The Story of a Stimulant: A Tale of Policy and Hypocracy

In the 1930s, a class of synthetic stimulants, the amphetamines, was developed. The three primary drugs in this class were Benzadrine, Dexadrine (dextroamphetamine), and methamphetamine.

Benzadrine quickly developed a wide-spread use as a nasal inhalant for nasal congestion, and many people found they could break open the plastic inhalers, squeeze out the drug, and inject it for a big high.

Dexadrine found other users. The military were among the first: soldiers could stay awake and alert longer and under more adverse conditions if they used Dexadrine (long distance truck drivers discovered the same thing). Military use has continued. Friends of mine who served in Viet Nam told of constant use of dexxies. One man told me that they were kept in a large bowl in the Company area of his unit and the men "ate them like M&Ms". According to the Air Force Surgeon-General, over 60% of the combat missions flown during the Gulf War were flown by air crews using amphetamines. Some pilots reported command influence on them to use the drugs. I have seen no evidence that military doctrine has changed since then.

After WWII, Dex became one of the most often prescribed drugs. It was an effective wieght-loss drug, and gave depressed, stressed, housewives a feeling of energy. However, by the late 60s, it was falling out of favor because of problems associated with its use: extreme weight loss, paranoia and psychotic behavior; dependencies -- they same ones we hear of today.

During the 1950s and 60s laws regulating drugs underwent drastic changes. Drugs were divided into prescription and OTC drugs; drugs were required to be proven safe and effective before they could be marketed, and the FDA spent about a decade developing a list of GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe), later GRASE (Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective) components that could be included in OTC drugs without additional testing. These developments focused on medicinal uses (the Supreme Court later said that Congress did not even intend to include tobacco or alcohol) and were kept separate from the regulation of the food supply.

In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act tried to reconcile illegal drug regulation with medical drug regulation by establishing scheduling based on 1) potential for abuse, 2) recognized medical use, and 3) safet when used under medical supervision.

Amphetamines fell into Schedule 2, the second most tightly controlled category, and medical use virtually stopped.

Also, during the 1950s, the market for vitamins and "dietary supplements" developed, evolving from the old snake oil salesmen and folk cures. For some reason, this market was viewed as part of the food chain and was not regulated as drugs were.

When Dexadrine became unavailable, two other stimulants popped up to take its place.

Methamphetamine is chemically similar to Dexadrine (virtually undistinguishable by the user), but it can be manufactured in small batches without elaborate equipment or extreme temperatures or pressures. As a Schedule 1 drug, it became an illegal replacement for Dex.

All of the amphetamines are derived from norepinephrine, one of the ephedrine compounds derived from the ephedra plant. Ephedra, as a herb, or the ephedrine purified from it, has roughly the same effect on the body as does amphetamine.

Those who could no longer get legal Dexadrine and who were unwilling to use illegal meth, soon started taking ephedra as a "dietary supplement". Supplements became a multi-billion dollar business.

As reports of deaths and serious side effects from ephedra started rolling in, the FDA began the process of regulating it. The shit hit the fan. One of the largest letter-writing campaigns in history flooded Congress, which passed two statutes virtually banning the FDA from regulating supplements. The agency may sue to remove one from the market after they can prove it to be dangerous, but the seller has to do no testing before marketing it and may make almost any marketing claims it wants to.

So Dexadrine is legal, manufactured under controlled conditions, but almost totally unavailable; methamphetamine is illegal, manufactured under dangerous conditions causing grave enviromental risk and impure products, but readily available; ephedra has been voluntarily withdrawn from the market after almost a decade of futile FDA litigation -- and they all do the same thing.

Ironically, if marijuana had not been outlawed by the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 and had continued as a rarely used medicine, it would probably have qualified for the FDA's GRASE list and would be available OTC today.