Each month we feature a technology with potential legal, social and/or ethical implications and ask:
What’s YOUR answer?
One $25 Starbucks gift card card awarded per challenge based on what we feel is the most judicious response to the highlighted technology, below.
Deadline to be eligible for this month’s Starbucks gift card is October 1, 2015.
Smart Drugs
As happens with many drugs, they are developed to treat a particular condition and, along the way, are prescribed (or used without a prescription) to treat another. So it is with Modafinil. Modafinil was originally developed to treat narcolepsy until it became popular as a smart drug. Its effectiveness in that area is supported by medical studies, but effectiveness is not the only issue. Another is whether it is fair or acceptable, from a safety, legal or ethical perspective for people not suffering from narcolepsy or other cognitive dysfunction, to be prescribed or use cognitive enhancement drugs like Modafinil, Adderall, or Provigil. Many have argued the practice is akin to an athlete using steroids– use of which the sporting community has condemned. Should academic and other professional organizations follow suit in denouncing the unsupported use of smart drugs? Why or why not? If your answer is yes, what safeguards would you put into place? Read more here.