If someone offered you a pill that could make you temporarily smarter, would you take it? Well sure, why not? Even if it was just long enough to pass that test or finish writing that presentation, who’d say no to a little brain booster now and again?

Now…imagine that “smart pill” was packed with a potent cocktail of chemicals and was originally designed for people living with a rare, chronic disorder? Would you think twice before popping that pill?

That’s the issue facing scientists, doctors, and ethicists as more and more students are turning to the drug modafinil to give them a mental clarity boost during exam time.

Discovery.com details that originally approved by the FDA as a narcolepsy treatment in 1998, modafinil has also been approved for additional sleep disorders—it also has a “dark side” reputation as a doping agent to enhance performance in sports.

And that brings us back to academic use.

A study carried out by Harvard and Oxford examined 14 years’ worth of data to find that yes, modafinil actually does seem to function as a “smart” drug by enhancing wakefulness, helping people pay attention, and boosting mental processes of learning and memory. But at what cost? Sure, the risks are known and the FDA says it’s safe, but what are the long-term effects on young minds that are still developing? Or, more specifically, young minds that do not have the sleep disorders that modafinil was originally used to treat?

It’s a pretty shaky argument to say students should be able to pop a pill that gives them an unfair advantage over their peers when we slap professional athletes who do the same. But it’s downright dangerous when you consider the unknown long-term consequences.

What’s your opinion?

Pass this along to see what others think about this potential Einstein pill.