Scientists and Doping

Referring to this article on WebMD, it raises a whole bunch of ethical issues.

Ought the work of the scientist be considered as similar to that of the physical achievements of athletes the world over? If that is the case, then ought it be the case that there are strong regulations against deliberate doping of controlled substances to enhance performance?

This straw-poll is mildly uncomfortable, to say the least. I mean, Paul Erdős took amphetamines while he was alive to enhance his ability to do mathematics, and of course many of us take a much milder form of stimulant in the form of caffeine. Should drug use of this group of elite thinkers be regulated on a similar level as that of professional athletes? If no, consider the ramifications that were put forth in the article—children in school might end up being "enhanced" that way should their peers are having it, I mean after all, who wants others to have an unfair advantage?

This is something that ought to be looked into on a more serious level, just to see just exactly what we are getting into. I think as part of scientific professionalism, outright use of prescriptive perfomance enhancing drugs ought to be banned, but that's just my perspective.

I might write more once this hellish weekend is over.