Amphetamine salt based drugs such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin have more positive effects then negatives on the United States society and therefore these study drugs should be open to the public on a free market. With the drugs open to the free market no prescription will be needed to purchase the study drugs from any pharmacy. The study drugs being open to the public will be beneficial to the society as it will allow people to perform at their best ability and it will boost the United States’ economy by creating new business and cutting down on crime.

Amphetamine was first synthesized by Lazar Edeleanu a Romanian chemist in 1887. He synthesized the amphetamine chemical compound from a plant found in China called Ma-Haunge. The amphetamine drug would reappear in United States society in the early 1930’s.  These types of drugs first were placed on the market in 1933; in the form of a Benzedrine Inhaler that contained amphetamine salts. The inhaler was used to treat nasal catarrh, asthma, and head colds. The Benzedrine Inhalers were used through the naval cavity instead of the oral cavity. With the inhaler being used through the nose it allows the amphetamine salts to enter directly into the blood stream giving an instant effect of drug. The effects of the amphetamine salts in the Benzedrine Inhaler were quickly discovered and the popularity of the drug grew in America. During 1940’s the study drugs will play an important role in the victory of World War II. The American Government would issue pep pills to the American soldiers. Pep pills were pure doses of amphetamine salts and they were used to combat battle fatigue and improve focus for the soldiers.

These central nervous system stimulant drugs are now used today to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. 2.5 million adult Americans are prescribed central nervous stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin. However, in Aberg’s study it shows that 6.5 million adult Americans have tried these drugs before. This means that there is a large amount of the American population that is using these drugs illegally. A large portion of these illegal users and college student or employees with high demanding jobs. The study drugs are so popular with these group because of the effects that the amphetamine drugs produce. The drugs improve the user’s ability to focus, pay attention, organize task, and improves listening skills. 

The amphetamine based drugs are most popular with high school and college students as well as young employees with high demanding jobs. In ThinkTank’s video on YouTube they discuss the data from Carl Hanson’s research. Carl Hanson was able to put together a map of where and when college students were tweeting about using study drugs. Majority of the college students tweets about using study drugs were on the east coast of the United States. The number of tweets about the usage of the study drugs increased during midterms and finals however, the number of tweets were at their lowest on Fridays and Saturdays. This data shows that most college students are using these drugs to stay focused and organized on school work not for recreational use. There are no negatives if the college students are taking the drugs as intended and safely to gain an advantage in school. It would be most beneficial to the college student if study drugs were available to the public so that these students can perform at their best for their academic endeavors. 

