Does ‘Do the Right Drugs’ Give Readers the Wrong Idea?

In the May issue, the main feature was “12 Ways to Super-Charge Your Brain.” On the cover, Steve Carell, the comedian, wears oversized electrodes on his head next to a headline that says, “Get Smarter!”

In a 15-page package, the magazine gives some mild advice to people who want to enhance their cognition: “Think Positive,” it advises, and “Distract Yourself.” Then there is a somewhat disarming chart: “Do the Right Drugs,” it recommends, laying out the pros and cons of eight drugs — some legal, some not — that it says can “boost your cognitive output.”

Six are prescription medications, like Adderall, a potentially addictive drug that is often prescribed to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But the list also includes nicotine, which, according to Wired, aids in “memory formation and attention.” And methamphetamine, which the magazine says can “increase concentration and creative output.”

Wired makes clear that it knows methamphetamine is illegal; in the “How to Get It” box, it advises readers to “tap the black market.” It also offers a disclaimer: “Anyone who takes a bushel of drugs based on our say-so must be high.”