Amphetamine is a psycho-stimulant drug which was first synthesized in 1887 by Lazăr Edeleanu, a Romanian chemist.
No pharmacological use was found for amphetamine until 1929, when psycho-pharmacologist Gordon Alles, in search of an allergy drug remedy, re-synthesized and tested it on himself. He noted a “feeling of well being,” “palpitation,” and eventually a “sleepless night” in which his “mind seemed to race from one subject to another.”(1)
A few years later a new drug dubbed “Benzedrine”, based on Alles re-synthesized amphetamine compound, was released on the market by the Philadelphia firm Smith, Kline and French as a decongestant inhaler.
The company then began to look for more commercial outlets for amphetamine in a wide range of medical specialties. The use that stirred interest among neuro-psychiatrists was for therapy of common, milder depressions. Amphetamine represented the first of the anti-depressant drugs and its use soon spread to general practice. (2)
However, the use of amphetamine soon spread outside general practice. By early 1937, abuse of the drug was reported among mid-western college students, and amphetamine tablets were taking on a new identity as “pep pills” or “pepper-uppers.” Students were mostly taking amphetamine while studying for, or actually taking, exams.(3)
After decades of reported abuse, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limited amphetamine to prescription use in 1965, but non-medical use remained common. In 1971, amphetamine became a schedule II drug, under the Controlled Substances Act.
A schedule II drug is classified as one that has a high potential for abuse, severe physiological and psychological dependence, and has a currently-accepted medical use, such as d-amphetamine used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (4)
More recently, many students have turned to a legal stimulant to aid their performance – the ‘energy drink’....read more at Heroin and Cornflakes blog...