The study drugs improve the user’s ability to focus, pay attention, and listen. These skills are very important to employees with high demanding jobs not just the college students. Some jobs can be overwhelming with high quotas that need to be met and massive amounts of responsibility to one individual. Many employees that struggle with trying to make deadlines for their company they will turn to these amphetamine salt based drugs to gain an advantage in their work load. Employees turning to study drugs for work is most evident in the Silicon Valley area. Silicion Valley is in the southern bay area of California and it houses thousands of tech companies; In 2014 Silicon Valley made up 1.4% of total American businesses. Silicon Valley is most know for how many tech companies it houses but with this many tech companies in such a small area it brought with it a high demand for study drugs. In Castro’s article, she describes the new trend that is sweeping Silicon Valley; nootropics. Nootropics are not FDA approved and they are capsules or powder that is to mimic the same effects of amphetamine. Castro states “Programmers claim nootropics can increase productivity and focus but aren’t as intense as prescription psychostimulants. Users can make their own nootropics with powders purchased online or in supplement stores, or they can buy stacks, or pre-made doses, designed to produce specific effects.” The nootropics possess multiple negatives they are not FDA approved and some are making their own nootropics from ordering certain powders online which could be dangerous. It would be much safer if these employees had access to amphetamine salt based drugs therefore making the study drugs open to the market would be more beneficial to the employees with high demanding jobs. Others might not agree that opening study drugs to the public will be beneficial to the society but instead believe that they bring negative side effects and taking these drugs to gain an advantage is cheating. A experiment was performed by Farah, Haimm, Sankoorikal, and Chatterjee to test if Adderall would have an effect on the users creativity. The experiment had 16 total test subjects; half of them were given a sugar pill to act as a constant for the experiment while the other half were given Adderall. The experiment would consense of questions that would require convergent thought and divergent thought. Convergent thought is the ability to solve problems that have one single therefore one who is more knowledgeable and better at multiple choice questions have better convergent thought. Divergent thought is the ability to solve problems that have multiple answers to the problem; divergent thought requires more creativity than convergent thought. Both convergent and divergent thought question results is how they would measure one’s creativity. The results of the experiment showed that Adderall had no effect on one’s divergent thought however for convergent thought it showed that those with lower convergent thought improved with Adderall. In conclusion of the experiment Adderall had no negative effect on one’s creativity. Adderall improved subject’s creativity for those who had low base ling convergent thinking. Some might say that taking these study drugs to improve one self’s focus, attention, and creativity is cheating. Those who say that taking these study drugs are a form of cheating or morally bad have not counted for the benefits that they bring and the positives clearly outweigh the negatives. Professor Farahany director of Duke Science and Society stated “What if taking a smart drug gives us the capacity to study harder, longer, and better such that we cure cancer, or develop tools for staying better in touch, for solving social ills, or for improving our overall happiness? Shouldn’t we encourage rather than ban these opportunities? Improving our brain functioning can influence important outcomes for individuals, like making them more successful at work, enhancing their earning potential, alleviating their likelihood of experiencing social and economic difficulty and improving their overall well-being. Widespread improvement in cognitive function would result in widespread societal benefits like economic gains or even reducing error. Improving our brains is inherently valuable in and of itself.” There is no reason that one should live their live at a disadvantage; especially when there is something as accessible as amphetamines. There is no reason that the American people should handicap themselves anymore. People perform at their peak performance while under the effects of study drugs; the American society shouldn’t limit that and this is why amphetamine salt based drugs need to be open to public. 

Another reason that it would be beneficial to open these drugs to the public is that it would boost the economy of the United States. The study drugs being open to the market would lead to a rise in companies to develop more of the drugs. The rise of these new companies would lead to competition amongst the stimulant producing companies and with more companies developing this would lead to more jobs being created. It would also cut in to the revenue of the underground market of the illegal distribution of the stimulants. There would be no need for people to buy the drugs from anyone illegally thus keeping the money in the economy. This would lead to less crime and save police resources because the drugs are now open to public. The drugs being open to the public would help the economy and cut down on crime and this would be beneficial to the majority of the society.

John Stuart Mill’s is considered the father of utilitarianism and his ethical theory of utilitarianism can be applied to allowing the amphetamine salt drugs being open to the public. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that decisions should be made on what gives the majority more happiness over the individual. For an example if the government had to give one million dollars to the United States citizens it would be more beneficial and bring more happiness if the government distributed the wealth evenly instead of giving it all to one individual. Allowing study drugs to be open to the public favors the majority over the individual because it brings more benefits then negatives. The free market of these drugs would favor the majority because it helps the economy and that helps everyone. People taking the drugs to perform at their peak performance does not bring any negatives to those who don’t. Therefore the study drugs bring more happiness to the majority than the individual. People should side with Mills ethical theory of utilitarianism because it brings more happiness to people and making study drugs open to the public is the choice that brings more happiness. In conclusion Amphetamine drugs, should be open to the public; meaning that no prescription will be needed to obtain the study drugs. It would be most beneficial to the whole of the United states society if the drugs were made open to the public. This would lead to people being able to perform at their best ability and the usage of the drugs have little no negative effects on the user if used properly and safely. The drugs would also be beneficial to the United States economy by developing new companies and cutting down on crime. Overall making the drugs open to the public brings more happiness to the majority rather than the individual and there are little to none negatives with this change. 
