Modafinil is a wakefulness-promoting agent (or eugeroic) which was first synthesized in the 1970s by a French pharmaceutical company called Lafon. Although it originally emerged as a promising treatment for narcolepsy, it also showed an increase in wakefulness and performance in healthy people, so Lafon decided to market modafinil for this purpose under the brand name Provigil.
The history of modafinil
Modafinil was eventually licensed to Cephalon (who later became Teva) and was first approved by the FDA in 1998 as an adjunct treatment for narcolepsy. It’s not currently approved for any other disorders, but can be prescribed ‘off label’ for conditions including sleep apnea, shift-work sleep disorder and chronic fatigue.
The first (and perhaps most famous) user of modafinil was a French computer programmer called Michel ‘Micha’ Lagarde who took modafinil to stay awake during the final stretch of his work on a new video game. He became so productive that he ended up working non-stop for three days and nights straight.
Popularity soars in the 21st century
The success of modafinil as a wakefulness-promoting agent led to a huge increase in its popularity, and by the mid-2000s it was being used by a wide range of people including software developers, surgeons, military personnel and even truck drivers.
However, as its popularity increased, so did the number of ‘modafinil experiences’ being reported online, and it wasn’t long before modafinil became a household name.
In fact, after an Instant.ly poll showed that it was the most Googled term of 2011, modafinil was officially named ‘Word of the Year’ by the New Oxford Dictionary.
In the past few years, there has been a huge amount of media coverage surrounding modafinil, and countless articles have been written about it – from its use as a cognitive enhancer by students to its increasing popularity as a lifestyle drug.
Popular articles have included a profile on a New York investment banker who takes modafinil to make all-nighters, an article about how it’s used by the military (mostly by helicopter pilots) and even an article about how it can make you love your spouse more.
There’s even a book called The Dark Net, which features an entire chapter on how modafinil is used by online drug dealers to stay awake while conducting their illegal business.
So what does the future hold for modafinil?
This is a contentious issue and one that raises a lot of questions. For example, what effect will the legalization of marijuana have on modafinil? Let’s face it, two of the most popular ‘smart drugs’ that are used by people looking to get ahead are modafinil and cannabis, and they both happen to be illegal in the US. There’s no doubt that if marijuana was legal, modafinil would be too, and in fact, it’s possible that there wouldn’t even be a market for it in the first place.