On some college campuses, one quarter of students admit to taking prescription medicine for non-medical purposes, as study aids, says Business Week.

Despite the concerns many healthy people have about using addictive or potentially dangerous drugs, their elective use to increase mental performance is increasing. This is happening in part because “a whole generation has come of age using attention-deficit drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin… A lot of teenagers have used them casually as study aids, often buying them on the Internet.” And even adults are joining in.

In a controversial editorial in the prestigious journal Nature, several prominent scientists argue that, “based on our considerations, we call for a presumption that mentally competent adults should be able to engage in cognitive enhancement using drugs.”

There are significant objections, including objections around safety, freedom (should children be coerced into taking these drugs?), and fairness (are they available to all?). There’s also the sense many have that, like steroids or other performance enhancement drugs, this is cheating.

While there are no easy answers, it is important to note that even advocates of brain enhancement drugs suggest additional research is required and that children, in particular, are at increased risk from misuse of these drugs.