In my high school it wasn't considered especially unusual to pop an Adderal (ADHD drug, an amphetamine) on the day of a test. I wouldn't be surprised if Adderal raised IQ.

But I ask, why wouldn't you?

Because if such a thing were probable, it's probable that we would already have developed equivalent changes in our neurology. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and there are rarely benefits without trade-offs of some kind or another.

People don't realize that is very easy to become addicted to caffeine. They don't notice it because it's commonly used, because it's a very easy addiction to break, and because they mistake the withdrawal symptoms for the 'normal' state that the caffeine is supposed to 'improve'.

What if prolonged use of the memory- and attention-boosters leads to compensatory changes that lead to the drugs being a requirement to function normally?

I've taken Dexidrine in 60-80mg daily doses on a regular basis for most of the last decade with no ill effects whatsoever. Never had any trouble getting to sleep every night as long as I don't take any after about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I have also never experienced any "withdrawal symptoms" nor have I developed any resistance to its effects. I never bother to take it on the weekends or for that matter on any day that I am not working.

It is only the continual and hysterical lies by Puritanical authoritarians that keep this and many other beneficial chemicals such as Valium out of the hands of the general populace.

I think that we should be strict about this. All amphetamine-aided mathematical proofs should be regarded as invalid. Erdös wasn't "eccentric", he was juiced.

What if prolonged use of the memory- and attention-boosters leads to compensatory changes that lead to the drugs being a requirement to function normally?

So!

When safe IQ boosting drugs appear, will they be legal? Yes, as treatment for Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, depression, mental retardation, learning disorders.

There is a very real possibility that the drugs will be sold on the black market inside the countries that decide to crack down on their use by "normals." When that happens, the enforcers of the anti-smart laws might have to take the drugs themselves--to keep up with the "felons" who want to make the drugs freely available to whoever can pay the tab.