Caveat Emptor, Venditor, Et Praescribor: Legal Liability Associated with Methyplenidate Hydrochloride (MPH) Use by Postsecondary Students (Canada‪)‬

INTRODUCTION For years, students have endured the physical and mental stress that comes as a result of the demands of postsecondary education. All-night cramming for exams and marathon paper writing sessions are considered, by many, to be a rite of passage, endured by generations of students. For many years, students have also turned to stimulants (from coffee to energy drinks and caffeine pills) to extend their physical and cognitive limits in order to better cope with the demands of school and life. In this sense, the use of stimulants as study-aids is not a new phenomenon nor has it been the subject of much concern or discussion. But within the past few years, the use of a prescription drug (specifically, methylphenidate hydrochloride, MPH, often known as Ritalin) by postsecondary students for cognitive enhancement purposes has emerged as a phenomenon and has become the subject of considerable attention in the bioethics literature as well as the popular press. (1)