While we're waiting for WOP to post his "counterattack from hell", check out this interesting article in the Washington Post about the increasing usage of prescription amphetamines such as Adderall and Ritalin by high-school and college students who have not been diagnosed with any problem.
Link
The Duke personally knows several people who are in the habit of grinding up Ritalin and snorting it before big tests. Since we here at Paddywop hate anecdotal data however, we're going to conduct a totallly unscientific Paddywop Poll (TM). If you are a high school or college student, please write an email to pharmosurvey@gmail.com , and tell us whether or not you or somebody you know regularly uses cogntive-enhancement of the chemical sort.
1 comment:
It's a dirty, dirty world we live in where the widespread underground use of unprescribed pharmaceuticals is considered 'mainstream.'
Incidentally, I would be willing to bet that these numbers are skewed significantly by casual users of these drugs, who have no interest in study. I have borne personal witness to a trio of deadbeats snorting lines of Ritalin during a poker game.
Just because these drugs are intended to increase focus doesn't mean that that's how they're used, or even that they work. Ritalin is a dirty word in my book, regardless of any 'medical condition' you may allegedly have. I'm convinced that, while there may be a small number for whom these drugs make a meaningful difference, the vast majority of their users only take them so they can have material evidence of society's greatest excuse for being a screwup.
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