Disenchanted Psychopills - Part 2
All content is checked by medical journalists.Surreptitious recipes
Methylphenidate, for example, is subject to the Narcotics Act. You can't just buy it, not even with a normal prescription from a doctor. Only selected doctors receive counted and numbered narcotics prescriptions from the Federal Opium Agency, and only they are allowed to prescribe Ritalin and Co. The dispensing of a drug could not be more strictly regulated. Even so, there are tons of ADHD pills in circulation. Branch off from the little brother, bought from dubious internet dealers - and also quite legally on prescription. "It's not a problem these days to google the symptoms of ADHD," says Franke, "some doctor will prescribe something for you."
Sarah's roommate also coaxed a prescription from her family doctor with pretended symptoms. She didn't want to know anything about the risks and side effects. These are hardly calculable, especially when taken for a longer period of time. For example, methylphenidate can disrupt growth and development, trigger cardiac arrhythmias, blood pressure crises, headaches, depression or psychoses with delusions. And these are just a few items in a long list of possible complications.
Not a mass phenomenon
Unlike in the USA, brain doping is not a mass phenomenon in this country. A brain doping hype haunted the German media in 2009 - the German Salaried Health Insurance Fund (DAK) reported that 17 percent of the workforce had already taken medication to improve their mental performance or their psychological well-being. But this survey had methodological flaws. She made no distinction between prescription and over-the-counter substances like ginkgo biloba. The sample also only reflected a small section of the population.
More representative studies come to far lower brain doping rates. According to a study by the HIS Institute for University Research (HIS) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health, around five percent of students swallow prescription drugs for better performance and less nervousness. An analysis by the Robert Koch Institute found 1.5 percent of men and women. The Mainz team led by Andreas Franke even found only 1.2 percent active brain operas among around 1,500 schoolchildren and students.
Pharmaceutical manager's dream
But as the Mainz study shows, that could change quickly. Because the young men and women are worryingly open to a performance kick from the pharmaceutical laboratory: If there were a small pill without side effects, which is not addictive and does not cause long-term damage, around 80 percent would like to take it. A huge potential market for the drug industry? There is still no safe and effective substance in sight. Until the dream of the pharmaceutical manager becomes a reality, Bea and Sebastian only have to go to the coffee machine.
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