Story Archives of 'Drugs'

We're entering a brave new world of cognitive enhancement by prescription. You can take Prozac to improve your mood, Klonopin before going to a party or Adderall before an important exam. Imagine popping a pill to become more faithful, or slipping your child a hormone to make him trust you.

It's not too far off in the future. Scientists are in the early stages of developing neuroenhancers to improve memory, encourage fidelity, and increase trust. It could be decades before these drugs come to market, but ethicists are already considering their moral implications. Here with more is David Edmonds. He wrote about the "age of enhancement" in Prospect Magazine and joins us from the BBC where he is executive producer of "The New Europe."

Prospect Magazine: The Age of Enhancement

(Photo by blue out via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Drugs like Ritalin and Adderall provide just the right amount of kick and focus for our over-achieving, ultra-competitive, BlackBerry-strapped society. Unlike the theoretical scenarios that bio-ethicists fret about - designer babies or human clones, cognitive enhancement drugs are here, now - on college campuses, in suburban neighborhoods and hi-tech high rises. Yet their long-term effects are still unkown.

Margaret Talbot is reporter-at-large for The New Yorker magazine. In this week's issue, she looks at what could be the defining drugs of our age. Margaret Talbot joins us from Washington, DC.

Neuroenhancing drugs have seeped into many parts of our society, including performing musicians. We also hear from NPR’s Next Generation Radio series about how classical musicians sometimes rely on betablockers to calm their pre-show jitters. Intern Edition’s Jamie Hammond explains. Click here to listen.

The New Yorker: The Underground World of “Neuroenhancing” Drugs

Slate.com: Adderall Nation

Boston Phoenix: Blooger Says New Yorker Almost Gets it Right

(Photo by Darren Hester via Flickr/Creative Commons)

A new bill would allow severely ill Granite Staters to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes. The bill passed a House Committee last week. Those in favor say it would ease the pain and nausea of suffering patients, but opponents suggest that it could lead to the unwinding of state drug laws. We'll look at the debate.

Guests

• Karin Eckel, assistant Attorney General at the New Hampshire Department of Justice
• Matt Simon, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

We'll also hear from

• Evelyn Merrick, Democratic state representative from Lancaster and sponsor of a bill to legalize medical marijuana
• Dr. Eric Voth, chairman of the Institute on Global Drug Policy

It's been twelve years since California voters decided to make marijuana legal for medical purposes, with the passage of Proposition 215.

Since then, an enormous underground industry has emerged in the state. There are about 200,000 people in California who have letters from their doctors prescribing them medicinal marijuana. One report estimates that in 2006 Californians grew more than 20 million pot plants, worth about 14 billion dollars - actually displacing corn as America’s leading cash crop. But conflicting county, state and federal laws have created a patchwork of rules and regulations.

David Samuels spent half a year exploring this hidden economic sector and wrote about it in The New Yorker. He joins Word of Mouth with more on the people that make up this emerging industry.

(Photo by Alexandra Moss)