Are study drugs on the rise at Warwick?

It is a rite of passage in our academic lives to pull an all-nighter in the pursuit of finishing up an assignment or revising for a test. Chances are many of us have downed a cup of coffee before taking the infamous 15-minute-power nap which apparently many of the world’s most successful people like Obama frequently do. But it seems as though it is more than just coffee these days.

The use of study drugs or smart drugs have been increasing among university students in the last few years. The use of drugs by those hoping to boost mental performance is rising worldwide, according to the largest ever study of the trend. In a survey of tens of thousands of people, 14% reported using stimulants at least once in the preceding 12 months in 2017, up from 5% in 2015. European nations have also seen a big increase in the use of stimulants such as Ritalin by people seeking its supposed brain-boosting effects. Generally, study drugs work to increase memory or concentration.

In a survey of tens of thousands of people, 14% reported using stimulants at least once in the preceding 12 months in 2017, up from 5% in 2015.

While in essence, their non-medical uses all share the same effect, known as pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE), there are a plethora of study drugs. All of them are medically used to treat different conditions. Adderall, ritalin and modafinil are three of the most common forms of study drugs. Both adderall and ritalin are medically used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while modafinil is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy. Frequent users of adderall and ritalin have a high risk of abuse and addiction while modafinil is considered non-addictive. Adderall specifically leads to the consistent release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain, and, over time, this can stop the production of these molecules naturally which makes the drug a high-risk for addiction. This explains why modafinil has established itself as the most popular and safest study drug, particularly in the UK.

A BBC Three documentary released last year on study drug addiction followed a young man who admitted to taking up to 60 cognitive enhancing pills everyday. He explained his reasons for taking the drugs: “I take it to push my performance further, I take it to push my body further.” The student speculated that the rise in the popularity of these drugs was because “there’s increased pressure on education…you’re paying £9,000 a year for university students” and, as a result, “people want more for their money”.

In fact, it is not just students who have been entranced by the appeal of study drugs. Research has shown that as many as one in 12 adults have taken smart drugs. The use of these has not not merely been linked to universities and students; there’s a another community who have seen consumption of nootropics rising: the tech industry. Reports suggest that silicon valley entrepreneurs and individuals in tech start-ups are increasingly using ‘smart’ drugs to improve the efficiency of their work in a highly competitive field.

Jess Robinson, a 30-year-old IT analyst, began taking smart drugs regularly two years into her work. She has attributed her high level of competence in the workplace to her modafinil use, notwithstanding her commitment to the job and skills she possesses.

Silicon valley entrepreneurs and individuals in tech start-ups are increasingly using ‘smart’ drugs to improve the efficiency of their work in a highly competitive field.

There is some irony in the fact that even university lecturers are reported to be consumers of smart drugs. Anders Sandberg, a philosopher at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford takes modafinil once a fortnight. Sandberg has implied that modafinil could be the next big development in the human enhancement field, which also happens to be one of his areas of research and expertise. He said: “although there are hundreds of substances to improve memory retention, modafinil is probably the closest thing we have to an intelligence enhancer at the moment.”

However, Sandberg has stressed that the drug’s effects will “depend on individual biochemistry.” Some users will feel sharper or more sociable after taking modafinil while others can feel more anxious. The use of the drugs seems prevalent in academia with a 2008 survey by the journal Nature finding that one in five academics admitted to using cognitive enhancers. VICE has spoken to a number of university lecturers who admitted to being regular consumers of modafinil. Rachel, a lecturer in her 30s, who teaches social sciences at a university in south-east England, loves modafinil. She first started using it a year ago to mark a mountain of 3,000-word undergraduate essays in three weeks – triple the amount of marking compared to a decade ago. If lecturers are using study drugs to enhance their work ability, is the name ‘study drugs’ still appropriate? Perhaps ‘smart drugs’ is a more accurate depiction of the current landscape of the increasing usage of cognitive-enhancers.

And it’s not just Sandberg who is advocating for the use of study drugs. Dr Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge and global expert on cognitive-enhancing drugs, has suggested that study drugs should be licensed to students. But just because modafinil might be non-addictive and relatively safer than adderall and ritalin, it does not mean that it is void of unintended, adverse side-effects. There is still much to learn about modafinil and how it supposedly improves cognitive function. Although Sahakian herself is clearly propagating for the use of modafinil, and is leading the research into modafinil, she does not advise anyone to take it until we know what it does in the long-term. So far she’s conducted a number of studies with it and has never experienced any adverse effects.

Some of the most common side effects of modafinil listed by WebMD include anxiety, dehydration, indigestion and upper respiratory tract infection. Earlier this year, a University of Bristol doctor spoke out about the rise of modafinil use, saying she had seen students coming in with side effects such as “jitteriness, anxiety and being on edge” from overuse. An anonymous Warwick student also shared with The Boar, “I understand that modafinil is non-addictive, but after coming off a month of taking modafinil twice a week, I struggled with mild anxiety when I started feeling as though my ability to focus deteriorated significantly.”

In May 2016, the University of Oxford’s student newspaper, Cherwell, reported that 15.6% of students knowingly took modafinil or another such drug without prescription. In 2017, the Oxford University Students’ Union (OUSU) began offering workshops on the so-called ‘smart’ drugs to students as part of a wider programme aimed at finalists in coping with exam stress. The workshops were introduced with the intention of informing students and talking to them about alternative ways of managing stress. The Reverend Andrew Allen, Chaplain and Fellow at Exeter College, who has been running sessions for years now has argued that the cause of more students using study drugs is not university-related but instead due to increased societal pressure on young people:

“The failure, I think, instead lies beyond university in society, where jobs are hard to come by; where living costs are huge; where there is little support out there, and because people are afraid of failing to get the mark they need for these jobs they take them [study drugs].”

