For years now students have been taking cognitive enhancers on college campuses. These students are doing this for a number of reasons. Those range from needing that extra boost when it comes to taking tests or getting through that last stretch of an all-night homework session. The biggest issue that has arisen with this is how dangerous taking cognitive enhancers that are not prescribed can really be. There are a number of problems that come into play with taking “brain boosters” or “brain enhancers.” Those problems can be the fact that it is illegal to take drugs that are not prescribed to you no matter how much the person taking it might think that they need it. One academic journal refers to the ADHD brain boosters as “academic steroids” (Watson 1). Which really makes you question if you want students taking a drug that will help them that much when it comes to school work. It also can be very dangerous if a person is not prescribed these drugs because of a potential overdose or an allergic reaction that might come as a side effect. One journal makes a point about how students are making money by selling their drugs to other students for profit and how common this is as well, “In another study, more than half of college students with prescriptions for stimulants to treat their ADHD indicated that they are approached each year by their friends to sell, trade, or give away their medications” (Watkins 2).  The list goes on when it comes to naming the hazards of taking these drugs. So, if it is so dangerous, then why are students still taking the enhancers? One thing that will be visited in this insight is the idea of must need perfectionism when it comes to schoolwork or performance. Ideas of legality, academic integrity, and health problems will also be given insight here. The question that will be answered is; Do the benefits really outweigh the risks when it comes to helping yourself in school, with drugs? 

 Maybe the benefits do outweigh the risks for some students because they might feel the urge to reach perfectionism. It appears that students in this day and age are forced to reach a level of perfectionism that they simply cannot accomplish. But what exactly is perfectionism? Perfectionism can be students that are being pushed by parents that expect nothing but the best. Or it can be students trying to make sure that they will finish as the best in their class, or people who just want to know that what they have done is exceptional work. A number of students have been surveyed asking why they took cognitive enhancers and if they think that it was a cause of perfectionism. The results showed that that was a primary reason for using the drugs (Stoeber and Hotham 174).  This does not mean that students who do not expect themselves do the absolute best have done anything wrong, it just means that they are not struggling with perfectionism like a lot of other college enrollees. These college enrollees that are struggling with it have now reverted to taking illegal substances to help them perform at the highest possible level. These substances consist of medicines such as Ritalin, Vyvanse, and Adderall which can be the most dangerous of all. Multiple studies have shown that students have reverted to taking them more in the past 10 years than ever before. People might be surprised to know just how many college students in the United States admitted to taking cognitive enhancers to boost their performance in school. That number has gone up all the way up to thirty-five percent in recent years (Schwarz 1). This could be a result of the fact that there is a more competitive field in higher education than ever before. With colleges becoming stricter with their progression requirements and acceptance letters harder to come by for average students, people are finding themselves taking cognitive enhancers to help them get the job done. This is an argument that many college students have for taking cognitive enhancers. If they live in a more competitive world, then why are they not allowed to take something that may help them? The answer is that the majority of them are taking these drugs illegally. 

What has to be addressed is the legal side of this argument. It appears that almost all students are not aware of the legal consequences that come with taking drugs that are normally prescribed to people that have ADD or ADHD. The health and legal dangers that come with taking drugs that are not prescribed are so high and policymakers have done many things to try to stop this issue but with no recent avail. In “Drug Policy and the Public good” it specifically says about young people that “preventing people from becoming illicit drug users is a broadly shared goal among policymakers” (Pan American Health Organization 105). As said before, most students are not told about the consequences of taking prescription pills that have not been recommended by a doctor. Students at young ages getting in trouble for this and soon finding out that it is a felony in a court of law. People have come to college campuses to teach students about the issues and to help make them less widespread, but the problem is only continuing to grow as students discover that some of these drugs really may help them. Studies have shown that nearly twenty percent of students have committed academic dishonesty by taking cognitive enhancers and over more than half have committed academic dishonesty in general. The relationship shows that the number of students using stimulant medications is growing and could possibly match the number of students that committing the act in general (Gallucci 1). The only thing that might help is a stricter and an updated policy related to pharmaceutical drug use. But until this happens, it will continue to grow like wildfire. Recently lawmakers have started to try to work hand in hand with universities in the US and the UK and schools are close to bringing in drug tests for students that are not prescribed brain boosters. This is primarily because the number of students that have used these drugs in the UK has doubled in just one decade. (Connor 30). The fact that universities are having to consider drug testing is seemingly ridiculous but what else could they do for students that are breaking the rules? Maybe getting the word out to students as to how unhealthy it can be for them is a good next step.

It appears that a main issue that is seen is how dangerous it is legally to take these drugs, but the dangers stem much further than that. The health problems associated with it are very high as well. Students are overdosing at times, being sent to the hospital, and even experiencing permanent damages all because they did not listen to what they were told by professionals and were not ever prescribed by a physician. An academic article that I recently visited sees this as a much higher risk than reward because of what the drugs can do to the body (Urban 1). Doctors and health professionals constantly stress how bad it could be for you to take a pill that is not prescribed to you. It is on every pill bottle label, in every pharmacy and you sign off that you know the risks associated with it when you acquire the medicine. Doctors have years upon years of research and experience backing up their claims and students still do not seem to understand what they are saying. Since the doctors and health officials have plenty of evidence to back it up, why can they not make a difference? Is it because the problem is to big or so what can they still do to slow down this problem.   If one and every four students are taking these drugs around their college campuses, that means that the potential risk may be outweighed by the potential threats.

An article released in 2015 said that 1 in every 4 students were taking a “smart drug” to boost their academic performance and it actually might have positive effects for those students (Knapton 1). So could taking these smart drugs really be helping these students? The article previous referenced states that a new drug called Modafinil can really boost some peoples cognitive function. This drug seems to leave little to no side effects on every spectrum of drug use. That being cognitive, emotional, or physical side effects. Students appear to be taking these drugs in preparation for exams to stay awake and alert for what they are studying for. The university at the time was attempting to get the drug banned because of an unfair advantage in the field of schoolwork (Knapton 1). One academic article seems to state a similar claim. That is that the reward might be pretty high for people taking cognitive enhancers. It discusses whether or not this is a healthy possibility for some and states that positive results have been found. It cites recent studies showing that there was a definite improvement when it came to taking the brain enhancers. It touched on how it improved the memory of those who took it and how it is truly on the rise in the medical field (Healy 1). This almost makes the two arguments contradict themselves. 

As said before, the benefits may or may not outweigh the risks when it comes to taking brain boosters on campus. But both sides of the argument must still be reviewed in full by policymakers, professors, lawyers, doctors and hundreds of other professionals in the field of drugs. When it comes to the safety of those that are taking these drugs, corners must not be cut and no one type of policy can be left out when reviewing this crucial information. I believe that this is an issue that will plague our college campuses forever until a final decision is made. Should we let those students who feel like they need to take these pills just take them whenever we see fit, or do students need to be monitored closely and carefully to prevent academic dishonesty. Who will make all of the decisions for this massive group of people who are using cognitive enhancers and what will they do to create some sort of reform in the field? I believe that there are many possible discussion options when it comes to this topic. As someone who has experience taking drugs like Adderall and Ritalin that were prescribed to me throughout my school career, I find myself wondering if everyone else who feels like they need it personally should be able to take as they please. I believe that some type of reform needs to come to make it safer for those who would like to take it as well. You must ask yourself this…if the people are succeeding after they take these drugs, then why should we really stop them in the first place.
