Cognitive Enhancement- does it count as cheating?

[NootropicalWonderland]

Potentially a taboo topic, so forgive me for posting this, but I feel like there's little discussion about this anywhere, so I wanted to start the conversation.

I'd love to hear about people's opinions on the use of study drugs in VCE/HSC/High school. Obviously they are more common in university, though in my experience not as much as in the US, but surely others have to be utilising them, right? By study drugs I mean any cognitive enhancer, be it an amphetamine such as adderall, lesser known but still relatively popular nootropics such as modafinil or widely available substances like caffeine.

What's your experience using cognitive enhancers for VCE? If you didn't use any, did any of your peers?
How do you feel about their use? Would you consider it unethical and cheating, or is it simply another way to play the system?
Do you think that people who use cognitive enhancers that are not necessarily obtained legally should be punished? If so, do you have any suggestions as to how their use can be recognised?

Please try to keep an open mind for this topic.

Moderator action - removed incorrect legal information. Please note that ampethamines such as adderall are NOT available in Australia.

[Aaron]

Hey all, we have yet another interesting topic on our hands. We've edited it a little bit to make it appropriate as an opinion/discussion thread.

Reminder that all opinions are to be respected and posts are to follow the forum rules at all times.

If we have a repeat of the abortion thread, we will close it faster than last time.

[Cornrow Kenny]

I don't know a lot of about the effects of these drugs e.g. Ritalin other than they 'help you focus'. I know of people who have been prescribed cognitive enhancing medication, and if they actually needed it, then fair enough. But I also knew of people last year who got their hands on Ritalin without a prescription. In this case I felt they had some sort of unfair advantage but didn't care that much tbh. I myself have never taken any.

From what I gather they don't make you 'smarter', but they allow you to study harder. And I definitely don't think it is fair to claim that someone's results come down to their consumption of these drugs (not that you are), there are thousands of variables at play.

I didn't really answer your question, more adding to your opening post  Looking forward to the responses!

[K888]

Interesting topic.
I can't say I've tried any "study drugs" (or drugs in general), like I don't even drink coffee

I don't see a problem with people consuming caffeine - though I personally think energy drinks are horrible because of all the sugar and all that in there.

However, if people abuse prescription drugs (and most of these drugs are prescription only), I don't agree with that. Amphetamines are prescribed for legit medical conditions, and are schedule 8 drugs for a reason. Using them in attempt to give yourself a study boost doesn't sit well with me - I'm not sure I'd call it cheating? But definitely unethical. Like, you're doing something illegal (& something that could potentially have ramifications down the track) to try to get ahead of the competition. Not cool.

[Russ]

It's all a bit arbitrary.
Use of a legal drug (eg modafanil) to enhance performance beyond that from use of an accepted stimulant (caffeine) is just picking a different line in the sand for what isn't OK.

The drug is pretty safe and effective, in 10 years I think it'll be a much bigger part of the public consciousness.