Side effects include being awesome at everything.

With a mindset like that, it’s little wonder that a shit tonne of people use Adderall or Ritalin for “concentration” purposes.

On Sunday, Icarus took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and the doping exposé really is worth a watch.

Once you’re done there, we have another drug-related documentary for you to peruse. This time it’s an 87-minute feature that unpacks the “$13 billion industry that exists for cognitive enhancements like Adderal and Ritalin,” reports Indie Wire.

Called Take Your Pills, it will premier at SXSW this Friday.

Here are the details:

Director Alison Klayman spoke with many individuals who’ve used (and abused) pharmaceuticals to boost their productivity, including college students, a Silicon Valley software engineer, and former Chicago Bear player Eben Britton.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, approximately 54 million Americans have ingested opioids, depressants, or stimulants for non-medical reasons.

This isn’t Klayman’s first rodeo.

The acclaimed director won the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance for her 2012 debut, “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”, which was later nominated for two News & Documentary Emmys.

And The New York Times named her as one of 20 Directors to Watch the following year.

Convinced? Watch the trailer:

Surely sponsoring the enhancement of your mind is the same as sponsoring the enhancement your physical performance? Pot, kettle, black, America.

[source:indiewire]