But what’s the picture like at Warwick?

A survey of 250 students conducted by The Boar found that 40% of students at Warwick had considered taking study drugs (nootropics) before and just over half of respondents said they would take study drugs to increase productivity.

The survey sought to find out the circumstance, frequency and types of study drugs used by students at Warwick. Our survey found that 12.4% of students admitted to having taken study drugs in the past. The most popular time for this, as answered by 48% of students, is that they would only take study drugs around important deadlines and exams. The most common study drugs used by participants were modafinil/ritalin, followed by adderall.

40% of students at Warwick had considered taking study drugs (nootropics) before and just over half of respondents said they would take study drugs to increase productivity..

More interestingly, however, 62.1% of students who had used study drugs before stated that using the drugs did not improve their academic performance. One anonymous student claimed that using the drugs had caused their grades to rise from “high 3rds or low 2:2s on average to all being high firsts”. Similar to commonly known side effects, several survey respondents admitted to experiencing headaches after taking the drugs. One student reported feeling “more focused” but questioned whether this could merely be a placebo effect as “often when you take them you dedicate the whole day to work so of course you are gonna be focused and get a lot done”.

One of the most interesting findings was that 53.2% of students said they know someone who has taken study drugs. And while most students reported not having consumed recreational nor study drugs (50.8%), 2.4% of respondents said they had taken study drugs but not recreational drugs, while 9.2% had taken both.

Debates on the use of drugs, whether for recreational use or academic, will always create a strong divide in opinion. Yet, when asked for their thoughts on those who use study drugs, an overwhelming 67.2% of students said that it was wrong but could understand why people do choose to take them. They also felt that universities should be more active in improving student welfare.

The University of Warwick takes “a zero tolerance policy regarding the possession and use of illegal drugs and psychoactive substances at the University”. This means that many Class B drugs, such as Ritalin, are illegal unless prescribed. The survey results found that 22% believed study drugs should be permitted under university policy. Even with the University’s policy on drugs, 77.6% of the survey respondents believed that the University of Warwick was not doing enough to prevent the usage of study drugs that are illegal in the UK.

One of the most common reasons for advocating against the use of student drugs is that some students equate the use of study drugs to that of doping in sport and believe it to be a form of cheating. However, The Tab’s 2018 drug survey, revealed that 78% of UK students do not believe study drug usage is a form of cheating.

A student who wishes to remain anonymous told The Boar: “In my opinion, we need to look at the underlying sociological causes of why students even find it necessary to use study drugs. So that they can stay up at night? So that they can focus better? So that they can improve their memory? What kind of lifestyle does our education system, moreover the general attitude to education worldwide, promote? While I’m not saying all drugs are bad, the encouragement or endorsement of study drugs I personally feel will only add fire to the colossal youth mental health crisis we are currently going through.”

Another potential danger that comes with smart drugs is not the effects of the drugs themselves, but rather when purchasing them. Drugs such as modafinil, ritalin and adderall are available on prescription for conditions such as ADHD and narcolepsy. But it’s a different story for users trying to use them as ‘smart’ drugs. Many report that they purchase such drugs online. However, the sites selling these drugs tend to have little information and there’s no guarantee of the purity or legitimacy of the drugs. Research suggests that social media apps are increasingly likely to be used by young people to buy drugs, and this could be the same for users purchasing nootropics.

Information about study drugs is not readily available. The Tab produced a guide to study drugs, including side effects, signs of overdose and when not to use the drugs. The UK’s Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 clearly bans many drugs that are used as smart drugs. However, this does not prevent users from ordering them from overseas. Possession of certain Class B study drugs, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin), can lead to up to five years imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. Meanwhile, dealing the drugs can lead to imprisonment of up to 14 years, an unlimited fine or both. The dangers of dealing and taking these illegal substances are clear. But that is not preventing the drugs from being distributed. And online vendors based overseas are making it difficult for dealers to be prosecuted and the law to be enforced. The risks associated with study drug abuse can be significant, ranging from addiction to permanently impaired cognitive function.

Sites selling these drugs tend to have little information and there’s no guarantee of the purity or legitimacy of the drug

Speaking to The Guardian, a reader in psychopharmacology at Liverpool John Moores University, Dr Cathy Montgomery stated: “Many universities don’t have specific policies regarding use of cognitive enhancers as this is a new area. Most universities do, however, have a drug policy, stating that the use of drugs is prohibited on campus, but this does not necessarily extend to medicines.”

Janvi Ahuja, a finalist at Warwick, told The Boar: “I don’t do study drugs myself but I don’t think that they are necessarily bad or evil. I don’t really believe that there is some sort of mystical, murky, ambiguous but terrifying reason that they are just inherently different from coffee or alcohol.” On the University’s policy on drugs, she commented: “It is key for the university to explain study drugs and their side effects and warnings to students in a way that is not just ‘don’t do drugs, kids’. Those who want to do them will probably go ahead anyways but might be uninformed which is much more dangerous.”

While the use of cognitive enhancers or ‘study’ drugs certainly seems to be on the rise, it is clear that universities must become better equipped to deal with the increase; whether that comes with stronger policies on the most addictive and dangerous substances or more education on nootropics themselves.