Nature just revealed the results of an informal internet poll of its readers, finding that a full one-fifth have used or currently take drugs or supplements for "cognitive enhancement."
2/3 report taking Ritalin for this "non medical" purpose; 44% have taken the newer stimulant modafinil.
But the most interesting finding is that 80% believe healthy adults should be permitted to take these drugs if they wish to do so.
Now, this is just an internet poll and we all know the self-selection issues that mar these. However, if 80% of those who care enough to write into Nature on this issue believe that essentially recreational drug use should be legal, the war on drugs has lost a great deal of its legitimacy.
