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But we've already created a culture where your medical diagnosis is driven by the drug and health insurance company's gain! You admit that yourself, and then ha
by sofuture 16y ago
But we've already created a culture where your medical diagnosis is driven by the drug and health insurance company's gain! You admit that yourself, and then have the nerve to suggest that our medical diagnosis shouldn't lead to our personal gain! I'm relatively sure that's exactly what it should do.
I think your argument that a phony diagnosis is cheating is valid -- but only in the sense of accommodations. For what it's worth, I know several people with legit diagnoses (and some with illegitimate diagnoses), none of whom have ever asked for or received special accommodation in school or during any sort of tests.
As for the drugs -- why shouldn't an adult have the option to take amphetamine or modafinil or whatnot electively?
- dalore 16y agoExactly. Is having a coffee considered cheating?
- Duff 16y agoI think personal integrity matters. Lying to a doctor to get an insurance company to pay for drugs that make you appear to be smarter is an issue in my book. If I did it, I don't think I would sleep well at night. I also want to agree with you that an adult should be able to just go buy some amphetamine... it's an argument that makes sense to me at a high level. The problem is, the devil is in the details. Do you want to be a passenger on a bus or a plane when the operator has been working for 14 hours hopped up on speed?
- cowpewter 16y agoI don't think I'd want to be a passenger on a bus or plane where the operator has been operating for 14 hours straight, speed or not. Don't pilots nap on long international flights? That's why you have a co-pilot.
- Duff 16y agoUS military pilots in wartime are expected to operate for longer than 12 hours at a time, supported by speed pills. If it were legal for truck or bus drivers to do so, companies would compel them to as well.
- sofuture 16y agoI would have few qualms not abiding by the arbitrary and invasive framework of rules the insurance company, drug company and health care industry have erected around my self, my body and my choices. That said, I don't advocate scamming, stealing or lying (in fact, it's probably easier and cheaper to illegally self-medicate via the internet). That's a false choice -- I wouldn't want to be a passenger on a bus or a plane when the operator has been working for 14 hours hopped up on nothing (though, gun-to-head I'll take the hopped-up-on-speed pilot/driver over the one dozing off).
- true_religion 16y agoI think your quibble here is with lying to the insurance company about your condition to get them to pay for the performance enhancing drug. The lie to the doctor is necessary in many instances (not many will just prescribe you Adderal for the sake of performance), but the lie to the company can be seen as abusive since it is someone's undeserved loss (the companies) for your gain. Buying the medicine full priced would be morally clearer, correct?
- Duff 16y agoBuying the medicine in the open market adds some moral clarity. You are left with whether performance enhancing drugs are ok or not, which is an ambiguous issue. I don't think that coffee should be equated with Adderal, but I am not sure where the line is.