Sullivan on pharmacological enhancement

[snousle]

"My point is that we are all pharmaceutically-compromised now. From SSRIs to Adderal, from Xanax to taurine and caffeine energy drinks, it's harder and harder to draw very clear lines between what chemicals are illicit and what chemicals aren't. We don't begrudge injured athletes drugs that alleviate pain and speed recovery. And the distinctions between preventing pain and improving performance will become harder to maintain."

I agree. The consensual use of drugs doesn't bother me, but the way things like this become effectively mandatory, as automobiles have, concerns me a lot:

The pharmaceutical path to superworkers

Is science phasing out sleep?

I use Adrafinil occasionally, which is similar to modafinil, since it opens up new possibilities, such as staying up after midnight. But I don't enjoy it. I like sleeping. It would be terrible if that were taken from me.

Like so many things, it's great when you have it, but it's hell when everyone else does.

Comments

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

I once decided that I was drinking way too much coffee and that I should just stop drinking it altogether. I was a wreck for awhile but it was okay after that however I could just not keep up with all these fast moving big city types that I was working with. A friend said that I had to be on the same drug they are. They're all "enhanced" with lattés and mochas and living a non-coffee lifestyle will leave me behind.
So I went to one really good cup per day and that works for me.
But it's not "natural".