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Pill popping to help study?! WHY!

kamenzie
edited December 2008 in General
Ok so I saw this video on a site called vancouveriam.com and it totally stunned me. Students are abusing over the counter drugs like Ritalin and Ty #3 to help them relax or cram for papers and exams.
Why I dont get why students go to these extremes is because Ritalin taken by a person who doesn't need it can cause Comas as well as mimic an Acid Trip. now how does that help? Why cant students just be responsible and start studying 30 min a day a week ahead or something instead of putting their life at risk?

Please help me make people aware of this issue

ps; will post link to video below for your own viewing purposes! Thanks!

http://www.vancouveriam.com/videos/99c3e26aa07d :sad:

Comments

  • lazyGUY
    edited November 2008
    hmmm i wonder if ritalin helps
  • Broken Lizard
    edited November 2008
    it doesn't, haha.
    well I tried adderall, didn't do anything to me.
    Made my heart race but didn't help me focus, haha.
    Ritalin I duno, lol.
  • Jimmy
    edited November 2008
    caffeine and speed does the trick for me
  • Broken Lizard
    edited November 2008
    yeah adderall is pretty much speed, haha
  • Kevin M.Kevin M.
    edited November 2008
    I don't know if anyone noticed but that was pure spam from the vancouveriam people...but it's kinda relevant so whatever lol
  • Broken Lizard
    edited November 2008
    yeah i figured, who would create an account to post that, haha but its relevant!
  • intr3pid
    edited November 2008
    where do u guys get these pills anyway? did ur doctor actually write a valid prescription for them?
  • Broken Lizard
    edited November 2008
    my friend had prescription, lol
  • nos_slived
    edited November 2008
    Screw the drugs, they'll never help you study, they just cause distractions. Go with the liquor, Gordon's my study buddy.
  • Lixie
    edited November 2008
    I use alcohol. Seriously, it makes me think that I'm being horribly irresponsible, thus makes me extra careful and attentive to studying.

    And it works.
  • makoberryblue
    edited December 2008
    ty3 is good =] took one during math exam gr11
  • buflibufli
    edited December 2008
    Lixie;40898 said:
    I use alcohol. Seriously, it makes me think that I'm being horribly irresponsible, thus makes me extra careful and attentive to studying.

    And it works.
    i believe that was a proven study in the UK (when it comes to driving)
    someone who's had a few drinks are far more responsive then a sober person
    (measured reaction time and stopping distance)
  • IVTIVT
    edited December 2008
    [youtube]rYevKLs_qmw[/youtube]
  • Myname
    edited December 2008
    Lixie;40898 said:
    I use alcohol. Seriously, it makes me think that I'm being horribly irresponsible, thus makes me extra careful and attentive to studying.

    And it works.
    And when you fail the test, you can blame the alcohol! "I could've done better! I was just drunk!"

    It's win win.
  • Broken Lizard
    edited December 2008
    friend of mine used to do coke while studying
    haha
  • Luongo2008
    edited December 2008
    The pills do help when studying, however, is it worth risking your life for it? Often students who don't need the drugs abuse it.
  • siuying
    edited December 2008
    no one said you need to risk your life for it.. just take them in moderation..
  • Luongo2008
    edited December 2008
    siuying;42158 said:
    no one said you need to risk your life for it.. just take them in moderation..
    People do drugs they know are bad for them, so what about drugs where people see an advantage doing them? Abuse is inevitable.
  • gigas
    edited December 2008
    The phenomenon of students taking prescription drugs to help them study makes sense to me. Students in a competitive field such as finance, engineering, actuarial, or those attempting to get into graduate school have high performance expectations in order to succeed. When students are put under unnatural expectations, it is only natural that they seek unnatural tools or aid in order to meet those expectations.
    Some may argue that if someone diagnosed with ADD takes drug "x" and is able to concentrate and excel in their studies, and I take drug "x" and I am able to concentrate and excel in their studies, then what separates me from individual? Most would respond that well, that person is being prescribed this medication because he has some sort of diagnosed illness, and I do not. Now, in response, consider this: doctor's are in the practice of prescribing medicine to cure illness. The student that wants to take drug "x", is wanting to do so to enhance "performance"; taking drug "x" may enhance a "normal" student's performance with limited side-effects, but a doctor would still never prescribe it to the student.
    In any case, everyone has their own risk-reward computations dependent on other factors. The arts student will, generally, not feel this need to stay competitive. This may be because of, in my view, the relatively light course load or low correlation between excelling in "x" arts degree and employment success rate.

