Prescription Drug Abuse: But does doctor really know best?
http://pr.cannazine.co.uk : Doctors and scientists are turning en masse to prescription drugs such as Provigil/Modafinil and Ritalin, in a bid to enhance their mental performance as well as their physical staying power.
Which is a frightening thought if the doctor in question is “hopped up” on amphetamines as a result of a busy morning general practice diagnosing coughs, colds and flu’s, followed by an afternoon of house-calls, and finishing the day by undertaking an over-night heart or liver transplant at the local private hospital.
A scenario which happens all too often in these days of chronic doctor shortages.
Prescription drug abuse used to be the soul domain of the college student who was looking for a cheap high out of mum or dads medicine cupboard in the bathroom, or perhaps someone looking to find some extra hours at the end of the day for more studying, or as is often the case, more partying.
Then we got to hear about housewives who were using amphetamine-based drugs to lose weight without the effort and the will-power normally involved.
Simply take a few tablets every day and you’re good-to-go. Ready to run round like a madman or woman after your 2.6 kids, without worrying about stopping for doughnut & coffee refuelling stops every ten minutes for the caffeine, sugar and carb hit this provides.
But worse was to come as it was announced in Japan recently, parents are actually buying Ritalin and Adderall ‘off-label’ for their children to use as they approach examinations. And we wonder why it is the world is strung out on prescription drugs?
But in April 2008 we heard of a new demographic turning to using the new, ‘pharmaceutically enhanced’ calendar, in which every day has 36 hours instead of the regulation 24.
Which all begs the question “Is your doctor whacked on Amphetamines?”
Drugs in Sport
British gold medal winning sprinter Dwain chambers is all over the news currently, publicising his book in which he chronicles his own career whilst using using all sorts of performance enhancing drugs. And its fair to say Chambers was not alone. He was just the unfortunate who got caught, and then stripped of his gold medal and banned from competitive athletics.
But he didn’t go down alone, as in his book, “Race Against Me: My Story”, he outs a number of prominent American atheletes who were also using performence enhancing drugs, in the best traditions of a kiss & tell biography.
But its not just athletics. Apparently cycling is awash with steroid abusers, and a news report out of France recently exposed the fact random tests on the hair of French professional footballers and top-level rugby players have revealed frequent use of illegal, muscle-building steroids.
One in five footballers tested, and one in six rugby players, showed signs of having used banned steroids – mostly the anti-ageing hormone DHEA.
Similar, but less widespread, signs of steroid use were found in hair samples taken from French athletes and cyclists.
Blimey.
So will the London 2012 olympics be sponsored by Glaxo SmithKline?
Thankfully when all else fails we can turn to our family doctor, right?
Wrong!
Drugs & Doctors?
An online poll from the ‘British Science Magazine’ didn’t ask readers how they felt about professional athletes using drugs to enhance their physical performance. But when asked how they felt about professional thinkers using drugs to enhance their cognitive performance, nearly 80% said it should be allowed.
And while only a fifth of the poll’s 1,400 respondents admitted to drug use to improve concentration, nearly two-thirds said they knew of a colleague who did. And if there was only “a normal or lower risk of mild side effects,” nearly 70% of the scientists & doctors said they’d boost their brain power by taking a “cognitive-enhancing drug.”
The most popular drug was Ritalin, used by 62% of responders. Provigil was the drug of choice for 44% of those polled, which would suggest that many of the users take more than one drug.
Beta-blockers, such as Inderal, accounted for 15% of the drug use.
Most of those polled said they took the drugs to improve concentration or to improve focus for a specific task. Counteracting jet lag was also a popular ‘reason’ for drug use. And not only are these doctors taking these drugs, they’re doing so regularly.
The results were an even 4 way split with about 25% of users saying they took the drugs daily, weekly, monthly, or once a year.
Drugs & Children
The truly alarming statistic to come out of this, was with regard to giving children a brain-enhancing elixir.
When asked whether children under age 16 should be allowed to use cognition-enhancing drugs, 86% of respondents said they should not. But a third of respondents said they would feel ‘pressure’ to give such drugs to their children if other children at school were taking them.
Drugs are everywhere
Its a frightening indictement of the world we live in today, and its growing dependence on pharmaceutical drugs.
So before you ask your doctor if you can have a prescription for Provigil as a treatment for your “narcolepsy”, have a look into his or her eyes first. To see if you can see any tell-tale signs of lack of sleep.
If you do, chances are you’re onto a winner.
Generation (R)X
With so much information being thrown around in the press its hard to know exactly who to believe.
But Provigil-RX.Info is a website which has been set up to hopefully answer some of the questions you may have regarding the effects of the worlds favourite “go-pill”, so check it out, and do your home-work before deciding to embark on a journey which includes 36 hour days and 9 day weeks.
http://provigil-rx.info – Common sense drug news & information for a world living its life at 150 miles an hour.