The article titled ‘Nobody
talks about it because everyone is on it’: Adderall presents esports with an
enigma was published by the Washington Post on February 13, 2020. This article
discusses the use of the stimulant prescription drug Adderall among the online
gaming community. The Post interviews several “competitive gamers” whom openly
admit to taking stimulants before logging on to play their favorite game. One of
the interviewees says that every Friday and Saturday he takes his Adderall, it keeps
him from becoming exhausted and losing motivation. With Adderall he claims that
it aids him in becoming the best player that he can be and can play for over 12
hours.
Photo 1: Shows a gamer sitting in front of the
computer screen (Institute, 2018).
(Hamstead, 2020). With the number of
professional gamers on the rise many are asking, what exactly constitutes a
performance enhancing drug and should prescribed substances be regulated by a
league at all? The article goes on to discuss that some Esport leagues have formulated
anti-doping codes and begun drug testing gamers prior to tournaments. Some leagues
allow the use of stimulant medication if the drug is prescribed, but for most leagues
their policies state that unauthorized use or possession of prescriptions, alcohol
and illegal drugs are prohibited. According to Ian Smith, commissioner of the
ESIC, “there have been zero anti-adopting rule violations since testing began” (Hamstead, 2020). Maria St. Pierre, a
Clinical Project Manager at the Neurological Clinical Research Institute at
Massachusetts General Hospital believes that there are “clear” advantages to
using stimulant medication to enhance competitive gaming and believes that Adderall
and similar drugs should be banned. She claims that physically Adderall is similar
to taking speed or meth and mentally can cause psychosis, paranoia and can be
very addicting (Hamstead, 2020).
The use of prescription stimulants in the gaming
community is clearly a cultural issue that has been unspoken of publicly until recent.
Policies have been put into place by some of the major Esport leagues to prohibit
use of such drugs and improve the gaming culture’s knowledge of the dangers,
but some pros are willing to take the risk to win. In December of 2019 the total
prize pool for the Fortnite Winter Royal weighed out at 23 million, participants
played from remote locations (Hamstead, 2020). Testing the participants
was not physically possible, hopefully policies and education can steer this
community to enhance awareness of the potential damage.
Photo 2: Shows the pill form of Adderall (Hamstead, 2020).
Prevention and intervention are necessary in
relation to the use of stimulants in combination with the participation of Esports
and in general because amphetamines such as Adderall have such a high potential
for abuse and addiction. It is important to educate the Esports community of
the dangers of unprescribed Adderall use. Many gamers use this drug to increase
cognition, perception and to improve motivation. Besides the high risk for
addiction, Adderall can cause side horrible effects such as hallucinations,
epilepsy, psychosis and malnutrition (PharmD, 2020).
Below
is a video that discusses Your Brain on Adderall (Mitchell Moffit, 2018)
References
Hamstead, C. (2020). ‘Nobody talks about it
because everyone is on it’: Adderall presents esports with an enigma. Retrieved
from The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/esports/2020/02/13/esports-adderall-drugs/
Institute, O. I. (2018). Nothing clinically
"wrong" with obsessive gamers, new study finds. Retrieved from
University of Oxford: http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-18-nothing-clinically-%E2%80%9Cwrong%E2%80%9D-obsessive-gamers-new-study-finds
Mitchell Moffit, G. B. (2018). Your Brain on Adderall.
Retrieved from YouTube: https://youtu.be/ifutqKQ6KQE
PharmD, C. S. (2020). Adderall Addiction and Abuse.
Retrieved from The Recovery Village:
https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/adderall-addiction/
Sara,
ReplyDeleteYour current event post about competitive gamers taking stimulants like Adderall was very informative. The part where you stated "gamers are drug tested before a competition" baffles me. I can't believe that people would do that for better performance but it's the same with the college sports and college students for classes. It's a shame that people feel the need to rely on drugs to become better at something that could easily be helped with by just applying themselves more or practicing more. I know at the small community college I went to there were people who would sell their medication they were suppose to be taking for ADHD to make a profit instead of taking it to help themselves with their medical problem. I look forward to continuing to read your posts on this subject.
I really enjoyed your blog on stimulant abuse in the online gaming community. Visually, your blog is very appealing with great graphics. With the close correlation between online gaming and substance abuse in general, this combination makes for an interesting mixture. It is believed that actual comorbidity occurs when combining substance abuse and online gaming (Škařupová, Blinka, & Ťápal, 2018). Stimulant use in particular is common in gaming as it allows players to stay focused longer, with methamphetamine the most common (Škařupová, Blinka, & Ťápal, 2018). Škařupová, Blinka, and Ťápal (2018) reported that substance abuse was directly associated with high level game intensity.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens (2020), Adderall is the stimulant of choice for online gamers, in light of the fact that not only is it illegal if not taken as prescribed, it is considered cheating in online game contests. I found this great website with illustrations depicting which drugs are used for specific online games. https://www.archstonerecovery.com/game-overdose/. Stimulant use in online gaming accounts for 23.64%, with the combination of stimulants, psychedelic, and opiates coming at 21.82% (Archstone, 2020).
Defined as a disorder in the ICD-11 (as cited in WHO, 2018), gaming is considered an addiction when it takes priority over other activities and daily interests, impaired control over gaming, continuation despite negative consequences, being evident for at least 12 months.
The gaming industry offers benefits to society in the way of financial boost, job opportunities, and building a sense of community (Dickerson, 2018). Online gaming is serious business to those who play. Fortnite World Cup players are eligible for $1 million weekly tournaments, culminating in the World Cup Finals with a $30 million prize pool, making it very lucrative for those with the dedication and stamina (Jensen & Cohen, 2019). Online gaming has become a community within itself. Players from around the world, different cultures, genders, ethnicities, and ages compete online at all times of the day and night.
It is a step in the right direction to drug test online gaming contestants just like in any other form of competition. Education and prevention are necessary to eliminate the illegal drug use in the industry in the future. Great blog. I am interested to learn more of what you discover about stimulants.
References:
Dickerson, Z. (2018). 5 benefits of gaming to society. MYNKY. Retrieved from http://mynky.org/5-benefits-of-gaming-to-society/
Game overdose. (2020). Archstone. Retrieved from https://www.archstonerecovery.com/game-overdose/
Gaming disorder. (2018). WHO. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en/
Jensen, K. & Cohen, J. (2019). The greatest gaming tournaments in the world. PCMag. Retrieved from https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-greatest-gaming-tournaments-in-the-world
Škařupová, K., Blinka, L., & Ťápal, A. (2018). Gaming under the influence: An exploratory study. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(2), 493–498. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.27
Wired to win. (2020). NIDA for Teens. Retrieved from https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/wired-win-drug-testing-comes-esports