Human enhancement drugs: Emerging issues and responses

Hope, Vivian; Underwood, Mair; Mulrooney, Kyle; Mazanov, Jason; Ven, Katinka van de; McVeigh, Jim

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103459

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Weight loss, related to the effect of some stimulants to reduce hunger, does not sound very "recreational", however, and could better be understood as changing one's body. This usage, in turn, has been discussed by some scholars more broadly as bodily image and performance enhancement and also includes the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones (Askew & Williams, 2021;Hope et al, 2021).…”

Section: Instrumental Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stimulants such as amphetamine or cocaine are associated with attenuating hunger and weight loss. By contrast, anabolic steroids are used to gain more muscle mass (see Askew & Williams, 2021;Hope et al, 2021). Müller points out that steroids might also directly improve self-esteem and self-confidence, and not only indirectly through consumers' increased satisfaction with their bodies (Müller, 2020).…”

Section: Instrumentalization Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Substance Use

Schleim

2023

Palgrave Studies in Law, Neuroscience, and Human Behavior

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This chapter starts out with a theoretical discussion of the meaning of “drug”. As it turns out, three different kinds of psychoactive drugs can be distinguished. Central to this distinction is the understanding of appropriate medical use, which is subject to change. Historical examples illustrate how our personal and also governments’ ways to think about drugs changed since the nineteenth century. In the past, colonial authorities were the biggest drug traders and countries even waged war to enforce open markets. Cocaine, opium, and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) are addressed in detail. The legal regulation of that last substance even changed as the book was being written. The framework for people’s instrumental substance use is then introduced. It distinguishes different reasons for which drugs can be instrumentalized. Several common substances are described subsequently, addressing their respective risks and benefits. The final section presents important values that can guide moral decisions about drug use.

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Section: Instrumental Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Instrumentalization Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance Use

Schleim

2023

Palgrave Studies in Law, Neuroscience, and Human Behavior

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Mental Enhancement

Schleim

2023

Palgrave Studies in Law, Neuroscience, and Human Behavior

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This chapter explains how people’s nonmedical substance use, particularly that of prescription stimulants, was understood as “enhancement” or “brain doping” since the early 2000s. In both the academic debate and popular media, it was frequently claimed that ever more people, in particular students, were using such drugs to increase their cognitive performance. This chapter illustrates that this was not a new phenomenon and that even “moral enhancement”, the idea to use substances, and neuroscientific technology to improve people’s moral behavior already existed in the 1960s and 1970s. The actual present prevalence of brain doping is then discussed in detail, with an emphasis on other motives to use drugs besides cognitive enhancement. Indeed, much of the use turns out to be rather emotionally motivated and to cope with stress, particularly in competitive environments, or to be even self-medication of psychological problems. This shows how difficultly the distinction between medical and nonmedical use can be drawn. Finally, nonpharmacological alternatives to improve one’s mental health are presented. The chapter concludes that the academic debate on cognitive enhancement was not very informative and that a general theoretical framework for people’s instrumental substance use should be preferred, which is introduced in Chap. 4.

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