Smart Drugs

A couple of weeks ago, there was news of an uptake in the use of drugs among the youth in schools across Malaysia- random tests were conducted on over 36,000 students, and about 1,500 tested positive for drugs. But what’s reportedly different about this, is that kids today aren’t taking illicit substances for fun or for recreational use. They’re doing it to do well in school. These drugs have been labelled as "smart" drugs, because they’re supposed to help you level up your attention, focus and as result, your productivity. But how exactly do these drugs work and how dangerous are they? And just how prevalent is this problem in Malaysia? We find out with Dr Amer Siddiq, chief coordinator at UM's Centre of Addiction Sciences.