Monday, May 3, 2010

A Different view

This article focuses on the benefit of drugs now and in the future for memory. They feel that this technology is great for the advancement of our way of thinking. Ritalin is brought right up from the beginning. Ritalin in ADHD and normal patients makes the mind more able to subdue learning and concentration. The article implies that these drugs are not bad at all for anyone and can actually help people succeed, when most the time they would fail. They then brought up that it also helps with staying awake and being aware even when one is tired before taking this drug. They are excited about the future of these drugs and can't wait for the future of memory. I feel this article is very optimistic about the future. From the sound of the essay, these drug can really do no wrong but help people. This is a front that is totally disproportionated because these drugs are of high abuse and the side effects can actually hurt people. I feel that these drugs are good in a sense but it is not for everyone.


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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Club Drug Was Once a Pharmaceutical

This is an article that examines how a drug that has become popular in today's underground drug culture was originally manufactured by a major german pharmaceutical company. MDMA or methylenedioxymethamphetamine is the most prominent active ingredient in the club drug Ecstasy. MDMA was first synthesized and patented by Merck in 1912. It was originally intended as an appetite suppressant. It was later used in the synthesis of some other pharmaceuticals. One can easily see how some pharmaceuticals that are intended to have a positive effect, like MDMA, or opiate painkillers. But it is seen throughout history that these advances were taken to far and eventually became an issue and not a solution. There has always been a drive for humans to seek a sort of escape through mind-altering substances that dates back to the earliest recordings of history. For example, in China it was written in some of the earliest medical works that Opium and other opiates were good for increasing stamina, subduing pain and increasing male virility. But to go along with the need to escape , there has always been the evil behind the smiling face of mind-altering drugs. addiction and abuse is surely followed by the introduction of drugs like these but they are still refined and distributed by pharmaceutical companies every day. This lack of concern about the unintended aspects of these substances demonstrates how these companies are not particularly bothered by the potential destruction of the human condition.

Link to Article

Our Conclusion

From the research that we have done, the conclusion that we have drawn is that there has been and will continue to be major issues with the role of pharmaceuticals in human enhancement. Not only are there historical issues associated with the power of these drugs, and there are legal issues still to this day. Should we pursue a world in which drugs can be used to control people or make them afraid of the future and potentially miss out on possible medical breakthroughs for people. To go along with this there is a certain control that the producers of pharmaceutical have over doctors that will certainly sway the way that medication is prescribed so there is certainly a chance that patients are forced into something potentially dangerous or unnecessary. Also, historically how these drugs have been pursued and used on enemy and on unknowing military troops, as seen in the video. Also, that the legal code of the United States, has lead to protections of power to use drugs on unwilling people but progression should not stop there. Mind controlling drugs can limit people’s freedoms and we need to be current with our laws about these drugs. It cannot be stated that there will ever be a stop to the use of mind-altering drugs, but perhaps more control should be placed on the influence of pharmaceutical companies and their efforts to push their specific drugs. Also there should certainly be more control over the “accidental” leaks of certain drugs into water systems. This is something that may be unintentional but is certainly hazardous to humanities ability to control itself. The idea that drug companies are able to adulterate the water that the masses consume is derailing human rights struggles. The continued use and abuse of mind altering drugs has been misused in the past and now it is our part to help control the use of these dehumanizing substances that limit our normal human nature.