If there is a drug which is safe and effective and not too expensive for enhancing memory in normal adults, why not normal children?

-James McGaugh
Phillip (2006) Drugs that Enhance Student Achievement

It seems that we’re finally reaching a turning point in American history where we shift our gaze from shaming drug users and letting public opinion be the basis for legislation, to thinking critically about what is government’s role in regulating recreational drug use?

With marijuana legalization rapidly taking hold across the United States and President Obama saying it should be treated just like alcohol or tobacco, there seems to a budding culture of allowing people to make their own choices – as long as the drugs are not “too dangerous”. But performance enhancing drugs operate on a separate field of thought. Namely that consequences are not so much the concern as is the fairness of its effects. The question that lingers is at what point does availability trump the fairness argument?

This concept has been explored thoroughly in popular culture and the conclusion is often that those with enhancements become the ones who are marginalized. For instance, Marvel’s X-Men franchise bases its ideas on genetics while Square-Enix’s Deus Ex Human Revolution revolves around physical augmentations – not too dissimilar from modern prosthetics.

Of course this quickly gets into dystopian levels of horrible possibilities where corporations decide the can’s and cannot’s through distribution of drugs/enhancements. Despite this, the door seems too late to close.  As the article mentions, research into legitimate projects (Alzheimers) as well as military contracts will continue to improve what has already been developed. As teachers, the consensus we must reach is an answer to McGaugh’s question: why not?