What Are Stimulants?

Amphetamines were first synthesized in 1887, but weren't used until the 1930s, when doctors prescribed them to treat nasal congestion. Eventually they were used to treat other conditions, including obesity, depression, and hyperactivity. It wasn't long before people discovered that the side effects—among them, excitement and alertness—could be pleasurable. That's when amphetamines began to be abused.

A Cure-All

During this time, the media labeled amphetamines a cure-all. Advertisements claimed that amphetamines would solve problems from alcoholism to obesity. In the late 1950s, amphetamines were restricted, and could only be prescribed by doctors. Soon enough, people discovered that amphetamines could be found in some over-the-counter decongestant inhalers. Some began forming addictions to medications used to treat common-cold symptoms.

Some students started abusing amphetamines because the drugs helped them stay awake to study. It wasn't long before young people learned that large doses produced a tremendous high. Amphetamines then became a popular recreational drug.

Widespread Abuse

By the early 1960s, amphetamine abuse was a major problem among young people. Hospitals and doctors began reporting many serious problems: Young people were suffering from heart attacks and strokes. Doctors and pharmacists noticed that young people were forging prescriptions for stimulants. Tighter limits were placed on the amounts of stimulants they prescribed. The police began to crack down on drugstores that sold the drugs illegally.

Speed Labs

In the 1970s, methamphetamines were considered drugs with little medical use, but a high potential for abuse. Illegal speed labs sprang up on the West Coast with many serious consequences. Although prescription stimulants were controlled by federal law, there were no such controls for the illegal labs. Many of them were dirty and did not use trained chemists. Soon hundreds of young people were arriving at hospitals sick or dying from drugs that had been made in speed labs.

New Drugs

Before long, young people in California discovered that mixing stimulants with heroin gave them an unusually intense high. They named this powerful combination a speedball.

Crystal meth became popular in the 1960s as well. When chemists first created this mix, it wasn't a very pure drug, but it gave users the most intense high they had ever experienced.

By the early 1970s, so many people were addicted to stimulants that the U.S. government strictly limited the amounts that doctors could prescribe. As a result, speed labs spread across the country. Soon they were in almost every state.

Looking to the Future

Amphetamine abuse shows no signs of slowing down. One of the biggest dangers of amphetamines and related drugs is that new varieties are created all the time. Throughout the world, centers of the drug culture popularize different “fad” drugs. The use of some, such as crystal meth, has reached epidemic proportions.

You can help end the epidemic by choosing to keep drugs out of your life for good. Many people choose to stay drug free after they learn how harmful drugs really are.