I'm a libertarian and I am in favor of drug legalization. In addition, I'm a big fan of The Singularity and believe that mankind is not going to stay the same biological construct. I experimented with various drugs in high school. I am a big believer of hacking my mind for optimum performance and I take a few nutritional supplements on a regular basis because of that. Finally, I have a sleep disorder and have both a prescription for various neuroenhancers and a traditional reason to use them. So I'm about as big of a poster boy as possible on the benefits of better living through modern chemistry.
But I must advise caution here. The main problem is that your brain is not the thing to use to measure how your brain is doing. It doesn't work. What we end up measuring instead is how good something makes us feel. For instance, Provigil is great stuff; it fulfills a role of addressing wakefulness. But it also makes a person feel really good.
I'd never support further legal restrictions, but I would most certainly caution folks to take a hard look at what you are doing. From what I see, once you start down this road you can never stop. Let's say you took your magic pills and aced your exam. Was it you, or was it you with the pills. Well, honestly, you don't know. Maybe you could have passed without the pills and maybe not. So now it's a few months later and time for the next exam. Do you take the pills again? I don't see how you couldn't -- why handicap yourself when you know the pills give you enhanced performance?
It just continues on like that -- more and more exams, job interviews, dates, parties -- life becomes a series of achievements. As you use neuroenhancers to accomplish each one, the natural conclusion is that you should take them again for the next one. The pattern builds up, and pretty soon you're telling yourself you'd be a fool to do X without the extra help. Note: I'm not trying to describe psychological addiction here. You may be perfectly able to physically quit at any time. What I'm saying is that you become logically addicted; that the most logical thing for you to do is to continue taking them. So now suddenly instead of a kid who took some speed back in college to ace an exam or two, you're the 30-something who has been taking pills on a regular basis for over a decade to change the way his brain works. Is this where you want to end up?
There are certainly people for which your description of "drugged life" is true, but the older I get, the more I see that everyone has a sense of self-regulation (and at least the people I'm around seem to listen to it). People know when they're turning into automatons, people know when they're compromising their health. There comes a point with any drug where your tolerance rises and you have to decide whether to consume more or take a break, explore other avenues. Almost everyone I know on Adderall has slowed down or quit over time. The returns diminish and regular usage of a strong dose tends to make people noticeably neurotic (incessantly talkative) - going off of it is kind of a relief.
My experience with Adderall has been far different than the "faster, faster faster" characterization. It really makes the psychological term "executive function" make sense - I temporarily get a much clearer sense of all of my priorities and the systemic obstacles to reach them. It's made me more social, organized and energetic long after the high wears off.
But I must advise caution here. The main problem is that your brain is not the thing to use to measure how your brain is doing. It doesn't work. What we end up measuring instead is how good something makes us feel. For instance, Provigil is great stuff; it fulfills a role of addressing wakefulness. But it also makes a person feel really good.
I'd never support further legal restrictions, but I would most certainly caution folks to take a hard look at what you are doing. From what I see, once you start down this road you can never stop. Let's say you took your magic pills and aced your exam. Was it you, or was it you with the pills. Well, honestly, you don't know. Maybe you could have passed without the pills and maybe not. So now it's a few months later and time for the next exam. Do you take the pills again? I don't see how you couldn't -- why handicap yourself when you know the pills give you enhanced performance?
It just continues on like that -- more and more exams, job interviews, dates, parties -- life becomes a series of achievements. As you use neuroenhancers to accomplish each one, the natural conclusion is that you should take them again for the next one. The pattern builds up, and pretty soon you're telling yourself you'd be a fool to do X without the extra help. Note: I'm not trying to describe psychological addiction here. You may be perfectly able to physically quit at any time. What I'm saying is that you become logically addicted; that the most logical thing for you to do is to continue taking them. So now suddenly instead of a kid who took some speed back in college to ace an exam or two, you're the 30-something who has been taking pills on a regular basis for over a decade to change the way his brain works. Is this where you want to end up?
I'd be very careful about heading down this road.