Drug yourself happy?

The BBC has been unearthing cases of people behaving unusually after taking a drug for Restless Legs Syndrome. Since reporting the story of one woman who “began leaving her house in the early hours of the morning to cruise for sex” and would “flash her chest at any man she could find” after taking Ropinirole, the Beeb has received messages from hundreds from people who claim to have suddenly developed a taste for reckless hedonism after being prescribed the medication. 

“I think I’m obsessed with sex,” says Michael (not his real name), whom the BBC says has “now slept with about 20 men and women, despite being married. Previously, he never cheated on his wife or had any homosexual encounters”. Other alleged victims of the drug say that they lost tens of thousands of pounds on gambling (“at the time I didn’t know it was no fault of my own”) and on shopping (“I knew that the behaviour wasn’t me, but I couldn’t control it”). One man “felt compelled to go on three-day long fishing trips every single week” and “found himself shopping compulsively for clothes, despite never previously having any interest in fashion”.

Cynics will ask whether these people are scapegoating the medication to excuse their poor behaviour — and some of the behaviour is very poor indeed — but the side effects seem to be well established. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says that the drug is associated with “impulse control disorders, including pathological gambling, binge eating, and hypersexuality”. I can’t find any examples of it leading directly to drinking and dancing, but it has been linked to  “compulsive buying” and “impulsive smoking”. 

In short, it is just what we need in these miserable times. The high street is dying, bookies and pubs are closing all over the place, and puritanism is on the march. I wouldn’t necessarily advocate putting it in the water supply or fortifying bread with it, but we must at least consider whether a drug that makes people live in the moment has a role to play if we are to save Merrie Olde England. 

The BBC has chosen to dwell on the more extreme and unfortunate cases, but surely this is just a matter of dosage? GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, are doing wonders for people who lack will power. They are highly effective in getting people to control their appetite but also seem to dampen the urge to drink and smoke. This is great news for people who lack self-control, but what about the people who have the opposite problem? What is being done for those who need to come out of their shell; those who need a little encouragement to take up fishing or explore their sexuality? 

I am no scientist, as you may have gathered, but perhaps we should encourage microdosing of Ropinirole, particularly among young people, as a way to boost the economy and revitalise society. I’m no fan of mass medication, but if we can medicate our way into a drab and monotonous world, surely we can medicate our way of it. It could be our last hope.