Courtesy of
Nature,
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...l/456702a.html is sure to stir up some controversy.
It is a long article. Here are some highlights:
"In this article, we propose actions that will help society accept the benefits of enhancement, given appropriate research and evolved regulation. Prescription drugs are regulated as such not for their enhancing properties but primarily for considerations of safety and potential abuse. Still, cognitive enhancement has much to offer individuals and society, and a proper societal response will involve making enhancements available while managing their risks."
"Society must respond to the growing demand for cognitive enhancement. That response must start by rejecting the idea that 'enhancement' is a dirty word, argue Henry Greely and colleagues."
"In this article, we propose actions that will help society accept the benefits of enhancement, given appropriate research and evolved regulation. Prescription drugs are regulated as such not for their enhancing properties but primarily for considerations of safety and potential abuse. Still, cognitive enhancement has much to offer individuals and society, and a proper societal response will involve making enhancements available while managing their risks."
"Based on our considerations, we call for a presumption that mentally competent adults should be able to engage in cognitive enhancement using drugs."
"We call for an evidence-based approach to the evaluation of the risks and benefits of cognitive enhancement."
"We call for enforceable policies concerning the use of cognitive-enhancing drugs to support fairness, protect individuals from coercion and minimize enhancement-related socioeconomic disparities."
"We call for a programme of research into the use and impacts of cognitive-enhancing drugs by healthy individuals."
"We call for physicians, educators, regulators and others to collaborate in developing policies that address the use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by healthy individuals."
"We call for information to be broadly disseminated concerning the risks, benefits and alternatives to pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement."
"Conclusion
Like all new technologies, cognitive enhancement can be used well or poorly. We should welcome new methods of improving our brain function. In a world in which human workspans and lifespans are increasing, cognitive enhancement tools — including the pharmacological — will be increasingly useful for improved quality of life and extended work productivity, as well as to stave off normal and pathological age-related cognitive declines23. Safe and effective cognitive enhancers will benefit both the individual and society.
But it would also be foolish to ignore problems that such use of drugs could create or exacerbate. With this, as with other technologies, we need to think and work hard to maximize its benefits and minimize its harms."
I pretty much completely agree with that they are calling for. A reasoned, rational, evidence based approach to using chemicals to enhance our cognitive abilities. Be they natural, such as Psilocybin or Cannabis, or pharmaceuticals such as something like Adderall or Ritalin.
I think it is
high time we started letting consenting adults explore their own minds as they see fit, so long as they aren't hurting anybody else.
Edit: They even talk about prosthetic brain chips
They really are serious about studying all options!