    And that ends my jetlagged first post!
  • gigas
    edited December 2008
    Luongo2008;42173 said:
    People do drugs they know are bad for them, so what about drugs where people see an advantage doing them? Abuse is inevitable.
    I don't even know whether I should even be responding to this primitive and immature argument. It is clear that you have never taken any recreational drug, because if you had then you would know that there is an advantage to taking drugs that will harm you. The advantages may be social lubrication (marijuana, alcohol), increased energy (insert upper), expanding of consciousness (insert psychadelic), and I don't make the claim here that all or some of these are harmful. In any case, with ADD medication, the advantage is finite and not proportional to the amount of said drug taken. If you take, say 1 capsule of drug "x" and are able to study for "y" amount of time at increased performance, it does not follow that taking 12 capsules of said drug produces 12 times the intensity; thus, someone abusing this drug cannot be doing so precisely because he/she wants the advantage. The factors leading to abuse of a drug are subjective to say the least, and as always is a complex combination of genetic traits and environmental features.
  • IVTIVT
    edited December 2008
    gigas;42175 said:
    I don't even know whether I should even be responding to this primitive and immature argument. It is clear that you have never taken any recreational drug, because if you had then you would know that there is an advantage to taking drugs that will harm you. The advantages may be social lubrication (marijuana, alcohol), increased energy (insert upper), expanding of consciousness (insert psychadelic)
    my stupidity meter just exploded
  • Broken Lizard
    edited December 2008
    Gigas is a genius
    not one of those brain washed idiots who are all "oh noez, drugs are so bad," yet most of those same people drink alcohol

    idiots!!
  • siuying
    edited December 2008
    Luongo2008;42173 said:
    People do drugs they know are bad for them, so what about drugs where people see an advantage doing them? Abuse is inevitable.
    and people do many other things they know are bad for them.. smoking.. alcohol.. polluting the air.. dumping toxic wastes into our water.. inventing biological weapons.. trust me the list is endless.. perhaps you don't see the advantages in drugs.. doesn't mean others don't see the appeal of it.. don't judge based on the assertion that whatever drugs people get their hands on that they'll abuse it to the point that it's life threatening..

    abuse is inevitable.. but it's manifested in many forms..
  • Morro
    edited December 2008
    While I agree with gigas philosophically, recreational drug users are often incredibly ignorant about the possible effects of the drugs they take. For instance, "shrooms" have no documented short or long-term health effects, unless they're taken in truly insane amounts. On the other hand, acid can cause serious, permanent brain damage in even a single use. Yet I've heard people proclaim that LSD is safe, but mushrooms are "totally poisonous, dude."

    It's disingenuous. Part of it is the government's fault, because the retards orchestrating our drug education in school insist on pretending that all drugs are equal, which is not only heinous simply by virtue of being untrue, but when somebody tries pot and finds that it's no big deal, they then extend their school-ingrained "all drugs are the same" logic, and go smash their fucking brains out on meth. Permanent brain damage, memory and IQ loss.

    Stimulants can be pretty dangerous, especially when mixed with other stims, or with alcohol. For instance, it's pretty common for people to try to come down from a cocaine high by drinking - that's where most cocaine fatalities come from. Cocaine and ethanol create coca-ethanol, which is a major cause of heart attack.

    Most people (myself included,) are simply too ignorant to be self-medicating with confidence. A few substances, not being mixed with others, are reliably OK. However, I've heard of people using some pretty hardcore substances to increase study habits. Justifying that via gigas' self-righteous horse-shit just isn't going to fly.
  • IVTIVT
    edited December 2008
    [youtube]u5L-75AFR_0[/youtube]

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