And people who weren't very strong were poor and had to exercise twice as much. Such a world would be terribly unfair, and then of course we should give people performance enhancing drugs. Or at least the weakest.

But it's more than that. The world isn't a zero sum game like sports. One person winning doesn't mean someone else has to lose. I think the world would be much better off if we could increase the IQ and focus of everyone. So much stuff doesn't get done, so many people don't reach their potential, and the whole worlds productivity is much lower than it could be.

If shit drugs like alcohol, which causes tons of deaths, or nicotine, which is incredibly addictive, are legal, then why shouldn't much less dangerous, actually beneficial drugs be legal?